Paying Money For Quiting A Contract Early.

[althemighty]

My wifes parents got a phone call today demanding 20k baht because my wife had left her job before 3months and the contract stated she had to pay 20k baht if she quit her job before 3 months. I suspect someone found out my wife married a farlang and wants some easy money as they have not requested any money for the past couple of years.

Anyway is it legal to have this fee for leaving a job early and do we need to pay it?

If we don't pay it can they demand money from her family?

[I Like Thai]

Is Indentured Servitude not illegal in Thailand ?

[beano2274]

It is legal in other countries, maybe one of the legal boffins will assist you better, why not contact Sunbelt directly.

[mca]

Some of the hotels I used to work at had a clause in the contract that in certain sections if you left the job within a year you'd have to pay a sum back to cover the cost of training. They didn't like the fact that a person would be trained up on many aspects of the job ( like when a new operating system was introduced into the hotel) at quite a bit of expense and then immediately bugger off to pastures new fully trained at the expense of a hotel that got nothing in return.

Where did your wife work?

[utalkin2me]

The thing is, jobs aren't a dime a dozen for most Thais. Of course they could slip anything they dam_n well please into contracts and these workers are going to sign them.

Is your wife highly trained? I have no idea what to say here in Thailand, but it seems they'd at least have to prove it was very difficult to obtain another employee to do a similar job.

The whole situation sounds fishy to me to be honest. I would not pay a dime, that is my advice, and make sure everybody is clear on that point. Instruct parents to have them call you next time.

[HullyGully]

The strage thing is leaving before 3 months, I cannot understand how a Company could have invested a large amount of money in an employee in under 3 months.

Yes, if the employee had been on training course for years

Does your wife have a Contract of Employment, and is the clause in the Contract?

I would still argue the Company has not invested or spent money on the emploee

You wife will know better

[TommoPhysicist]

Tell her to go back and be a really bad worker for a while.

Arrive late, miss days, call in sick, break stuff, argue with her boss ...... you know the sort of thing.

[USNret]

Tell her to go back and be a really bad worker for a while.

Arrive late, miss days, call in sick, break stuff, argue with her boss ...... you know the sort of thing.

In other words, just be an average worker.

[mccw]

20k bht could easily be the cost of a training program. If it was in the contract and she was aware of it why didn't she just sit out the 3 months? You/ she should pay. If her parents signed as some kind of garrantor, like one might on a rental or loan contract, then for sure they would be liable. Not sure exactly in Thailand but other countries if a legal debt existing then a court can order funds to be taken directly from bank accounts or bailiffs to recover/ take personal property up to value equal to the debt (in fact a lot more due to under value info to ensure quick sale and fees of recovery process/ cost).

[singa-traz]

Go to your local Labour Department and seek advise. I found the one in Bangkok very helpful.

My understanding has always been that this kind of contract are illegal and cannot be enforced.

[wayned]

If it's stated in the contract and she signed the contract, then it's legal.

[utalkin2me]

Throughout life, all sorts of people are going to ask money of you. I have found the only group that has set up an almost full-proof system is the government. They are the best at what they do (ie collecting money). If it is anybody else, f-em.

[IMA_FARANG]

If it is specified in writing in the contract or work agreement you may have to pay it.

i once worked in Saudi Arabia under a work agreement that had a stated "trial period" of 3 months.

That was due to the fact that we had to work directly with Saudi Air Force people .... and frankly, many new employees found it hard to adjust to working with the Saudi Air Force people.

We had to agree to a no Alchohol clause as per Saudi law while working on site with the Saudis.

So that 3 month termination clause was written in our work agreement .... we would not begin to recieve a salary bonus until after that 3 month trial period ..... in which time both the employee/employer company and the RSAF could terminate the contract.

It was legal because we both signed the work agreement when we were hired, and that clause was shown and explained to you when you were hired.

Don't know if the law in Thailand will allow such a clause or not.

[singa-traz]

If it's stated in the contract and she signed the contract, then it's legal.

No. The court can rule that it is illegal.

[mccw]

If it's stated in the contract and she signed the contract, then it's legal.

No. The court can rule that it is illegal.

This might or might not be deemed an unfair term of contract; who knows; but if its to cover prove able a training cost then likely it would be deemed fair and legal, or it could be worded as a debt/ loan to cover this which would be forgiven after the 3 month period but not before. He should seek legal advice or pay. Just pay it be the easiest thing to do and the right and proper, responsible thing also. The woman made a deal and didn't stick to it. Unless there was some kind of harassment or unfair non contracted working conditions she has no excuse not to of just seen out the three months. As her man he should cover the debt if she doesn't have the money.

[dave111223]

I'd just ignore it. The company should have withheld the first 20K of salary if they actually planned to follow the letter of the contract. Otherwise I don't see how they would plan to collect the 20K, the time/cost involved in court simply makes this pointless for the company to pursue, especially as the labor department will provide your wife with a free lawyer and legal advise.

They are just taking a gamble, make a couple of harassing phone calls, see if 20K appears.

[singa-traz]

If it's stated in the contract and she signed the contract, then it's legal.

No. The court can rule that it is illegal.

This might or might not be deemed an unfair term of contract; who knows; but if its to cover prove able a training cost then likely it would be deemed fair and legal, or it could be worded as a debt/ loan to cover this which would be forgiven after the 3 month period but not before. He should seek legal advice or pay. Just pay it be the easiest thing to do and the right and proper, responsible thing also. The woman made a deal and didn't stick to it. Unless there was some kind of harassment or unfair non contracted working conditions she has no excuse not to of just seen out the three months. As her man he should cover the debt if she doesn't have the money.

The moral question is separate from the legal one.

She may also have other valid reasons (not mentioned) to leave before the end of the 3 months.

I have ran training as part of on-boarding programs for new recruits, and this question always came up, and the consensus was that putting any of such restriction in a contract would not support scrutiny in court.

Thai labor law and court are pro-employee. Free legal advise is available at the labor department, and they should be visiting them with a copy of the contract for review.

[bigwilly]

OP.

Would it be pertinent to tell your wife to tell her parents to tell the claimant to submit the claim in writing and then if the claim arrives have it looked at by a lawyer where you can sit in on discussions, you never know Thai inlaws can think up thousands of excuses to extract money from the un suspecting ferang.

I heard a lot of similar stories first hand in the early years when I first married my Thai wife.

Best of luck BW.

[GarryP]

For certain jobs the employer requires a third party guarantee or a monetary guarantee placed against the new employee staying in the position for a certain amount of time. Perhaps her parents acted as the guarantor in this case, and thus the demand. Not unusual. As to learning you are a foreigner, I think you are reading far too much into this and your own "misplaced" importance in the scheme of things, but then that is to be expected from someone named "thealmighty".

[scotto]

I think the inlaws are setting you up?

if it is in the contract(possibly could be)

take the contract to someone who reads thai and can tell you if its

legit or not in english see what the inlaws say when they hear you are going to see

a lawyer should be interesting?