Employing A Thai National Part Time Without A Work Permit.

[coalminer]

I'm trying to setup a small export businness trough "EBay".

I have not decided yet if I will start a company for this or not.

The problem I have now is that I need to visit a lot of suppliers in order to know what they can offer, at what cost, etc...

My knowledge of the Thai language is far too low3 to handle this and I don't have the time to do this job effectively. And my wife is not able to do this task in a satisfactory way.

So, I was thinking of hiring a Thai national (part time) to do all the research work, calling/visit suppliers and pay him/her for the work that has been done (pay per task).

But reading in Thaivisa, I noticed that many people got in troubles with performing a task which they did not see as "working".

Thus I would like to know:

1. Will hiring a Thai for a task and paying him/her accordingly be considered as me being working or not? (compare hiring a plumber to fix a pipe).

2. What is considered a fair renumeration for a Thai to do this work in the Korat area? (Basic English knowledge will be a requirement.)

TIA

[CFIT]

I'm trying to setup a small export businness trough "EBay".

I have not decided yet if I will start a company for this or not.

The problem I have now is that I need to visit a lot of suppliers in order to know what they can offer, at what cost, etc...

My knowledge of the Thai language is far too low3 to handle this and I don't have the time to do this job effectively. And my wife is not able to do this task in a satisfactory way.

So, I was thinking of hiring a Thai national (part time) to do all the research work, calling/visit suppliers and pay him/her for the work that has been done (pay per task).

But reading in Thaivisa, I noticed that many people got in troubles with performing a task which they did not see as "working".

Thus I would like to know:

1. Will hiring a Thai for a task and paying him/her accordingly be considered as me being working or not? (compare hiring a plumber to fix a pipe).

2. What is considered a fair renumeration for a Thai to do this work in the Korat area? (Basic English knowledge will be a requirement.)

TIA

Your question is a little confusing, but as a foreigner, you need a work permit to do ANY kind of work, that include volunteer work and you'll need a legitimate company to procure it with ( I believe ) a 2 million baht capital investment.

A Thai national employee doesn't need a permit, naturally- but there are probably laws about paying taxes for employees that surely most foreigners aren't abiding by in their hiring maids, drivers, gardeners etc.

[H2oDunc]

If it was your wife or GF that was hiring the Thai person to work for " her " ebay business then you do not have a problem. Only if you are running the business would you need to have a company and WP etc

[coalminer]

Your question is a little confusing, but as a foreigner, you need a work permit to do ANY kind of work

I'm not doing ANY kind of work (at least not at this moment.

I'm looking for a Thai national to do the work for me.

A Thai national employee doesn't need a permit, naturally- but there are probably laws about paying taxes for employees that surely most foreigners aren't abiding by in their hiring maids, drivers, gardeners etc.

So, if I want to put, for example, a new wire in our house and I let a Thai do the work against payment, I need to have a company, invested 2 million Baht, pay taxes for the employee(s) who are putting the new cable, etc...?

Sounds a little bit crazy to me.

What if the "work" the Thai national will be doing is only supposed to enlight me of the Thai culture and learn me the Thai language. A "private teacher" in the Thai language and the Thai culture.

Do I need to start first a company, invest 2 million Baht, pay taxes for my private teacher, etc...?

[coalminer]

If it was your wife or GF that was hiring the Thai person to work for " her " ebay business then you do not have a problem. Only if you are running the business would you need to have a company and WP etc

A sale on EBay can be done from my home country under an unknown alias.

[12DrinkMore]

So, I was thinking of hiring a Thai national (part time) to do all the research work, calling/visit suppliers and pay him/her for the work that has been done (pay per task).

But reading in Thaivisa, I noticed that many people got in troubles with performing a task which they did not see as "working".

Thus I would like to know:

1. Will hiring a Thai for a task and paying him/her accordingly be considered as me being working or not? (compare hiring a plumber to fix a pipe).

No. This is not an issue.

2. What is considered a fair renumeration for a Thai to do this work in the Korat area? (Basic English knowledge will be a requirement.)

Without knowing what technical expertise the person will need, it is difficult, but something paying between 6,000 and 10,000 baht/month would be attractive in Korat.

Mostly those who get into trouble are either working in the bar trade, have annoyed somebody or have an "attitude problem". As you are looking to buy products, there will not be an issue unless you want to make it one.

Your biggest problem will be finding somebody mature and reliable.

[coalminer]

1. Will hiring a Thai for a task and paying him/her accordingly be considered as me being working or not? (compare hiring a plumber to fix a pipe).

No. This is not an issue.

Thanks for your reply, '12DrinkMore'

I would not expect this to be an issue as:

a) I'm not working,

I'm not selling/buying anything for businness purposes,

c) I'm paying the person for his help.

But then, TIT ....

2. What is considered a fair renumeration for a Thai to do this work in the Korat area? (Basic English knowledge will be a requirement.)

Without knowing what technical expertise the person will need, it is difficult, but something paying between 6,000 and 10,000 baht/month would be attractive in Korat.

Wow, so low?

I was counting between the 20 to 25 KBaht.

No technical expertise will be needed as the information I want is all about products used in everyday life in Thailand.

But the person shall have (a more than good) knowledge about the Thai culture and the manufacturers of the everyday products.

And most of all, he/she shall be able to report more or less in a Western language.

Example:

I would like to have information about Thai Silk.

What is "good" Thai silk?

Where is the best Thai silk produced?

What colours and patterns are available?

Where are the manufacturers located (not the shops)?

etc.

A lot of the answers to these questions can be found in school books or magazines.

But they are all in written in the Thai language.

Your biggest problem will be finding somebody mature and reliable.

As I will be paying per job succesfully finished, I dont think the maturity ir reliability of the person would be a problem.