Thai Labour Law Question

[OhMyCodBangkok]

Ok if this is in the wrong location please feel free to move it to where ever it makes the most sense. I have burning questions here that I can't seem to find the answer to via Google or the search function on TV.

I have read up on all the Thai Labour law sites and talked to the actual gov't officials but they seem very hazy as well on the whole thing. So my questions are going to be posted here in the hope that someone over time has managed to drill down through all the muck and got actual answers that more then ONE gov't official could agree on.

1. I understand about having to declare the 12 paid public holidays a year my employees will receive each year (Plus May 1st) and if that day falls on their weekly day off they are granted the next business day off with pay. BUT, what if they have to work on some of those days? We are obviously in a tourist industry and I simply can't have all my staff off on 13 public holidays a year? One of my most vocal and pain in the butt employees claims if she works on a public holiday I have to pay her double time, wondering if that is true?

2. Again I know that 48 hours is the maximum that an employee should be working a week, after which overtime is paid at a rate of time and half. But is there a legal MAX including overtime after which they simply can not work any more? Not that I want them to but again my pain in the butt employee works 103 hours a week and I can not seem to get her to stop without drama beyond belief so I would like some sort of legal rule to put a stop to it.

3. Is there a difference between workers paid daily or on salary from the viewpoint of the Labour Laws, regarding time off, holidays, overtime, etc...etc..?

It is amusing to me that although I employee a dozen Thai staff the laws here seem to be designed to make it almost impossible for me survive without hiring twice as much staff as I actually need yet I never see Thai run companies following ALL the rules to the letter, yet the labour police seem to always make a stop in to see that I am doing everything to perfection and I do try.

Thanks in advance for any help any one can provide.

[SunbeltAsiaExpert]

1. According to the Thai Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 in Chapter 5 Section 62 an employer is obligated to pay no less than two times the regular hourly wage and while employees are not legally bound to work on “National Holidays” the labour act does not state specifically what the 12 holidays are. The Labour Protection Act states that there are 12 National Holidays plus Labour Day and since the Act does not specifically state the calendar date of these days you can chose between a number of Traditional Thai religious holidays and the stated National Holidays. You may take advantage of this by offering different holiday dates to each of your employees so that you are never completely without staff.

2. According to the Thai Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 in Chapter 5 Section 61 an employer is obligated to pay no less than one and a half times of the hourly wage rate of a working day for the number of hours of work done or if the employee is paid on a piece rate basis then the employee shall be paid at a rate of no less than one and a half times the piece rate. There is no government set maximum number of hours that can be worked so this number would be set by the employer and can be specifically dictated in an employment contract for the sake of clarification.

3. The labour act has been written in a way that most employees are considered equally in the fact in that a salaried employee is more or less an hourly employee but paid in that their salary equals to a working timeframe of 30 days.

There are many intricacies of the Labour Protection Act that can greatly affect the relationship between employee and employer which is why it is highly advisable to get an employment contract in place for each and every employee that is employed with your company. Employment contracts specifically and quite easily remedy each of the issues that you have especially with an employee that is difficult to work with and control. In the case of a disruptive employee he or she may be dealt with in a number of ways, including dismissal.

[sunbelt][/sunbelt]