Thailand Labor Law: A Guide for Employers and Employees

Thailand’s Labour Protection Act sets a floor, not a starting point for negotiation. An employer and employee can agree to terms more generous than the LPA requires. They cannot agree to less — and a contract that tries to, even signed willingly by an employee who didn’t know better, is unenforceable on the clauses that fall short. That single principle explains most of the disputes that end up in front of Thailand’s Labor Court.

The Basics Every Employer Needs to Know

Working hours are capped at 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week under the LPA, though employer and employee can mutually agree to a different daily/weekly split within that total. Employees are entitled to at least one hour of rest after five consecutive working hours, and a weekly holiday — typically Sunday, though this can be adjusted by agreement.

Minimum wage is set regionally, not nationally — the current range runs roughly THB 337–400 per day depending on province and job type. Bangkok and other major economic centers sit at the higher end. Employers operating across multiple provinces need to track this per location, not apply a single company-wide rate.

Overtime requires the employee’s consent — Thai law does not allow an employer to simply mandate overtime, with a narrow exception where refusing would risk damage to the business (for example, work that can’t be safely paused mid-process). Overtime pay rates scale up from standard wages, and holiday work carries its own premium rate on top.

Leave entitlements include a minimum of 6 days of annual leave after a year of service, up to 30 days of paid sick leave per year, and — following the most recent LPA amendment — 120 days of maternity leave (60 fully paid) and 15 days of fully paid paternity/spousal leave, plus infant-care leave where a newborn has a certified medical condition. These are minimums; company policy can offer more, never less.

Severance Pay: The Number That Catches Employers Off Guard

Severance under the LPA is tied directly to length of service, and it applies whenever an employee is terminated without cause — meaning most terminations that aren’t for documented serious misconduct:

• Under 120 days of service: no severance required
• 120 days to 1 year: 30 days’ wages
• 1 to 3 years: 90 days’ wages
• 3 to 6 years: 180 days’ wages
• 6 to 10 years: 240 days’ wages
• 10 to 20 years: 300 days’ wages
• 20+ years: 400 days’ wages (the statutory maximum, following the 2019 amendment)

This scales fast. An employee terminated after eleven years of service is owed 300 days’ wages — nearly a full year’s pay — regardless of what their contract says, unless the termination clearly falls within a recognized exception (serious misconduct, three consecutive days of unauthorized absence, or imprisonment following a final criminal verdict, among others). Employers who assume a written contract can cap or waive this obligation are wrong, and that assumption is one of the more expensive mistakes we see.

Notice period: generally at least one full pay cycle in advance — for a monthly-paid employee, that means a month’s notice, or payment in lieu of notice if the employer wants to end the relationship immediately.

The Compliance Requirements Foreign Employers Often Miss

Written work rules in Thai are mandatory once a company reaches 10 employees, and must be posted or digitally accessible within 15 days of any update. This applies regardless of whether the company’s working language is English internally.

Records — wages, overtime, holiday work — must be maintained for each employee for at least two years, including after that employee’s termination. This isn’t a formality; it’s the documentation an employer needs if a wage or severance dispute later goes to the Labor Inspection Office or Labor Court.

Foreign staff and work permits. Thai labor law applies to foreign employees the same as Thai employees once properly employed, but the employer’s obligation to secure valid work permits sits alongside — not instead of — LPA compliance. A foreign employee working without a valid permit doesn’t lose their LPA protections, and the employer’s exposure for the missing permit is separate from, and additional to, any labor law violation.

When Disputes Arise

Most labor disputes in Thailand move through one of three channels: direct negotiation, mediation through the Labor Inspection Officer at the Labor Protection Office, or litigation before the Labor Court if negotiation and mediation don’t resolve it. Criminal penalties, including fines and potential imprisonment, apply to employers who fail to pay wages, overtime, or severance owed under the LPA — this isn’t purely a civil matter for an employer who ignores a valid claim.

Employers relying on a misconduct exception to avoid severance carry the burden of proving the misconduct meets the statutory threshold. Courts scrutinize these claims carefully, and an employer who can’t substantiate “serious misconduct” with documented evidence typically ends up owing both the original severance and additional damages for unfair termination.

How Harwell Legal Helps

We advise employers on LPA-compliant contracts and work rules, review termination decisions before they happen to identify severance exposure and misconduct-exception risk, and represent both employers and employees in mediation and Labor Court proceedings. For businesses expanding their Thai workforce, we also help structure work permit sponsorship alongside labor law compliance from the outset, rather than treating them as separate problems.

Managing employment matters in Thailand? [Contact Harwell Legal International] before a termination decision is made — severance exposure is far easier to plan around in advance than to dispute after the fact.