According To The Law: Who Pays For The Work Permit Of A Hired Foreigner. Employer Or Employee?

[pisico]

A Cambodian lady, who was orphan of both parents in her early teens, who saw her family slaughtered and disbanded by the Khmer Rouge, was sent to Thailand by her grandparents. Now as an adult, she is in a legal limbo of sorts. She has no home to go back to in her country and no family. She has lived in Thailand ever since. Life in this country is what she has always known. She is fluent in Thai, English and Khmer. I have known of her plight for years and know she is honest and a woman of high standards and moral character.

She has come across the owner of a restaurant in Chonburi who offered her employment as a cashier and tells her that she should pay for the work permit. She began to work although no work permit was issued. I warned her about the risks and she passed the concerns on to her employer. He said not to worry about it. She works 10 hours per day and no days off. The employer takes 1,500 Baht every 15 days to amortize the 16,000 Bahts, the cost of the work permit. So he says.

Something does not seem right to me.

1- Who is by law the party who pays for the Work Permit?

2- Do Cambodians are treated differently in reference to the cost of a work permit?

3- Work every day without days off is this legal?

4- Is there a department within the Labor Ministry where Cambodians can go and obtain current and factual information on the work permit?

Any information will be of great help to this person who has had a life of vicissitude from an early age. I wish I could, but being a foreigner and not having legal status to help her makes me appeal to those in TV who can offer some guidance.

Thanks in advance.

Edited April 27, 2012 by pisico

[Soutpeel]

who pays is not defined under Thai law.....but usually a reputable company would pay for it, without cost to employee

work days..days off renumeration etc....under Thai labour law, english version is availible on-line, on face value the employer may be acting illegally if forcing the person to work 10 hours/day 7 days a week, without adequate compensation

Edited April 27, 2012 by Soutpeel

[Tywais]

who pays is not defined under Thai law.

Correct. And where does 16,000 Baht come from as it's 3000 + 100 Baht for one year WP. Then there is the issue of whether the employer satisfies the business requirements to hire a foreigner.

//edit - error, change from employee to employer

[Mario2008]

You can contact the labour department, every province has one and one of their jobs is to protect the worker. Of course they also guard against people working illegaly (without a work permit).

[meand]

I think who pays for it depends on who wants it more. Perhaps sad but true. Off topic, but it reminds me of when i sold my car in Thailand.... who pays the tax? I think the buyer, but if the buyer doesn't want to pay the tax, no deal right? It really comes down to who wants the sale more, and who has the leverage. This woman probably has 0 leverage. Not saying it is right, but just the way it is.

[lopburi3]

Personal nonsense posts removed.

[Maestro]

Alien Working Act, Thai text and English translation by ThaiLaws.com:

Alien Working Act 2551 th.pdf

Alien Working Act 2551 en.pdf

[puchooay]

There used to be a system in place where stateless people could apply for a temp ID card. They were valid for one year. Residency was limited by Province. The ID cards had to be renewed every year. This involved medical test and other docs that I cant remember. I think full employment or proof of a sponsor were required. This negated the need for a work permit.

Obviously because of the restrictions it wouldnt necessarily stop the descrimination by employers.

[Traxster]

If she is your friend,get her out of there ....now !

He's ripping her off and the longer she stays the harder it will be for her to extricate herself

from, what appears to be ,a dodgy situation.

Edited April 28, 2012 by lopburi3
correct font

[Time Traveller]

There used to be a system in place where stateless people could apply for a temp ID card. They were valid for one year. Residency was limited by Province. The ID cards had to be renewed every year. This involved medical test and other docs that I cant remember. I think full employment or proof of a sponsor were required. This negated the need for a work permit.

Obviously because of the restrictions it wouldnt necessarily stop the descrimination by employers.

How is that relevent? She is not stateless she is Cambodian.

[emilyb]

The migrant worker program for Khmer and Burmese is a bit different from the process most of us go through, but I don't recall it being hugely more expensive. I think normally the extra fee the factories pay in this range is for the recruitment service in the foreign country, which wouldn't be an issue here. Sounds like a typical exploitation scam.

[samran]

Did you get my PM response on this issue.

Sounds like you would be better of sponsoring her yourself?

[puchooay]

There used to be a system in place where stateless people could apply for a temp ID card. They were valid for one year. Residency was limited by Province. The ID cards had to be renewed every year. This involved medical test and other docs that I cant remember. I think full employment or proof of a sponsor were required. This negated the need for a work permit.

Obviously because of the restrictions it wouldnt necessarily stop the descrimination by employers.

How is that relevent? She is not stateless she is Cambodian.

The OP said she was in Legal Limbo. That would suggest that going to Cambodia is a no no. All family are gone. Probably unable to prove who she is.

I was giving an option of a way she can stay and work legally. Perfectly relevent at this stage of the conversation.

[samran]

The system poochay is probably describing is the migrant labour worker programme. It is available to nationals of Burma, Laos and Cambodia and provides them with legal status to live and work in Thailand and have access to social services such as medical care.

It is totally separate from the normal work permit system available to every other nationality, and the requirements are much more liberal, essentially requiring an individuals residing in Thailand (Thai or Foreign) or companies to sponsor them, so long as a 'quota' is first obtained by the potential employer prior to hiring the migrant worker.

In the past one only had to state that they were a national of one of those countries to be able to be registered under the system.

That changed in 2009 after Thailand and all its neighbouring countries reached an agreement to undertake 'nationality verification' for all prospective applicants. The system works slightly different for each nationality, but requires the endorsement of the applicants home country that they are indeed a citizen of the country they claim to be from.

In the case of Burmese workers, this requires a quick border run to designated towns just across the Thai border to have officials there issue them with temporary Burmese passports which are then stamped with special 2 year non immigrant visa's for entry into Thailand.

I'm not exactly sure how the process works for Cambodians to apply, though if you google the MAP Foundation their website includes documents on the process for each nationality under the scheme.

What is important to remember is that applications for new workers under this scheme generally opens around mid year in June or July after an announcement from cabinet that they are accepting new applicants.