I'm looking for some advice with hiring a Thai assistant for my e-commerce business. 

 

I started building my e-commerce business a while ago and now it has turned out quite successful. I'm still handling everything alone, which is currently the biggest obstacle for scaling it up and multiplying the profits. The business is based in UK/US but I live in Thailand, so I was thinking about hiring a Thai to be an assistant. Since the business involves handling large amounts of money (which at some point, would also be one responsibility of the assistant), I would not trust a virtual assistant. 

 

First of all I am wondering how it works with hiring one if I don't have a Thai company. I am covered myself as I already work for another Thai company (in IT), so I have a work permit and zero interest or reason to start a Thai company. I actually don't have any company yet, but I am planning to set up in Hong Kong soon. Would it be legal for me to hire a Thai freelancer to work in Thailand for a HK-based company? After training I would let the person work remotely as much as possible. 

 

Secondly, how easy would it be to find a reliable assistant (full-time), who is fluent in English and what would be an approximate budget? The tasks would include things like

• Customer services by email (fluent written English, although mainly with templates)
• General administrative tasks on the e-commerce platform (no code required)
• Research tasks..  etc..

 

So no specific skills needed really apart of English, but just a computer-savvy smart guy or girl, who is able to come up with solutions to problems independently. 

 

What is the case with Filipino, Burmese and Cambodian workers, by the way? Do they require a work permit just like other foreigners, or do they fall under some other agreement with no need to hire 4 Thais etc. the usual thing? I was thinking a Filipino worker could be a good option as well, as they tend to have superior English skills compared to Thais. In the future I could perhaps consider hiring a Farang but I cannot yet afford it so will need to go with a more affordable option. 

 

Any advice or experiences are welcome!

I'm Thais who working in the company which also not registered in Thailand yet. My company HQ is in Europe but have office in Thailand which have only me working in Bangkok based to cover all Thai market. Legally, I'm the employee of the recruitment company. My salary and other welfare will received from them. If you want to find the full time employee, I suggest you to use the recruitment company to find the right candidate and handle all the HR tasks. According to there is some law and regulation involve for labour protection and welfare. Most of the people who looking for the permanent job will consider this welfare when they looking for the new job. At least you have to hire the freelance or part time job seeker. They will not care about the company welfare. But it's also depends on your industry. Some industry there are a lot of freelancer but some might not.

Just hope my above comment will help you.

I can help you for setup company in thailand.

 

skype : s.nuttawut