Severance Pay Not Paid - What is my recourse?

[Weimaraner]

My employment with a Thai company recently ended.  The company has not replied to my written request for payment of the severance pay to which I am entitled under Thai Labor Law.  Short of filing a lawsuit in the Labor Court, what other recourse do I have, if any?  Will the Labor Department investigate?  Should a police report be filed?

[gargamon]

Warning: This is the OP's first post so beware.

 

You're missing so much info. Did you quit or get fired? How long did you work there? How much money is in question?

 

If you provide more info you might get something useful. 

[realfunster]

I'd try following up a couple more times perhaps including a phone call as well as emails/letters (could possibly even engage a Lawyer to do this for you - with the implied threat that indicates) and explaining that you are considering going to the Labour Court unless the matter is resolved satisfactorily. Without knowing your specifics, the Labour Court is known to be fairly reasonable and generally supportive of employees.

 

However, the whole Labour Court process may well take some time (think months, possibly a year+) so a negotiated and relatively amicable agreement with your employers would be easier/quicker all round.

[OneMoreFarang]

Collect your documents like employment contract, work permit, details how you were paid until now, important communication about how you were fired, if payment was offered, etc.

 

Tell your ex-employer that you will go to the labor department if they don't pay you.

 

And if they don't pay, or don't make a reasonable offer how they will pay, then go to the labor department with your documents.

Translate everything to Thai (something like Google Lense will do the job).

If your Thai is not good, then take a Thai person with you to fill out Thai language forms and talk to the officer.

Talk to the officer and explain the situation. They will ask questions about how long you worked there, etc.

After the officer has all the information from you then they will work on this. No charge for you.

They will invite the employer to tell their side of the story.

And then they will make a decision, i.e. that you should get x months of your last salary.

They will inform your ex-employer. They have to pay. Otherwise, they get a fine and/or jail.

 

Important: Once you go to the labor department let them do the job. Don't make any private agreements with your ex-boss. 

You can expect a decision within a couple of months. 

 

Employers who know about the labor department will try to avoid trouble with them. Because the labor department can make life difficult for such employers. 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

18 minutes ago, realfunster said:

could possibly even engage a Lawyer to do this for you

Sure, you can do that. But obviously that cost money. And then best case you have a private agreement.

If you let the labor department do that then you don't have to pay. And they can put a lot of pressure on the employer.

 

You don't need a lawyer to go to the labor department. A Thai person who is familiar with talking to authorities and filling out forms is all you need. 

[n00dle]

53 minutes ago, Weimaraner said:

Will the Labor Department investigate? 

 

 

The Labour Department is intensely employee-centric, foreigner and Thai alike. It doesn't matter.

prepare every document you have and get down there to lodge a complaint. 

I don't know the circumstances, but if they did not follow severance procedures to the letter with warnings etc, you may be in for a settlement as well as your severance. The chance is high your employer figures you won't squeal and pays up as soon as labour contacts them.  

I know of a few folks who have been paid out in the millions (baht), with and without going to court.

Over COVID a close friend of mine went to court and received a years salary plus relocation compensation because her employer moved her to Thailand with a multi-year contract and then lost the business they hired her to fulfill. they tried to fire her without reason or notice and they lost big in court. 

[n00dle]

14 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Tell your ex-employer that you will go to the labor department if they don't pay you.

 

personally i would not inform them

 

Quote

You don't need a lawyer to go to the labor department. A Thai person who is familiar with talking to authorities and filling out forms is all you need. 

 

This is true, but if there is real wrongdoing on the employer's end, and the potential for a real payout, a lawyer can make a huge difference. 

[PJ71]

6 minutes ago, n00dle said:

 

 

The Labour Department is intensely employee-centric.

prepare every document you have and get down there to lodge a complaint. 

I don't know the circumstances, but if they did not follow severance procedures to the letter with warnings etc, you may be in for a settlement as well as your severance. The chance is high your employer figures you won't squeal and pays up as soon as labour contacts them.  

I know of a few folks who have been paid out in the millions (baht), with and without going to court.

Over COVID a close friend of mine went to court and received a years salary plus relocation compensation because her employer moved her to Thailand with a multi-year contract and then lost the business they hired her to fulfill. they tried to fire her without reason or notice and they lost big in court. 

Love hearing these stories - good for her.

[VocalNeal]

If OP has/had a work permit and paid tax then +1 for the Labour dept.

[josephbloggs]

As others have said, the Labour Department is the place to go, just make sure you have all evidence. My friend got let go by a Thai company I used to work for and they paid no severance as they made up a story that he went on leave without permission. He went to the Labour Department, they asked for all emails, evidence, screen grabs of chats etc. The Labour Department then approached the employer to tell them they are were in the wrong and they needed to pay or go to court - they paid.

 

However you don't state anything about your circumstances. Depending on how it happened you may not be entitled to any severance: if you had three written warnings they can fire you, if you are guilty of gross misconduct they can fire you, there will be other scenarios in your contract that stipulate reasons for being able to terminate the contract without severance. If you give more info you will get better advice.

[Sheryl]

Go to the Provincial Labor Dept, bringing your contract with you. They will most definitely follow up, and if it is necessary to go to the labor court (often not, often just a call from them is enough to get employer to act), they will provide the legal representation at no cost to you.

 

This is assuming it is a private company and not a school or non-profit.

 

Labor Dept will not pry into your taxes nor ask to see tax documents.  The only issues will be the Employer (private company vs private school etc) , the length of time you were employed and the circumstances of your departure. As others have mentioned, depending on the exact situation  the last might entitle you to more than routine severance. 

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, n00dle said:

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Tell your ex-employer that you will go to the labor department if they don't pay you.

 

personally i would not inform them

 

Obviously you don't have to inform them. But if you inform them about your intention that should make it clear that you are serious and know you have the right to do that. I guess in many cases that, and the possibility of fine/jail will convince the employer to pay.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, n00dle said:

but if there is real wrongdoing on the employer's end, and the potential for a real payout, a lawyer can make a huge difference. 

 

The problem with some lawyers is of course, that they want to make money by themselves.

I went there with an accountant who was used to Thai officials. She helped me to fill out the forms and answer the questions. 

That was, in my case, enough.

To be fair, my case was straightforward, with enough written evidence, that stating the facts and giving them the documents was all we needed to do.

 

Before I visited the labor department I talked to 3 lawyers (not only about that). Two lawyers told me directly that I should talk to the labor department directly and they will handle everything. One lawyer offered his own service (starting 30k)...

 

[FritsSikkink]

2 hours ago, realfunster said:

I'd try following up a couple more times perhaps including a phone call as well as emails/letters (could possibly even engage a Lawyer to do this for you - with the implied threat that indicates) and explaining that you are considering going to the Labour Court unless the matter is resolved satisfactorily. Without knowing your specifics, the Labour Court is known to be fairly reasonable and generally supportive of employees.

 

However, the whole Labour Court process may well take some time (think months, possibly a year+) so a negotiated and relatively amicable agreement with your employers would be easier/quicker all round.

No need for a lawyer, the local Labour office will help for free. Employers fear the Labour office as they could be jailed. The procedure through the Labor office doesn't take that long at all.

[Ralf001]

The reason for your dismissal.... was it something that was in breach of company  policy ?

 

If yes you will be <deleted> outta luck chasing severance.

[n00dle]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

 

The problem with some lawyers is of course, that they want to make money by themselves.

I went there with an accountant who was used to Thai officials. She helped me to fill out the forms and answer the questions. 

That was, in my case, enough.

To be fair, my case was straightforward, with enough written evidence, that stating the facts and giving them the documents was all we needed to do.

 

Before I visited the labor department I talked to 3 lawyers (not only about that). Two lawyers told me directly that I should talk to the labor department directly and they will handle everything. One lawyer offered his own service (starting 30k)...

 

I don't disagree you can do it on your own. But, in my freinds case, she could have settled for dismissal without severance, but the was a UK company involved, local reps, and a set of contracts promising years of work.

 

Without a lawyer she could not have sued and won salary for over a year and compensation for relocation both here and back.  So a few hundred thousand vs a few million.