How the Thai System allows agencies to scam English Teacher

[onlycw]

OP, go to the Labour Court. It's free and they will give you and attorney and they have translators, too.

A few weeks later, there will be some hearing - and that agency will have to appear. The court's attorney

will push hard for some sort of a settlement. Which should be better than walking away from that financial claim!

Good luck - they will help you and fill out the forms, too. You can just walk in or download the forms and have a Thai friend

fill them out for you.

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

In favour of the employee how? Ok this was in Bangkok. I went to the Labour Department with the contract I signed with the Agency and they told me to handle it on my own. If this was the US, people like her wouldn't dare do this because I can sue her for a lot more than what she owes me.

Thailand is known for having a lot of corruption. I wonder if the Labour Department is paid by these crooks to not do anything.

so, do you have a work permit?

if no that would explain why labour wont touch you

[SlyAnimal]

@Kriskt818 - If you "Name and shame" the agency/school again I will ban you from TV. The first time you didn't know, so it was excused, the second I am only excusing you because I realize how angry you are/were.

@All - The no "naming and shaming" rule is there because although the concept of "free speech" is part of western culture, under Thai law both the poster and ThaiVisa are potentially liable for any comments which may cause them to lose business or cause harm to their reputation EVEN IF THE COMMENTS ARE TRUE.

As a result some posts have been removed and I am going to lock this thread to prevent any further problems.

That being said, I will pass on some information from the deleted posts before I close the thread.

Kriskit818 - One poster referred to a relationship (marriage) between staff in the labour office and the company you mentioned. This could be a cause of your problems with them.

However I think that it's more likely, based on your posts here, that you were likely very angry and frustrated when you went to the labour office. As a result you likely didn't communicate your request well and may have even been impolite/ride/demanding, or even simply speaking too quickly for them to understand, it happens to all of us in situations like this. Knowing how Thai people often deal with situations like this, they would likely say something to simply make you go away.

Also the agency you were employed by has been mentioned in other media sources previously, if you were to do a search on google you may be able to find some additional information regarding the company.

From everything I've read, as I havent dealt with them personally other than when getting my WP, the Dept of Labour are usually quite good to deal with compared to many Thai govt departments. Maybe get some more information and return to their office.

Also please don't be discouraged from teaching just because you had a terrible first experience. Teaching English is a great way to experience a foreign culture while also doing something really positive for children. There are unfortunately people who take advantage of Thailand's corruption and foreigners naivety to make money (I wouldn't be surprised if part of your salary was going to someone in the school, as dishonest agencies keep their contracts with schools by keeping the decision makers happy or in the dark, and you can't keep them in the dark forever).

Teach for a school directly or find an agency with a good reputation, I've met guys who absolutely swear by the agency they work for, you just have to do some research first.

Anywho, thread locked