When Your Employee Gets Sick - How Generous & Supportive We Should Be?

[Yoyo777]

hi there,

I wonder if anyone can give me some tips on how generous an employer should be on supporting employees to pay their medical bills.

We have a contract with all of our employees, that they are paid on a daily basis. This was a recommendation from a guy who owns a successful business here in Thailand in order to prevent them from not coming to work. They only get paid if they come and work - a very simple rule.

Although they are all insured, we didn't know that it would be valid only after 3 months. So this poor girl got sick too early, and had to be hospitalised for almost 3 weeks because of the Dengue Fever. Now she is left with a big bill to pay!

People say that an employer in Thailand should be generous in such a case: we should still still give her some money as a token of good will. However 3 weeks salary is a lot, and in any case, not really fair to others. So where should one draw a line? We have just started in January so she became sick something like 2 weeks after she started. But we are very happy with her, and we would like to support her... but on the other hand, we don't want them to think that we pay for everything, no matter how often they get sick.

Thanks!

[yabaaaa]

tell her you'll suport her but if she tells anyone she will be jobless.

[Yoyo777]

hi yabaaaaaaaaaa!

yeah that is a good idea Right now we are considering giving her 50% of her salary during the sick time as a "bonus". Do you think that's fair? I still do not understand though, why she wanted to spend these days at the Paolo Memorial Hospital, which is not exactly the cheapest place to go... she has to pay something like 80,000 Baht for the entire stay!

[ged]

I work in the UK and I do not get paid if I do not work.

If I was sick I would want the best (which usually means the most expensive) hospital, especially if I thought I was insured by my employer.

Keep your business head on for this one.

[Soutpeel]

hi there,

I wonder if anyone can give me some tips on how generous an employer should be on supporting employees to pay their medical bills.

We have a contract with all of our employees, that they are paid on a daily basis. This was a recommendation from a guy who owns a successful business here in Thailand in order to prevent them from not coming to work. They only get paid if they come and work - a very simple rule.

Although they are all insured, we didn't know that it would be valid only after 3 months. So this poor girl got sick too early, and had to be hospitalised for almost 3 weeks because of the Dengue Fever. Now she is left with a big bill to pay!

People say that an employer in Thailand should be generous in such a case: we should still still give her some money as a token of good will. However 3 weeks salary is a lot, and in any case, not really fair to others. So where should one draw a line? We have just started in January so she became sick something like 2 weeks after she started. But we are very happy with her, and we would like to support her... but on the other hand, we don't want them to think that we pay for everything, no matter how often they get sick.

Thanks!

I assume here you are asking a moral question, not a legal one ??, from a legal perspective, as the personnel are on "day rate" you dont have to pay anything.

On the moral perspective, you obviously value the employee, If it was me, I would offer to settle the hospital bill, but then deduct a nominal amount every day from the salary to cover the hospital expenses, in addtion have a look at the labour act and see how many days sick leave an employee is entitled to a year (cant remember how many days it is) and pay this over for the duration of the illness, less the nominal amount for the hospital bill.

In this way you are showing your employees, you will help them out without question when in need, but at the same time it will not be free.

[Soutpeel]

I work in the UK and I do not get paid if I do not work.

If I was sick I would want the best (which usually means the most expensive) hospital, especially if I thought I was insured by my employer.

Keep your business head on for this one.

Yes but in the UK, if you where in dire need of half decent medical treatment, you would be down to the NHS for free, so not quite the same thing...

[TerryLH]

I think the old 30 baht scheme is still available, but under a different name.

She could have used that at a government hospital and it wouldn't have cost much at all, if anything.

Instead of paying for her hospital stay, find out what it would have cost at the biggest government hospital in the area and pay that amount.

When she chose the hospital I'm sure she knew it wasn't cheap. How was she expecting to pay for it?

Hate to disagree with one of the above posters, but just because it's the most expensive doesn't mean it's the best.

Was this her first job? If not, she may have already been in the social security system. That's different than the 30 baht scheme, but will also pay for this, if in fact that's her assigned hospital.

[Yoyo777]

Before we started the production here in Thailand, we have been warned by several friends here in Thailand that it would be much better for us to make a contract with a daily wage, so that they will be paid only if they work. At the beginning I was thinking, my god we have to deal with lazy, irresponsible, unreliable workers, who would disappear within a week.... but our girls are so sweet, eager to work, even though they don't earn so much, they bring us sweets and gifts every day, because they are so happy working for us.

Ged, we were actually shocked and pissed to hear that our insurance policy would be only become valid after 3 months of being employed... but she chose Paolo because her son has been already treated there and she has been impressed with their quality of work. She knew that the insurance did not work but it was really her choice to get a treatment there. Still do not know how she made a payment arrangement with the hospital... we haven't really talked about it yet, but the pay day is coming real soon!

Soutpeel, like you say, it is a moral question. We didn't want to be bound by any legal obligation this is why our contract is drafted in such a way that nobody cannot take any advantages on a occasion like that. Somewhere I read that an employee is legally entitled to 30 days of paid sick leave... but I am not sure if this applies to our case, because they are paid on a daily basis.

One should be rewarded for hard work, if not, there is no compensation. BUT we want us to be like a family... everytime we need them to work longer, they never complain and help us go through the project. It is so difficult to find someone decent these days.... especially here in Bangkok. Still, some say we shouldn't exaggerate our generousity. It really is a hard decision to make!

Although we can make them promise not to tell others about the paid sick leave, this kind of thing eventually come out because they all have big mouths!! Then another girl who has been sick over 5 days would probably think, hang, on, what don't I get paid???

May be we should stick to the 30 days rule for this one because she is hospitalised... and we will treat it like a special case, just for her (I mean it cannot happen so often to get hospitalised for Dengue fever, right?). In the normal circumstances, they shouldn't get paid for being sick but they can always catch up with work by working longer hours. Or work on Saturday if they wish. That should be fair enough. I think your idea would work out great, I am sure it will help her especially she's got a little boy to look after. I mean, when you think about it: a night out in London can cost more than a girl's salary in a month! How scary is that...

[Yoyo777]

I think the old 30 baht scheme is still available, but under a different name.

She could have used that at a government hospital and it wouldn't have cost much at all, if anything.

Instead of paying for her hospital stay, find out what it would have cost at the biggest government hospital in the area and pay that amount.

When she chose the hospital I'm sure she knew it wasn't cheap. How was she expecting to pay for it?

Hate to disagree with one of the above posters, but just because it's the most expensive doesn't mean it's the best.

Was this her first job? If not, she may have already been in the social security system. That's different than the 30 baht scheme, but will also pay for this, if in fact that's her assigned hospital.

Hi, sorry you replied quicker than I did!

What is the 30 Baht scheme? I have no idea what kind of right she was entitled to, but like you say, she could have gone to one of those hospitals for "everyone". I mean her boyfriend owns a small grocery shop and they have a small boy together... we were surprised to hear that she was in Paolo - but she just didn't want to go to another hospital! have no idea how she is going to settle the hospital bill...

I think she has worked before but not sure if it was officially registered. It is quite possible that she helped her boyfriend to sell vegetables etc. But I am sure that she knew what she can get out of the system - but still, she chose to go for the treatment at a good hospital like the Paolo Memorial Hospital.

30 Baht Scheme - is that a daily compensation from the social security system? Doesn't sound much...

[jtp]

hi there,

I wonder if anyone can give me some tips on how generous an employer should be on supporting employees to pay their medical bills.

We have a contract with all of our employees, that they are paid on a daily basis. This was a recommendation from a guy who owns a successful business here in Thailand in order to prevent them from not coming to work. They only get paid if they come and work - a very simple rule.

Although they are all insured, we didn't know that it would be valid only after 3 months. So this poor girl got sick too early, and had to be hospitalised for almost 3 weeks because of the Dengue Fever. Now she is left with a big bill to pay!

People say that an employer in Thailand should be generous in such a case: we should still still give her some money as a token of good will. However 3 weeks salary is a lot, and in any case, not really fair to others. So where should one draw a line? We have just started in January so she became sick something like 2 weeks after she started. But we are very happy with her, and we would like to support her... but on the other hand, we don't want them to think that we pay for everything, no matter how often they get sick.

Thanks!

You are in a tough situation,morally.On one hand you care about the lady,and on the other hand how far do you go?I'm sorry to say that if a new employee got sick in the first few weeks AND went to the most expensive hospital they could find,then it's time for a new employee.I get the feeling that she somehow expects you to pay her hospital fees.That's a big no no,as it will be expected of you for all employees.If she does not ask for payment of her treatment,and has other means to cover it(Husband,son,daughter) and you value her,then 50% of her wages is a generous amount to pay each week.Long term employees would be based on each individual case.I have supported long term employees in times of illness and accident,although i was not legally required to do so.

[Yoyo777]

hi there,

I wonder if anyone can give me some tips on how generous an employer should be on supporting employees to pay their medical bills.

We have a contract with all of our employees, that they are paid on a daily basis. This was a recommendation from a guy who owns a successful business here in Thailand in order to prevent them from not coming to work. They only get paid if they come and work - a very simple rule.

Although they are all insured, we didn't know that it would be valid only after 3 months. So this poor girl got sick too early, and had to be hospitalised for almost 3 weeks because of the Dengue Fever. Now she is left with a big bill to pay!

People say that an employer in Thailand should be generous in such a case: we should still still give her some money as a token of good will. However 3 weeks salary is a lot, and in any case, not really fair to others. So where should one draw a line? We have just started in January so she became sick something like 2 weeks after she started. But we are very happy with her, and we would like to support her... but on the other hand, we don't want them to think that we pay for everything, no matter how often they get sick.

Thanks!

You are in a tough situation,morally.On one hand you care about the lady,and on the other hand how far do you go?I'm sorry to say that if a new employee got sick in the first few weeks AND went to the most expensive hospital they could find,then it's time for a new employee.I get the feeling that she somehow expects you to pay her hospital fees.That's a big no no,as it will be expected of you for all employees.If she does not ask for payment of her treatment,and has other means to cover it(Husband,son,daughter) and you value her,then 50% of her wages is a generous amount to pay each week.Long term employees would be based on each individual case.I have supported long term employees in times of illness and accident,although i was not legally required to do so.

hi tritexengineering,

Actually she has not asked us for money at all - she just told us that she was at the hospital and showed us the bill which was as close to 100,000 Baht! If it was several thousand baht, then no question asked, we would settle that for her happily. but the amount is just a bit too high... we are not a global big player with billion pounds in the bank account, we are also on a tight budget at the beginning!

We initially talked of paying her 50% of her salary as a generous gesture, and lending money to settle the bill from the hospital, if necessary, but not giving her the money. You are right, because she is still a new employee and we don't know much about her yet, it would be naive of us to play a nice farang who does charity from here to there. I was a little big confused because my local German staff, who is employed as Managing Director for our company said that normally companies help employees with certain medical expenses and this is what they expect. OK, I am still very new in Thailand and do not know any customs, but somehow it did not really convince me to accept the argument. Like you say, where do you stop? Where do you draw a line? If employees are not disciplined, it can eventually drive the company to bankrupcy. I wonder how other companies can afford such an action (may be they pay into some kind of medical emergency account?).

For the line of work we do, it is very hard to find a talented worker like her - she's already gone through the first 2 weeks of training successfully so it's not our intention to fire her just because she got sick. It costs us money and effort to train staff, too... I genuinely believe that she had a Dengue fever and was not able to come. She was really scared of losing her job, but we gave her an assurane and the position will be open for her.

This has suddenly became a big discussion since we have to pay the salary now, and we are all confused. Should we? Should we not?

[Nouf]

I think the old 30 baht scheme is still available, but under a different name.

She could have used that at a government hospital and it wouldn't have cost much at all, if anything.

Instead of paying for her hospital stay, find out what it would have cost at the biggest government hospital in the area and pay that amount.

When she chose the hospital I'm sure she knew it wasn't cheap. How was she expecting to pay for it?

Hate to disagree with one of the above posters, but just because it's the most expensive doesn't mean it's the best.

Was this her first job? If not, she may have already been in the social security system. That's different than the 30 baht scheme, but will also pay for this, if in fact that's her assigned hospital.

Hi, sorry you replied quicker than I did!

What is the 30 Baht scheme? I have no idea what kind of right she was entitled to, but like you say, she could have gone to one of those hospitals for "everyone". I mean her boyfriend owns a small grocery shop and they have a small boy together... we were surprised to hear that she was in Paolo - but she just didn't want to go to another hospital! have no idea how she is going to settle the hospital bill...

I think she has worked before but not sure if it was officially registered. It is quite possible that she helped her boyfriend to sell vegetables etc. But I am sure that she knew what she can get out of the system - but still, she chose to go for the treatment at a good hospital like the Paolo Memorial Hospital.

30 Baht Scheme - is that a daily compensation from the social security system? Doesn't sound much...

Hi, the 30bhat scheme as was told to me, only works in the province they are registered, so if they are from out of town ie Burriram or Sisaket etc, then they would have to go the the local Hospital that is in there city ( i am not 100%)

basically you get treatment for 30B, although i am not sure major operations are covered, but i think they are, i do know that my a friends mother and father get regular treatment and tablets and all they pay is 30b each time,

You would have to check with a thai national to confirm

What i can confirm is that many companies do offer Hospital treatment as part of the package of employment, i know a few that work for Jim Thompson, and they pay for sickness and holiday etc but they are a fairly big company

further more, i can say that not many abuse the system from what i have been told as jobs like that where they are treated ok, tend to be the jobs that are wanted, ie your get a band of employees that actually turn up and are employees for life, once they have a guaranteed job its worth its weight in gold especially if they have a family to bring up

Like wise from what i have seen and been told, the Thai`s seem to dislike Thai owners, as they tend to be a ruthless owners so are happy working for a foreign owner

what i have found is that it tends to be the younger 20 yrs old that cant be bothered to turn up, the older generation will work their socks off, this is because that over 30`s are deemed to be "too old" to employ,

Yes it seems the Thais are against older workers (this was told to me by many ) how true??? ask your workers

Personally i would welcome the older generation, because of their work ethic, in bangkok its very hard to get workers that turn up, let alone work

However you may want to avoid the younger ladies that have a farang husband/boyfriend, simply because the attitude tends to be a stick ya job attitude ifs theirs a problem

Again this is just my observation in what i have seen

If you can find a group of employess that want to work, then keep them as they will work for you, the hassle of trying to find others is a problem, and if your worker is a good un they maybe a deal can be done i would be surprised if she was taking liberties

i think many under-estimate the power of good will and trust, and a good employer-employee relationship

Edited February 23, 2009 by Nouf

[jtp]

I think the old 30 baht scheme is still available, but under a different name.

She could have used that at a government hospital and it wouldn't have cost much at all, if anything.

Instead of paying for her hospital stay, find out what it would have cost at the biggest government hospital in the area and pay that amount.

When she chose the hospital I'm sure she knew it wasn't cheap. How was she expecting to pay for it?

Hate to disagree with one of the above posters, but just because it's the most expensive doesn't mean it's the best.

Was this her first job? If not, she may have already been in the social security system. That's different than the 30 baht scheme, but will also pay for this, if in fact that's her assigned hospital.

Hi, sorry you replied quicker than I did!

What is the 30 Baht scheme? I have no idea what kind of right she was entitled to, but like you say, she could have gone to one of those hospitals for "everyone". I mean her boyfriend owns a small grocery shop and they have a small boy together... we were surprised to hear that she was in Paolo - but she just didn't want to go to another hospital! have no idea how she is going to settle the hospital bill...

I think she has worked before but not sure if it was officially registered. It is quite possible that she helped her boyfriend to sell vegetables etc. But I am sure that she knew what she can get out of the system - but still, she chose to go for the treatment at a good hospital like the Paolo Memorial Hospital.

30 Baht Scheme - is that a daily compensation from the social security system? Doesn't sound much...

Hi, the 30bhat scheme as was told to me, only works in the province they are registered, so if they are from out of town ie Burriram or Sisaket etc, then they would have to go the the local Hospital that is in there city ( i am not 100%)

basically you get treatment for 30B, although i am not sure major operations are covered, but i think they are, i do know that my a friends mother and father get regular treatment and tablets and all they pay is 30b each time,

You would have to check with a thai national to confirm

What i can confirm is that many companies do offer Hospital treatment as part of the package of employment, i know a few that work for Jim Thompson, and they pay for sickness and holiday etc but they are a fairly big company

further more, i can say that not many abuse the system from what i have been told as jobs like that where they are treated ok, tend to be the jobs that are wanted, ie your get a band of employees that actually turn up and are employees for life, once they have a guaranteed job its worth its weight in gold especially if they have a family to bring up

Like wise from what i have seen and been told, the Thai`s seem to dislike Thai owners, as they tend to be a ruthless owners so are happy working for a foreign owner

what i have found is that it tends to be the younger 20 yrs old that cant be bothered to turn up, the older generation will work their socks off, this is because that over 30`s are deemed to be "too old" to employ,

Yes it seems the Thais are against older workers (this was told to me by many ) how true??? ask your workers

Personally i would welcome the older generation, because of their work ethic, in bangkok its very hard to get workers that turn up, let alone work

However you may want to avoid the younger ladies that have a farang husband/boyfriend, simply because the attitude tends to be a stick ya job attitude ifs theirs a problem

Again this is just my observation in what i have seen

If you can find a group of employess that want to work, then keep them as they will work for you, the hassle of trying to find others is a problem, and if your worker is a good un they maybe a deal can be done i would be surprised if she was taking liberties

i think many under-estimate the power of good will and trust, and a good employer-employee relationship

Older workers are the best workers,one i employ is around 55,but he makes the others look slow!If you value her and as you say,it is hard to find the kind of worker you need,then first week 100% pay, second week 75% pay, and third 50% up to one month.It is up to them to cover hospital costs.That is way more then any Thai employer will do.But i would suggest this be a once off for this lady,and from this time on,a minimum period of employment should be considered before a person becomes eligible for these benefits.

[Yoyo777]

I think the old 30 baht scheme is still available, but under a different name.

She could have used that at a government hospital and it wouldn't have cost much at all, if anything.

Instead of paying for her hospital stay, find out what it would have cost at the biggest government hospital in the area and pay that amount.

When she chose the hospital I'm sure she knew it wasn't cheap. How was she expecting to pay for it?

Hate to disagree with one of the above posters, but just because it's the most expensive doesn't mean it's the best.

Was this her first job? If not, she may have already been in the social security system. That's different than the 30 baht scheme, but will also pay for this, if in fact that's her assigned hospital.

Hi, sorry you replied quicker than I did!

What is the 30 Baht scheme? I have no idea what kind of right she was entitled to, but like you say, she could have gone to one of those hospitals for "everyone". I mean her boyfriend owns a small grocery shop and they have a small boy together... we were surprised to hear that she was in Paolo - but she just didn't want to go to another hospital! have no idea how she is going to settle the hospital bill...

I think she has worked before but not sure if it was officially registered. It is quite possible that she helped her boyfriend to sell vegetables etc. But I am sure that she knew what she can get out of the system - but still, she chose to go for the treatment at a good hospital like the Paolo Memorial Hospital.

30 Baht Scheme - is that a daily compensation from the social security system? Doesn't sound much...

Hi, the 30bhat scheme as was told to me, only works in the province they are registered, so if they are from out of town ie Burriram or Sisaket etc, then they would have to go the the local Hospital that is in there city ( i am not 100%)

basically you get treatment for 30B, although i am not sure major operations are covered, but i think they are, i do know that my a friends mother and father get regular treatment and tablets and all they pay is 30b each time,

You would have to check with a thai national to confirm

What i can confirm is that many companies do offer Hospital treatment as part of the package of employment, i know a few that work for Jim Thompson, and they pay for sickness and holiday etc but they are a fairly big company

further more, i can say that not many abuse the system from what i have been told as jobs like that where they are treated ok, tend to be the jobs that are wanted, ie your get a band of employees that actually turn up and are employees for life, once they have a guaranteed job its worth its weight in gold especially if they have a family to bring up

Like wise from what i have seen and been told, the Thai`s seem to dislike Thai owners, as they tend to be a ruthless owners so are happy working for a foreign owner

what i have found is that it tends to be the younger 20 yrs old that cant be bothered to turn up, the older generation will work their socks off, this is because that over 30`s are deemed to be "too old" to employ,

Yes it seems the Thais are against older workers (this was told to me by many ) how true??? ask your workers

Personally i would welcome the older generation, because of their work ethic, in bangkok its very hard to get workers that turn up, let alone work

However you may want to avoid the younger ladies that have a farang husband/boyfriend, simply because the attitude tends to be a stick ya job attitude ifs theirs a problem

Again this is just my observation in what i have seen

If you can find a group of employess that want to work, then keep them as they will work for you, the hassle of trying to find others is a problem, and if your worker is a good un they maybe a deal can be done i would be surprised if she was taking liberties

i think many under-estimate the power of good will and trust, and a good employer-employee relationship

Oh I see, better than getting 30 Baht compensation every day! I really wonder if she had it.... but now it doesn't matter, it's done, and there is that big, fat bill. Actually what we offer our girls is a health insurance where we both pay 50% and they can go to specified hospitals within the policy or something like that...

They tell us how happy they are working for us... some has been selling sausages on the street or working in the MK restaurant.... we really want to look after them, but of course we have been tough on some people, who stopped working for us after two days or so.

Funny that you talk of young Thai girls - we've had one, too, who got fired the next day. I found her a little arrogant although she has done a good job. Next day, she doesn't turn up. Around midday, she calls us and says, "I just got to the BTS station but it is already 12, I don't know if I still have to come.. I think the other girls will not find it good.". Unfortunately she is the only one we had to let go, but the others are very hard working.

Our girls range from 25 - 35, the sick girl was the oldest and most respected in the group. I thought that it was good that the others always followed her and she always managed things in her own way. Although some are relatively young, they are well brought up and are extremely polite! it is unbelievable. I guess we are lucky to have them, and we hope that our relationship will cultivate further. LIke you say, it is hard to find good workers in Bangkok with the right work ethics...!

[Yoyo777]

Older workers are the best workers,one i employ is around 55,but he makes the others look slow!If you value her and as you say,it is hard to find the kind of worker you need,then first week 100% pay, second week 75% pay, and third 50% up to one month.It is up to them to cover hospital costs.That is way more then any Thai employer will do.But i would suggest this be a once off for this lady,and from this time on,a minimum period of employment should be considered before a person becomes eligible for these benefits.

From the pool of workers we have tested, we found nobody who could show us the potential... some women were directly from the somtam stand, nibbling food during the interview... ! but I understand, the older generation is more disciplined than the young Thais these days....

The gradual reduction of the "supporting salary" sounds good. I just do not want to do anything not according to Thai customs, you know. Hospital costs - will wait and see if she comes to us. but if she needed the money, she would have been here already. I think she must have sorted it out by herself.

It is easy to say all this - but if you actually work together with this little 40kg skinny Thai girl, who is working so hard to support her family... it's so hard to tell her that her salary will not be paid for 3 weeks!!! I think we will pay her salary as a one-off-deal, and hope that she will appreciate it, not to take an advantage of it afterwards.

... I should just let my husband decide what to do!!!

[jtp]

It is very easy to get attached to your employees,in a small business.I would struggle to do the wrong thing with mine.The old heart is a funny thing!I guess that is what makes the difference between a decent person and a heartless person.I will put you in the decent persons portfolio. Good luck and best wishes.

[kudroz]

Section 57 of the Thai Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 is clear; she is entitled to a minimum of 30 paid sick-days per year. If her leave is more than 3 consecutive days, she must provide a medical certificate as supportive evidence.

Edited February 23, 2009 by kudroz

[yabaaaa]

I work in the UK and I do not get paid if I do not work.

If I was sick I would want the best (which usually means the most expensive) hospital, especially if I thought I was insured by my employer.

Keep your business head on for this one.

This aint the UK

[parryhandy]

Scam - no cure for dengue fever. 100000 baht = pay off a debt.

p.s. think about it , its a no brainer

Edited February 23, 2009 by parryhandy

[Soutpeel]

Scam - no cure for dengue fever. 100000 baht = pay off a debt.

p.s. think about it , its a no brainer

Must be a bit of a record....21 postings and the Thai/farang, rip off, con job, scam conspiracies have only just started....i am impressed....

Who said anything about a cure for dengue fever...ps think its you who is the "no brainer"..

[parryhandy]

Scam - no cure for dengue fever. 100000 baht = pay off a debt.

p.s. think about it , its a no brainer

Must be a bit of a record....21 postings and the Thai/farang, rip off, con job, scam conspiracies have only just started....i am impressed....

Who said anything about a cure for dengue fever...ps think its you who is the "no brainer"..

So a private hospital has allowed this girl to rack up a medical bill equal to years salary with no discussion on how she will pay it?

[Soutpeel]

Scam - no cure for dengue fever. 100000 baht = pay off a debt.

p.s. think about it , its a no brainer

Must be a bit of a record....21 postings and the Thai/farang, rip off, con job, scam conspiracies have only just started....i am impressed....

Who said anything about a cure for dengue fever...ps think its you who is the "no brainer"..

So a private hospital has allowed this girl to rack up a medical bill equal to years salary with no discussion on how she will pay it?

This is what amazes me about some of the posters on TV.....The vast majority of people profess to have English as their first language but are unable to read or comprehend even basic sentances... to quote the OP .....

"she just told us that she was at the hospital and showed us the bill"

So based on your Thai/Farang conspriracy theroy...she has obviously run up massive gambling depts, her gik is a doctor in the hospital who has fraudently provided her with a fake medical bill for a 3 week stay at a private hospital detailing dengue fever and she is using this document to defraud her farang employer..

In addtion, how do you know that hospital bill is equal to a years salary....never seen what she is getting paid mentioned in any of the posts...

In conclusion, I would like to suggest you seek medical attention for your delusions and Thai/farang paranoia....watch out watch out...theres a Somchai in the bush behind you, hers going to scam all your money..

[parryhandy]

So based on your Thai/Farang conspriracy theroy...she has obviously run up massive gambling depts, her gik is a doctor in the hospital who has fraudently provided her with a fake medical bill for a 3 week stay at a private hospital detailing dengue fever and she is using this document to defraud her farang employer.. huh.gif huh.gif

yep sounds good to me...

I mean maybe its standard behaviour, but not in my world.

Find job and not been there long. Get sick then instead of seeking treatment within my means, I go to a hospital knowing full well the bill could leave me in great financial difficulty and then risk pissing off my new bosses by hinting they should help me shoulder the costs !!

In conclusion, I would like to suggest you seek medical attention for your delusions and Thai/farang paranoia....watch out watch out...theres a Somchai in the bush behind you, hers going to scam all your money.. laugh.gif

Can you recommend any really expensive hospitals for my condition ? No worries if it leaves me and my family in great financial hardship because i will show the bill to my thai chinese landlady . I have been such a good tenant for a month she is bound to help me out

Edited February 24, 2009 by parryhandy

[Yoyo777]

It is very easy to get attached to your employees,in a small business.I would struggle to do the wrong thing with mine.The old heart is a funny thing!I guess that is what makes the difference between a decent person and a heartless person.I will put you in the decent persons portfolio. Good luck and best wishes.

Hi there, thank you for all your lovely comments! Put it this way - I think I would like to put some faith in this girl for this one time, give her a chance, hoping that she will stay for a long time... sounds a bit naive but right now I don't want to go through the interview process again! In business, a heartless person is the one who often suceeds. My husband is a tough, "heartless" one, but he also feels bad not helping her - like I said, this is within the budget we can afford. I mean her performance is the best in the group so I would consider this as a long shot "bonus".

You too, good luck with your business!!!

[Yoyo777]

Section 57 of the Thai Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 is clear; she is entitled to a minimum of 30 paid sick-days per year. If her leave is more than 3 consecutive days, she must provide a medical certificate as supportive evidence.

hello,

Yes this is something I am aware of, but the question is, whether this also applies to a situation, where we pay on a daily basis... In the contract, we stipulate that an employee gets a wage of XXX Baht a day, and they work 5 days a week. May be because we oblige them to work "full time", we are bound by the Thai Labour Act.... sounds logical, doesn't it? We were advised to do so in order to avoid paying those who often gets sick. Several people told us that this is a common practice in Thailand, but then this is against the law? Can anyone confirm?

[Yoyo777]

So based on your Thai/Farang conspriracy theroy...she has obviously run up massive gambling depts, her gik is a doctor in the hospital who has fraudently provided her with a fake medical bill for a 3 week stay at a private hospital detailing dengue fever and she is using this document to defraud her farang employer.. huh.gif huh.gif

yep sounds good to me...

I mean maybe its standard behaviour, but not in my world.

Find job and not been there long. Get sick then instead of seeking treatment within my means, I go to a hospital knowing full well the bill could leave me in great financial difficulty and then risk pissing off my new bosses by hinting they should help me shoulder the costs !!

In conclusion, I would like to suggest you seek medical attention for your delusions and Thai/farang paranoia....watch out watch out...theres a Somchai in the bush behind you, hers going to scam all your money.. laugh.gif

Can you recommend any really expensive hospitals for my condition ? No worries if it leaves me and my family in great financial hardship because i will show the bill to my thai chinese landlady . I have been such a good tenant for a month she is bound to help me out

hey guys! Please chill!!!

Thanks for your comments but don't worry, we will not deal with her hospital bills because she hasn't asked for it, and it was her choice to go to that hospital. We are not that naive The only question is whether she is entitled to her salary while she did not come - and I think it would be fair to consider that she is entitled to 30 days of sick leave a year, and we will just pay her and tell her to keep her mouth shut.

I mean, if she asked us for money - then we should feel alerted... especially because she is a new employee. Like one of the posters said, special treatments or benefits should only apply if they are working at the company over some period of time. Then the company should support them. But in this case, we shouldn't be obligated to do anything I guess.

At the beginning we thought that we could help her to pay off the bill in the form of loaning money or deducting money from her salary every month, but she is far too new, we do not know her at all. We are not that naive either I mean, does it happen often, that the Thai employees try to scam the farang employers?

I've read a thread somewhere in this forum about "how to trust Thais" or "How to find out if they want to scam you". I am sure this kind of things happen very often, but it is just a generalisation... I swear that the same can happen in Europe! My friend in London just lost a house (not to mention a lot of money) to his ex-wife after some years of marriage... imagine, if she was Thai and this happened here in Thailand - then we would see it as a completely different story right? I think scammers are everywhere in the world

[ged]

When my appendix was about to pop I was rushed to the operating theatre only for the med staff to hold me at the door until they got the nod that my Wife had paid the fee.

Later during my recovery they pestered me constantly about payment.

So I am thinking it may be a bit odd that she was allowed to run up a huge bill.

BTW , later on I asked them jokingly" What would you have done if I had no money ,throw me out on the street?"

They just looked at me

Edited February 24, 2009 by ged

[Soutpeel]

hey guys! Please chill!!!

YoYo...welcome to TV...tearing lumps out each is part of the pleasure of being on this forum...

[popshirt]

When my one and only employee (household) gets sick, I pay for his medical care and am happy to do it. Fortunately for both of us he is a healthy individual and not hypochondriac.

Recently I paid to bring his laptop computer back to health, the hard disk drive died, and had it replaced. Does that count?

[Yoyo777]

When my appendix was about to pop I was rushed to the operating theatre only for the med staff to hold me at the door until they got the nod that my Wife had paid the fee.

Later during my recovery they pestered me constantly about payment.

So I am thinking it may be a bit odd that she was allowed to run up a huge bill.

BTW , later on I asked them jokingly" What would you have done if I had no money ,throw me out on the street?"

They just looked at me

Oh they did not!!!!!! Which hospital was this??? My friend removed his tattoo at Bumrungrad, and during the treatment, about half way through, the doctor goes "now it costs XXX Baht already - do you want to continue? would you like to pay more?". Sounded like the Euro Tunnel construction! You are left with half erased blotchy tattoo, looking ever crappy, or just pay mo' money!!!!!

I know it is really is odd - but you never know, may be she has a big family who wanted to help her? I have no idea - I just don't to make it our problem so as long as she doens't talk about it, we don't want to talk about it either.