{"id":6616,"date":"2026-09-05T19:11:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/glossary\/employment-contract\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T19:21:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:21:57","slug":"employment-contract","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/th\/glossary\/employment-contract\/","title":{"rendered":"Employment Contract under Thai Law"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p><strong>\u0e2a\u0e31\u0e0d\u0e0d\u0e32\u0e08\u0e49\u0e32\u0e07\u0e07\u0e32\u0e19<\/strong> (\u0e2a\u0e31\u0e0d\u0e0d\u0e32\u0e08\u0e49\u0e32\u0e07\u0e41\u0e23\u0e07\u0e07\u0e32\u0e19, <em>sanya jang raeng ngan<\/em>, also called an <em>employment agreement<\/em> or hire of services) is the agreement by which an employee undertakes to work for an employer in return for wages, governed by the hire of services provisions from Section 575 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/th\/glossary\/thai-civil-and-commercial-code\/\">\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e30\u0e21\u0e27\u0e25\u0e01\u0e0e\u0e2b\u0e21\u0e32\u0e22\u0e41\u0e1e\u0e48\u0e07\u0e41\u0e25\u0e30\u0e1e\u0e32\u0e13\u0e34\u0e0a\u0e22\u0e4c<\/a> and by the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541. It can be written, oral or implied from conduct, and its terms sit on top of a statutory floor that cannot be lowered by agreement. For a foreigner it is also the document the Department of Employment reads when deciding what work the permit will allow.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>\u0e2a\u0e32\u0e23\u0e1a\u0e31\u0e0d<\/h2><nav><ul><li><a href=\"#what-the-law-requires-of-the-contract\">What the law requires of the contract<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#practical-points-for-a-foreign-employee\">Practical points for a foreign employee<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#employee-or-contractor-fixed-or-indefinite\">Employee or contractor, fixed or indefinite<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#frequently-asked-questions\">\u0e04\u0e33\u0e16\u0e32\u0e21\u0e17\u0e35\u0e48\u0e1e\u0e1a\u0e1a\u0e48\u0e2d\u0e22<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-the-law-requires-of-the-contract\">What the law requires of the contract<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p>Thai law does not require an employment contract to be in writing; a person who works under another&#8217;s direction for wages is an employee whatever the paperwork says. The exception is the fixed-term contract used to avoid severance, which must be in writing, must be for a genuine special project, seasonal or temporary job, and cannot exceed two years. Any term below the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/th\/glossary\/labour-protection-act\/\">Labour Protection Act<\/a> minimum, such as a wage under the provincial rate or a clause waiving severance, is void to that extent under Section 150 of the Code, and the statute fills the gap.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p>The contract may be in English or any language. If it reaches a labour inspector or the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/th\/glossary\/labour-court\/\">Labour Court<\/a> a Thai translation will be needed, so a bilingual version with a clause saying which text prevails avoids argument. Employers with ten or more staff must also issue written work rules in Thai, which operate alongside every individual contract.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"practical-points-for-a-foreign-employee\">Practical points for a foreign employee<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p><strong>Linked to the work permit.<\/strong> The employer must be a Thai entity, the position and duties in the contract must match the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/th\/glossary\/work-permit\/\">\u0e43\u0e1a\u0e2d\u0e19\u0e38\u0e0d\u0e32\u0e15\u0e17\u0e33\u0e07\u0e32\u0e19<\/a> application, and the salary must meet the immigration threshold for a one-year extension, which is set by nationality and runs from 25,000 to 50,000 baht per month.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p><strong>Clauses worth reading.<\/strong> Probation and its length, the notice period (which may be longer than the statutory one pay period but not shorter), fixed allowances (they count as wages for severance), non-competition (enforceable only if reasonable in scope and time, and a court can cut it down under the Unfair Contract Terms Act B.E. 2540), and governing law, which for work performed in Thailand is Thai law regardless of what the document says. A bilingual starting point is the firm&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/th\/employment-agreement-template-for-thailand\/\">employment agreement template<\/a>.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"employee-or-contractor-fixed-or-indefinite\">Employee or contractor, fixed or indefinite<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p>Two distinctions decide most disputes. First, hire of services (Section 575, an employee) against hire of work (Section 587, an independent contractor who delivers a result): courts look at control, fixed hours and integration into the business, not at the title on the document. Second, fixed-term against indefinite: a fixed-term contract renewed for ordinary business work is treated as indefinite.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>\u0e04\u0e38\u0e13\u0e2a\u0e21\u0e1a\u0e31\u0e15\u0e34<\/th><th>Employee (hire of services)<\/th><th>Contractor (hire of work)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Governing sections<\/td><td>Section 575 onwards; Labour Protection Act<\/td><td>Section 587 onwards; general contract law<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Control<\/td><td>Employer directs how and when<\/td><td>Contractor decides method<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Notice and severance<\/td><td>Section 17 notice, Section 118 severance<\/td><td>None, only what the contract says<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Social security and withholding<\/td><td>Employer registers and deducts<\/td><td>Contractor handles own tax; 3% withholding by payer<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Forum for disputes<\/td><td>Labour Court, no fee<\/td><td>Civil court, 2% fee<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"frequently-asked-questions\">\u0e04\u0e33\u0e16\u0e32\u0e21\u0e17\u0e35\u0e48\u0e1e\u0e1a\u0e1a\u0e48\u0e2d\u0e22<\/h2>\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list\">\n<div id=\"faq-question-1\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\">Does an employment contract in Thailand have to be in writing?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>No. An oral or implied contract is valid and carries all statutory rights. Writing is needed only for a fixed-term contract meant to fall outside severance, and it is strongly advisable in every case because the employer must prove the agreed terms in a dispute.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-2\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\">Can an employment contract in Thailand be in English?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>Yes. There is no language requirement for the contract itself. A Thai translation will be required by the labour inspector or the Labour Court, and work rules for employers with ten or more staff must be in Thai.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-3\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\">Is a fixed-term contract exempt from severance pay in Thailand?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>Only if it is in writing, for a genuine special project, seasonal work or a temporary job, and for two years or less. A fixed-term contract for ordinary ongoing work still attracts severance when it ends or is not renewed.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><p>\u0e14\u0e39\u0e40\u0e1e\u0e34\u0e48\u0e21\u0e40\u0e15\u0e34\u0e21: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/th\/glossary\/probation-period\/\">probation period<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/th\/glossary\/notice-period\/\">notice period<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/th\/glossary\/severance-pay\/\">severance pay<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/th\/glossary\/labour-protection-act\/\">Labour Protection Act<\/a>, and the guides on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/th\/thai-labour-law\/\">\u0e01\u0e0e\u0e2b\u0e21\u0e32\u0e22\u0e41\u0e23\u0e07\u0e07\u0e32\u0e19\u0e44\u0e17\u0e22<\/a> \u0e41\u0e25\u0e30 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/th\/thailand-employment-law-for-employers\/\">employment law for employers<\/a>.<\/p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Employment contract (\u0e2a\u0e31\u0e0d\u0e0d\u0e32\u0e08\u0e49\u0e32\u0e07\u0e41\u0e23\u0e07\u0e07\u0e32\u0e19, sanya jang raeng ngan, also called an employment agreement or hire of services) is the agreement by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":214,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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ThaiLawOnline","rank_math_description":"Employment contract in Thailand: the agreement to work for wages under the Civil and Commercial Code and Labour Protection Act, its form, clauses and 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