Révisé par ThaiLawOnline, un cabinet d'avocats thaïlandais agréé exerçant en Thaïlande depuis 2006. Avocate thaïlandaise en charge du dossier : Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., licence du barreau thaïlandais 3149/2556.
Dernière mise à jour :
Loi sur la protection du travail B.E. 2541 (1998) (พระราชบัญญัติคุ้มครองแรงงาน, Phra Ratchabanyat Khumkhrong Raengngan, abrégé LPA and also spelled Loi sur la protection du travail) is Thailand’s principal employment statute, setting minimum standards for working hours, holidays and leave, wages, notice, severance and welfare for employees of private employers. Its provisions are a floor: a contract may give more but any term giving less is void to that extent. It applies to a foreign employee working in Thailand exactly as it applies to a Thai one.
Table des matières
Ce que la loi couvre
The Act binds every private employer; central, provincial and local government are outside it, and state enterprises have their own law. Its core rules: a working day of 8 hours and week of 48 (7 and 42 in hazardous work); at least one rest day a week and one hour of rest after five hours; at least 13 traditional holidays a year including National Labour Day; 6 days’ annual leave after a full year; paid sick leave of up to 30 working days a year; maternity leave, extended by the most recent amendment; overtime at 1.5 to 3 times the hourly rate and only with consent.
On leaving: notice of one pay period under Section 17, indemnité de départ of 30 to 400 days’ wages under Section 118, and the Section 119 causes that remove it. On pay: wages at least monthly, in baht, deductions limited to tax, sécurité sociale, agreed provident fund contributions and court orders, and 15% interest on late payment. Employers with 10 or more employees must issue work rules in Thai; those with 50 or more need a welfare committee.
Agir en tant qu'étranger
It cannot be contracted out. A clause in an expatriate contract choosing foreign law, waiving severance or setting a 60-hour week is void under Section 150 of the Code civil et commercial because the Act protects public order. The remedy for breach starts with a complaint to the labour inspector at the provincial Labour Protection and Welfare office, who can order the employer to pay; an order can be appealed to the Conseil de prud'hommes within 30 days, or the employee can sue there directly without frais de justice.
For an employer, the compliance file is the work rules, employee register, wage and overtime records and leave ledger, which the inspector may demand. A foreign employee on a high salary is not outside the Act; a regional directeur with 20 years’ service is owed 400 days’ wages like anyone else. The guide to Thai labour law walks through the rules in order.
Ce que la loi ne couvre pas
Thai employment law is spread across several statutes, and the Labour Protection Act is only the first of them.
| Statute | What it governs |
|---|---|
| Loi sur la protection du travail de 1998 | Hours, leave, wages, notice, severance, work rules, labour inspectors |
| Act on the Establishment of Labour Courts B.E. 2522 | The Labour Court and the unfair dismissal remedy in Section 49 |
| Labour Relations Act B.E. 2518 | Unions, collective bargaining, strikes and lockouts |
| Social Security Act B.E. 2533 | Contributions and the seven insured benefits |
| Workmen’s Compensation Act B.E. 2537 | Employer-funded cover for work injury and illness |
| Foreigners’ Working Management Emergency Decree B.E. 2560 | Work permits and penalties for unpermitted work |
Unfair dismissal is not in the Act at all: an employee paid full severance can still ask the Labour Court for further compensation if the dismissal had no fair reason.
Foire aux questions
La loi sur la protection du travail s'applique-t-elle aux étrangers travaillant en Thaïlande ?
Oui. Cela s'applique à tous les employeurs privés en Thaïlande, indépendamment de leur nationalité ou de la langue du contrat. Un employé étranger bénéficie des mêmes horaires, congés, préavis et indemnités de licenciement qu'un employé thaïlandais et peut porter plainte auprès du même inspecteur du travail.
Quelles sont les heures de travail légales en vertu de la loi sur la protection du travail ?
8 hours a day and 48 hours a week for ordinary work, 7 and 42 for hazardous work, with at least one rest day a week and an hour’s break after five hours. Overtime needs the employee’s consent and is paid at 1.5 to 3 times the hourly rate.
Un contrat de travail peut-il déroger à la loi sur la protection du travail ?
Uniquement vers le haut. Un contrat peut offrir plus que la loi, comme un préavis plus long ou plus de congés, mais toute clause inférieure au minimum légal est nulle et la loi s'applique à la place. Le choix d'une loi étrangère n'écarte pas l'application de la loi pour le travail effectué en Thaïlande.
Voir aussi : indemnité de licenciement, période de préavis, salaire minimum, Conseil de prud'hommes, et les guides sur Le droit du travail thaïlandais ET Droit du travail pour les employeurs.
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