Last updated on July 24, 2026
Thai employment is governed mainly by the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998), as amended. It sets the floor: minimum wage, working hours, leave, and above all what an employer must pay when it ends someone’s employment. These rules apply to a foreign employee working in Thailand just as they apply to a Thai one, and a contract cannot take them away. This page covers the parts that matter most in practice, with the section numbers so you can check them.
Severance Pay: the Rule Employers Underestimate
If an employer terminates an employee who has worked at least 120 days, and the dismissal is not for one of the serious causes in the Act, statutory severance is due on top of any notice pay. The amount rises with length of service (Labour Protection Act sections 118 to 122):
| Continuous service | Severance (days of last wage) |
|---|---|
| 120 days but less than 1 year | 30 days |
| 1 year but less than 3 years | 90 days |
| 3 years but less than 6 years | 180 days |
| 6 years but less than 10 years | 240 days |
| 10 years but less than 20 years | 300 days |
| 20 years or more | 400 days |
The top tier, 400 days for twenty years of service, was added by the Labour Protection Act (No. 7) B.E. 2562, effective 5 May 2019. A long-serving employee is therefore entitled to more than thirteen months of pay on termination, and this is the figure that surprises employers who assumed a month or two would cover it. Severance is not due where the employee resigns, or where dismissal is for a serious cause listed in section 119, such as dishonesty, an intentional criminal act against the employer, or gross negligence causing serious damage.
Notice of Termination
Separate from severance is advance notice. For an employment contract with no fixed end date, section 17 requires notice of one pay period: given at or before a wage-payment date, to take effect on the next payment date, and never more than three months. The employer can pay wages in lieu of that notice instead of having the employee work it. Notice and severance are two different obligations, and a terminated employee is generally entitled to both.
Working Hours and Overtime
Normal working hours are capped at 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week for non-hazardous work, and 7 hours a day and 42 hours a week for work classified as hazardous (section 23). Employees are entitled to a rest period of at least one hour after five hours of work, at least one weekly holiday, and the traditional public holidays. Overtime is paid at a premium, from 1.5 times the hourly rate for overtime on a normal working day up to 3 times the rate for overtime worked on a holiday, and overtime generally requires the employee’s consent.
Leave
- Annual holiday: at least 6 working days a year once the employee has completed one full year of service (section 30).
- Sick leave: as long as genuinely sick, but the employer must pay for up to 30 working days a year. A medical certificate can be required for three or more days.
- Maternity leave: 98 days per pregnancy including holidays, with the employer paying wages for up to 45 of those days and the Social Security Fund covering part of the rest.
- Business leave, military service, and training leave are also provided for in the Act.
Minimum Wage
Minimum wage is a daily rate set by province and reviewed periodically, so check the current figure for the province where the work is performed rather than relying on a single national number. It applies to all employees, Thai and foreign alike, and a contract paying below it is unenforceable to that extent.
Where Disputes Go
Employment disputes are heard by the Labour Court, which is designed to be quicker and less formal than the ordinary courts, and an employee does not pay court fees to bring a claim. An employee who believes a dismissal was unfair can also claim additional compensation for unfair termination under the Act on top of statutory severance, and the Labour Court has wide discretion to award it. That combination, statutory severance plus an unfair-dismissal award, is why terminating without proper grounds and process is expensive in Thailand.
How ThaiLawOnline Can Help
We act for both employers and employees. For employers we draft compliant employment contracts and work rules, calculate the correct severance and notice for a planned termination, and structure exits to limit unfair-dismissal exposure. For employees we assess whether a dismissal was lawful and what you are owed, and represent you before the Labour Court. See our legal fees, or our employment agreement templates.
A note from experience: the most common and costly mistake we see is an employer treating a termination as a simple matter of one month’s notice, then discovering that a long-serving employee is owed six months to over a year of severance, plus a possible unfair-dismissal award on top. Work the number out before you act, not after. Contact us for a calculation on a specific case.
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