Spoonman Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Firstly, Mods please feel free to move this thread, I looked but could not find somewhere to put it. Okies, Iam a metal Fabricator and I love to tinker, Iam unable to do anything at work due to company policy so I would like to rent a shophouse style deal and set myself to do what ever I want (first job is a custom flat bed for my pickup). What if any are the legal implications of doing this, my work permit is obviously location specific to my place of employment but if I was doing this purely as a personal hobby could the Labor dept get all angry at me ?? Location wise I would be looking at a shophouse deal in soi Khao Noi so its close to home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 It is work so would require a work permit (which you would not qualify for) so you either hire someone to do or you hope to remain out of official sight. As you propose renting a work space it might be more of a concern than the normal at home type activity which is normally not questioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thailandbluegrass Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Lopburi is correct. I used to lie on soi Khao Noi so your lucky I know it's in Pattaya otherwise most posters would not have a clue where you are (unless this was posted in the Pattaya section). Anyways yes just do it at your own house if you have the room and don't talk to much to people about what your up to as you do need a work permit in Thailand even if you volunteer for something. Play it reasonable and don't pisss off any neighbours that could rat you out etc and you should be ok. If Thai local construction workers stop to take a look just stop doing what your doing and be nice. When I lived there I had a nice big property and kind of hidden away in a village on Soi Khao Noi and was welding, grinding, painting etc but kept it quiet as I could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robblok Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Lopburi is correct. I used to lie on soi Khao Noi so your lucky I know it's in Pattaya otherwise most posters would not have a clue where you are (unless this was posted in the Pattaya section). Anyways yes just do it at your own house if you have the room and don't talk to much to people about what your up to as you do need a work permit in Thailand even if you volunteer for something. Play it reasonable and don't pisss off any neighbours that could rat you out etc and you should be ok. If Thai local construction workers stop to take a look just stop doing what your doing and be nice. When I lived there I had a nice big property and kind of hidden away in a village on Soi Khao Noi and was welding, grinding, painting etc but kept it quiet as I could. Are you serious you need to have a work permit to make stuff for yourself ? I understand if your going to sell it but if its just for your own use. Strange that would mean i was doing something illegal when i was painting our house and when i made some rod stands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonman Posted January 19, 2011 Author Share Posted January 19, 2011 (edited) so I cannot rent a place to work on my own toys........... sigh. Can I rent a place and get my employer to add the address to my work permit ? Edited January 19, 2011 by Spoonman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thailandbluegrass Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Are you serious you need to have a work permit to make stuff for yourself ? I understand if your going to sell it but if its just for your own use. Strange that would mean i was doing something illegal when i was painting our house and when i made some rod stands. Yeah it's rediculous but true. Thats what we mean by if your doing it at your own house and keep it down like what I did or yeah even painting your own house or cutting your grass etc. Stupid but my neighbour fired some of his building contractors one time there and after they saw him painting and installing some security bars etc they rated him out and he was discipilned for it. so I cannot rent a place to work on my own toys........... sigh. Can I rent a place and get my employer to add the address to my work permit ? No you cannot do that haha. WP's are very strict here. If you play guitar at a bar you need a WP for playing guitar at a bar. If you volunteer to clean the streets, you need a WP to volunteer as a st cleaner, if your an English teacher you need one for that and ONLY at the place where it says on the WP. Therefore your employer cant do it. I know it's mad but TIT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jambla Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 I don't agree with lopburi3. If that were the case than we couldn't do anything here like cook for ourselves, clean our room etc... Take for example me. I workout at a gym 5+ days a week, one might even say it's a hobby of mine. I also play the guitar... daily. I don't see how this differs from what Spoonman wants to do. I need to pay 20,000 baht for my gym membership per year as Spoonman would need to pay for a workshop. I would say though that Spoonman would be in a bit more of a tight situation trying to explain to the police or authorities that it was just a hobby and not work. In the same way, lopburi3 is a Global Moderators here on Thaivisa.com. One might say that this is work. Unless this is your fulltime job and your WP is under ThaiVisa.com or your not in Thailand. Anyway just my 2 cents. *Side note: I wrote this message with a smile on my face. No hostility or anything negative intended.* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario2008 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Doing things for yourself is no problem, but if you do it in a rented shophouse where you don't live you will have a lot of explaining to do and appearences are against you. It is a risk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario2008 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Yeah it's rediculous but true. Thats what we mean by if your doing it at your own house and keep it down like what I did or yeah even painting your own house or cutting your grass etc. Stupid but my neighbour fired some of his building contractors one time there and after they saw him painting and installing some security bars etc they rated him out and he was discipilned for it. Diciplined by who? Labour/police or a judge? I havent seen any decission by a judge regarding this subject, so it would be interesting to know when a judge thins someone is working and needs a work permit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thailandbluegrass Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Yeah it's rediculous but true. Thats what we mean by if your doing it at your own house and keep it down like what I did or yeah even painting your own house or cutting your grass etc. Stupid but my neighbour fired some of his building contractors one time there and after they saw him painting and installing some security bars etc they rated him out and he was discipilned for it. Diciplined by who? Labour/police or a judge? I havent seen any decission by a judge regarding this subject, so it would be interesting to know when a judge thins someone is working and needs a work permit. Actually it was from the "Thai Labor Office" and they went to him an explained the working laws and regulations to him an gave him some info on paper explaining what he can and cannot do. When he stated politely that "this is my house, why can't I do my own maintenence etc"? they pointed out to him that it is NOT his house and that Farangs cannot own houses in Thailand. The message was loud and clear "Hire a Thai contractor or person to do your work or face the consequences". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lite Beer Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 they pointed out to him that it is NOT his house and that Farangs cannot own houses in Thailand. Shows how much they know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonman Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 No you cannot do that haha. WP's are very strict here. If you play guitar at a bar you need a WP for playing guitar at a bar. If you volunteer to clean the streets, you need a WP to volunteer as a st cleaner, if your an English teacher you need one for that and ONLY at the place where it says on the WP. Therefore your employer cant do it. I know it's mad but TIT. If my employer rented the premises surely my employment description could also be used at this place and have the address added to my WP, or does a WP only cover one specific place of work ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 No you cannot do that haha. WP's are very strict here. If you play guitar at a bar you need a WP for playing guitar at a bar. If you volunteer to clean the streets, you need a WP to volunteer as a st cleaner, if your an English teacher you need one for that and ONLY at the place where it says on the WP. Therefore your employer cant do it. I know it's mad but TIT. If my employer rented the premises surely my employment description could also be used at this place and have the address added to my WP, or does a WP only cover one specific place of work ? First of I would take what the "hillybilly" says with a pinch of salt I tend to side with "Mario & Lop" on this one if you rent the place yourself, you may find yourself in postion having to answer to what exactly you are up to. As to getting your employer to rent and modify your WP...why not provided the job description doesnt fall on the "prohibited" jobs list Generally what happens if you get questioned by those in authority about your work status in Thailand and you "pull a blue book " on them..the usually back off very quicky , unless of course they have it in for you, then its a case of all the "i's dotted and the "T"'s, crossed, even if you are fully compliant, they will try and find something to get you on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonman Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 Cheers Soutpeel, thats what im thinking. I would love to set up "by my self" to "do my own shit"..... but if needed to keep everyone happy Iam sure my employer will assist with the added address in my WP and claim it as a place of work (Iam in an EPZ zone, sometimes we need to work outside of this for Thai based customers).......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samran Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 thinking outside the box a little, why not head down to the labour department in your neck of the woods and see if they will give you their blessing for such an activity (ie renting the shop and using it for personal hobby reasons)? You never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 thinking outside the box a little, why not head down to the labour department in your neck of the woods and see if they will give you their blessing for such an activity (ie renting the shop and using it for personal hobby reasons)? You never know. Unfortunately, Chonburi Labor Department (which covers Pattaya) is not exactly user friendly Where I work we needed a second location added to our WP (workshop in a custom free zone) located in Chonburi (our main office is in Rayong, different labor office), and Chonburi was so uncooperative on the issue that we had to change the second locality to another area within Rayong province, where we had no issues whatsoever updating our WP's with the second Rayong location! Chonburi labor office actually said they "had to think" about it, so no second address added, and promptly went the day after to raid said premises together with immigration, presumably hoping we had already started working there. Luckily we were smart enough not to do a thing until our WP's were in order and they found an empty workshop!!! They do not shy away of making some quick extra income, if caught, there would definitely have been some "settlement" offer to resolve the issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjclark1 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Actually it was from the "Thai Labor Office" and they went to him an explained the working laws and regulations to him an gave him some info on paper explaining what he can and cannot do. When he stated politely that "this is my house, why can't I do my own maintenence etc"? they pointed out to him that it is NOT his house and that Farangs cannot own houses in Thailand. The message was loud and clear "Hire a Thai contractor or person to do your work or face the consequences". Which was quite wrong as there is no law to stop a foreigner owning a house in Thailand, the law only prevents him from owning the land the house sits on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pdaz Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I'm in the process of restoring a car.. I live in a townhouse in a small cul-de-sac.. Currently there are no neighbors in the adjoining properties so nobody to upset (Neighbors are Farangs who only visit a couple of times a year) I stripped the car in front of my place and have been slowly restoring the suspension etc in my driveway while a bodyshop is repairing the shell. I work on my bikes, service my other car and have painted my house three times in the last 10 years without comment from anyone. I can afford for someone else to do it but I'm a handy type and prefer the work done well. Taking my bike to a garage so they can break two parts in their attempt to repair one is a PITA.. I too had though of renting a shophouse (or workshop) just so I could do the reassembly in A/C and could just lock up each day and keep the mess out of my house. Having looked at suitable places the cost and nuisance factor put me off. Greedy inflexable landlords seem to be the norm here.. Plus like you I was nervous of being 'dobbed' in by some nosey Thai neighbor.. I'm not convinced that doing a private project is considered 'working' as I have yet to hear of any of my firends having trouble.. They 'work' on their houses, boats, cars and bikes too and have been here upwards of 20 years. I'm starting to think a fully equipped workshop area that could be rented by the hour/week/month for guys wanting to work on projects would be a great business idea. I know that these facilities are available in the US and Europe already. Wish I had room for a lathe, press, car lift and a welders workbench... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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