Local For Hire?

[jbcain]

There is an unemployeed 19 year old male down the road I would like to

employee for about 10 hours a week, running errands and miscellaneous

things. So, does anyone have any ideas such as:

1. How much does the average Thai 19 year old male make an hour? (He can

speak English, but very poorly) - Chiang Mai area.

2. How much do you think I should pay him?

3. What is a generous hourly wage to give? What is too generous?

Thank you!

JB

[bkkmadness]

I think if the guy was working in a mac donalds or something he'd be on about 25 baht an hour, maybe its less up there, not sure. Of course this puts him on the lowest possible wage and on about 250 baht a week from you, which might not leave you with a very good member of staff. Double it on the other hand and you have someone loyal to you who might take the work you give him a bit more seriously.

Theres a few variables to the equation, ie. what can you afford? What level of responsibilty will he need to take? etc.

[jbcain]

Thanks bkkmadness!

I'm still shocked when I do the baht to dollar conversions. 500 baht for 10 hours of work? 500 baht ~ 13 bucks?

Money's not really an issue - I'd pay $6US/hr. if it were appropriate, but from the short time I've been here it seems it would not be appropriate. I'd like to pay enough so he can have some pride in his work, though, without him feeling he's ripping me off. Does that make sense?

JB

[bkkmadness]

Yeah, 6 dollars an hour seems like a really nice thing to do, he'd appreciate it but you might be spoiling him for future employment as well when he will have to take a dramatic pay cut.

Plus you might need some other people to work for you in the future and you don't want to be known as the dude that pays 10 times the normal rate for staff.

50 baht an hour is a very good wage for the guy I would guess from your description, in fact my gf has started on about that and shes english speaking, educated and works for a big real estate firm in BKK.

If your happy with his work, can always raise it up a bit in the future if you need him to take on a bit more responsibilty sometime.

You could no doubt quite easily pay him the 25 baht an hour and get away with it, but its not just about inspiring a bit more loyalty from the staff, it can also be about helping someone out that needs it. The 'feel good' factor that you can afford.

Do a search on the forum for 'thai wages' and you'll come up with loads of info on what the average wage is for Thais. In fact there was one just recently thats probably only a page or two back. It might give you a better idea to work from.

[astral]

..............from the short time..............

How much is a short time these days??

A labourer gets less than 150 baht a day.

Work it out from there.

[chownah]

In my village in rural Chiangrai a skilled person makes 170 baht per day usually. An unskilled worker makes 100 baht per day or maybe 120 baht per day depending on what the work is. I would say that to give an unskilled 19 year old 500 baht for 10 hours work per week as a starting wage is too high even in the city. If I offered that here everyone in the village would apply for the job!!!!

Quick Edit: The wages are for 8 hours of work.

Another Quick Edit: After thinking abit I think that if I were to hire someone for one or two hours I'd probably offer 50 or 60 baht....but 70 baht would be pay for a half day unskilled around here...I've never hired anyone for less than a half day.

Edited February 3, 2006 by chownah

[Scott]

Please remember that many employers provide free (not necessarily nice) housing, and meals or some combination of benefits. If you want a decent employee make sure he has enough to eat, that transport isn't a problem etc. Also, make sure you are careful with your stuff--a lot of people have trouble with taking things.

Good Luck hope everything works out well for you and him.

[Noel]

There is an unemployeed 19 year old male down the road I would like to

employee for about 10 hours a week, running errands and miscellaneous

things. So, does anyone have any ideas such as:

1. How much does the average Thai 19 year old male make an hour? (He can

speak English, but very poorly) - Chiang Mai area.

2. How much do you think I should pay him?

3. What is a generous hourly wage to give? What is too generous?

Thank you!

JB

Have you asked him if he wants the job and, if so, how much he expects to be paid?

Edited February 3, 2006 by Noel

[jbcain]

Have you asked him if he wants the job and, if so, how much he expects to be paid?

He volunteered for the job. I just want to get an idea from a third party about what to pay. I will talk with him about it, too, of course.

[bachismo]

From my experience asking him how much he expects to get paid will not work out well. I think he will be too shy to reply. I would also warn against overpaying. Even though it's worth it to you to get a good worker sometimes, overpaying has the opposite effect. Employees who receive a hefty wage often think of themselves as too good to work. I would definitely suggest you pay him a wage that's on the high end, but within reason. In Bangkok 500 B or more would be appropriate.