Section 587: Hire of work, definition

Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section

1. Supreme Court Judgment No. 3660/2551 (2008)

   A contract for legal representation is a hire of work; the fee is earned on delivery of the defined result (final judgment), not on time spent.

   A contract for legal representation is a hire of work under Section 587; the lawyer's fee falls due when the case reaches a final conclusion, and parties may agree on phased payment tied to case outcomes.

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2. Supreme Court Judgment No. 8032/2556 (2013)

   A subcontract to dismantle and extend a steel roof at a rate per square metre, the contractor supplying the tools and the employer the materials, is a hire of work under section 587. The contractor working with his own hands does not make him an artisan under section 193/34(1), so the five-year period in section 193/33(5) does not apply; his claim for the price is that of a business operator doing work for remuneration and is barred after two years under section 193/34(7).

   The plaintiff contracted to dismantle and extend the steel roof of defendant 1's rice mill at a rate per square metre, supplying his own tools while the defendant supplied the materials, which made the contract a hire of work under section 587. Because the plaintiff was not an artisan within section 193/34(1), the employer's liability was not subject to the five-year period in section 193/33(5); his claim was a business operator's claim for remuneration under section 193/34(7) and had to be brought within two years. Prescription began again on the last payment of 17 May B.E. 2545, and the action filed on 30 July B.E. 2547 was out of time.

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Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.