Labour Department: Does It Help Thais Only Or Foreigners As Well?

[lusty]

Dear Forum members, after 3 years working as an Ass. Sale Manager in a foreign company in BKK, I've noticed that is very difficult to fire Thai employees without paying compensation, as the Labor Dept. fights very hard to get them whatever money they claim, while foreign companies spend fortunes on lawyers. In a few months, I might be dismissed due to poor results in my office. According to Labor Law, after 3 years of employment I should get 6 months compensation. Question: is the Labor Dept. willing to help a farang against a farang company, or they won't bother? To me the option to have my own lawyer against my company is not feasible, as my salary is so low that after a few sessions I'll end up owing a foreign lawyer the equivalemnt of 6 months compensation, even if we don't win the case. So what choices do I have, if any? I'll appreciate every comment posted. Thank you for your attention.

[Digger]

It depends upon the company - funny enough I'd suggest that if your business head is a foreigner that you have more chances of being given the compensation without question than if he/she is Thai - disputes with the labour dept are time intensive and not that nice for the employer.

In my personal situation, I had worked continuously for a Multinational for over 10 years and had been in Thailand for 3 years - when we (read they) decided "on a change of strategy" - I negotiated full severence package as in my contracts it always stated that the start date was considered as the first date I worked for the company, not the first date in that country. Therefore, they had to pay me one years salary in compensation and it was paid/agreed without any issue - the lawyers they use confirmed it was the correct and proper amount. In reality, they could have tried getting away with 3 months as I had worked for them as a Thai employee for only 3 years. It was a very nice conclusion as far as I was concerned as I was actually planning to quit about 2 months later and I would have walked away with 3 months payment reflecting the terms of my contract as in the position I held, I would not have been allowed to stay and work out my notice.