Visa Status Upon Termination

[dan10400]

Hello,

I was previously issued a work permit on a non-immigrant (not

visa (educational). that visa expired, and so did the work permit.

off i go and get a non-immgrant B visa and come back to find out

that the company i was working for will be scaling back without me.

I am not sure what my status is now and if this new non-immigrant

B visa i have is worth anything. When I applied for the new visa,

I had all the copies of work permit, letter from company and company

documentation, etc. so the intent was clearly to renew work permit.

Seems a bit more confusing as I did not get the work permit re-issued.

On another note, I had worked for this company a little over a year

(at the min farang salary). From what i understand the new salary

requirments only apply to those who get a work permit that does not

require 90-day visa runs. I am a bit curious as to how this might

impact severence.

This all occurred really quickly - essentially due to a reassessment of

potential market - so not a termination for cause. So if I have an issue

with this process, who do I take it up with?

Thanks for any help and/or advice.

Regards,

--Dan

[Sumitr Man]

Dan:

Did your employer give you notice of severance of employment?

I assume (from your post) not. In any event, the most important thing is your length of employment and the terms of your employment contract.

Under Thai labour law, anyone working:

* over 120 days but less than 1 year is entitled to 30 days severance pay;

* over 1 year but less than 3 years is entitled to 90 days severance pay.

Severance without notice requires the employer to pay-out the employee for the notice period. The notice period is 1 salary period (e.g. monthly = 1 month; weekly = 1 week, etc.).

However, and very importantly, the severance provisions of the Labour Protection Act do NOT apply to those who are employed on fixed term employment contracts PROVIDED THAT the period of the fixed term employment does not exceed 2 years. So you need to look at your employment contract as a large number of farangs employed in Thailand are employed on contracts where the time of their employment is fixed (usually for a period of 2 years) - thus, potentially, they do not benefit from the protections afforded here.

In the event that you have any problems, I would suggest that you speak with the Labour Department.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Is it a multiple entry B visa Dan ? ie. valid for a full year with 90 day stays on each entry.

[dan10400]

hi,

thanks for the responses.

it is correct in that no notice was given and i am not on a

fixed term contract.

as for the type, it is a non-immigrant class B. there is a note in

the remarks section that states something to the order

of "extension of this visa is not permitted" and then crossed

out and signed. at the embassy when i picked it up, they

said that this is how it was done and i just need to go get a

multiple entry from immigration when back in thailand. i did

question it back here in thailand and i got a reply something

along the lines that this was the old way to do - non-expiring

visas or something and it was ok. my understand for this

company as it was under BOI rules (software), the visas/work

permits were not subject to the 90-day rule.

regards,

--dan

[BKK_banger]

For anyone interested in the definition of limited term employment agreements there was a Supreme Court case a few years ago which considered the Labour Protection Act 2541 s 118.

Supreme Court Judgment no. 5180/2542 Mr. Donald F. Milrose v Bangkok Transportation System Public Co. Ltd

"An employment agreement concluded for a determined period of time allows the employer on termination to be exempt from paying severance pay to the employee. However, in order to qualify as such, the employment agreement must specify the commencement and expiration dates and such term shall not be modified during the contract. Severance pay provisions in the law are considered as matter of public order and do not depend on the intentions of the parties."

I don't know if Mr. Milrose won.

However I know of a case currently winding to the Supreme Court concerning a Brit and an American company. They employed him here then dismissed him a few years later and refused to pay severance pay. The court of first instance dismissed the case as neither were Thai, wrongly in my view and given the final sentence of the excerpt above from Milrose.

[dan10400]

hi,

i am having problems dealing with this situation directly with

ex-employer. they wanted to negotiate severence for future

support and i told them i don't believe severence is negotiable.

now i can't get any response from them. from what i read in

the labor law, it seems severence and pay through the pay

period (in case of no notice) is due upon termination.

i cannot find contacts for labor department. can someone point

me to the contacts? else, if it is best that i go through a lawyer

or consultant, can you recommend one in the bangkok area?

thanks in advance for your help.

regards,

--dan