Yes, it is. If the employer has 10 (ten) or more employees, he shall have to maintain a paying list in Thai indicating payment of wages, over – time pay, pay for holiday work, and over – time pay for holiday work, in which there must be the following particulars:
1. Day and time of work;
2. The quantity of work done by each employee and the wages that he/she receives according to the work’s volume;
3. Rates of wages and the amount of money received by the employee including the over – time pay that he or she has received baring the employee’s signature acknowledging the receipt. In case of payment made by crediting the employee’s account, the pay – in slip shall be kept as evidence of payment.
The law requires the employee’s data and the pay list to be kept at least two years of the date of termination employment. It is advisable that it be kept longer that like to 10 (ten) years for possible use as evidence in case of having a subsequent dispute. This is quite the same as requirement in the old law.
Stay of Work
This is a new enactment. The procedure goes as follows::
1. During the time of inquiry into the accusation against any employee, the employer cannot Suspend the employee’s work unless the regulation of work allows him to do so. In such a case the suspension order shall be made in writing indicating the accusation against the employee, and the employer shall send it to the employee in advance together with a sum of money equal to 50% of the employee’s wages during the inquiry, and such a suspension shall not be longer than 7 days.
2. In case of finding no wrong with the employee, the employer shall pay the rest of 50% to the employee together with ist interest of 15% per year.
. Severance Pay
1. “Severance Pay” is the money paid by the employer to the employee on termination of employment other than the money that the employer has agerrd to pay.
2. The employer shall have to pay severance money to the employee as follows:
2.1 An employee with working period of 120 days or more but under one year, is entitled to 30 days of his/her last day wages (last day wages x 30) ;
2.2 An employee with working period of one year or more but under 3 years is entitled to 90 days of his or her last day wages.
2.3 An employee with working period of three years or more but under six years is entitled to 180 days of his or her last day wages.
2.4 An employee with working period of six years but under 10 years is entitled to 240 days of last day wages.
2.5 An employee with working period of 10 years and over is entitled to 300 days of his or her last day wages.
3. The word “termination of employment” means and act of the employer that results in the unemployment of an employee with no further pay probably because of expiration of employment or any other causes including an act rendering the employee jobless with no further pay because of inability of the employer to carry on his business.
Exception for non – Severance Pay
Any employee is not entitled to severance pay if:
1. His or her employment term is fixed and the termination is made at the end of the period;
2 . He commits a dishonest act on duty;
3. He willingly acts to damage the employer;
4 . He acts negligently causing serious damages to the employer;
5. He acts against the work regulation or against the lawful and order of the employer despite the employer’s written warning; serious wrong doing needs no warning.
A written warning is valid not more than one year from the date of the wrong doing.
6. He abandons the duty for three consecutive days regardless of an intervening holiday and without a justifiable reason.
7. He has been sentenced to imprisonment by a final judgment of the court except an act of negligence or a petty offence.
8. The employment with a limited period under 4 can be made only in a specific program outside the routine course of business, or the employer’s business with specific starting and ending period or a casual work with an ending or successful period or seasonal work with employment during the season, and such work shall finish not later than 2 (two) years, with employment made from the beginning.
Note: The new Act is much the same as the old law, except:
1. Two periods of severance pay have been added, i. e., 6 and 10 year periods.
2. The one year valid period of a warning letter starts from the date on which the employee commits the wrong act and not the date of knowledge of the warning.
3. An employee with imprisonment for negligence or petty offence is entitled to severance pay.
. Removal of Business Site
If the employer is to remove the business site to another place resulting in a serious affect to the normal life of the employee, the employer shall have to give the employee a 30 day notice at least in advance, and if the employee no longer wants to work with him, he/she is entitled to terminate the employment with the right to special severance pay of 50% of normal severance pay to which the employee is entitled in case such termination made by the employer.
Failing to give such a 30 day notice, the employer has to give the employee another 30 day special severance money in place of the notice.
The employee is entitled to submit the matter to the Committee on Labor Welfare to decide whether it is the case where the employer has to give a 30 day notice and the employee is entitled to a special 30 day severance pay as mentioned or not, provided that the employee shall have to submit it within 30 days of the date of removal of the work place.
Either the employer or employee has the right to appeal against the order of the Committee to the Court within 30 days from the date of acknowledging the Committee’s decision. In case the appeal is to be made by the employer, the employer shall have to deposit with the court the amount requested by the employee, otherwise he cannot appeal.
The termination of employment by the employee shall have to be made within 30 days From the date of removal of the work place or from the date of knowledge of final decision of the Committee or the Court as the case may be.
Suggestion: The provisions regarding this matter are brand new. It would be advisable and better for the employee to terminate the employment after the decision of the Labor Welfare Committee or of the Court as the case may be.
. Termination of Employment Due to Restructuring Business.
1. In case the employer terminates the employment due to restructuring the business or production process or distribution or services because if the innovation of a new machine or the substitution of the old machine with a new one or the change in technology resulting in the decrease of employees, the employer shall have to give the employees a 60 day notice at least.
If the employer fails to give a notice before the period of time or give it in a shorter period than 60 days, the employee besides being entitled to a lawful severance pay, he is entitled to an additional special severance pay of 60 day wages. Payment of such a special severance money is deemed to have terminated employment by the employer under the civil and Commercial Code also.
2. In case of having worked for six (6) years or more, the employee is entitled to an additional severance pay of 15 day wages per one year working period, provided that the total amount shall not exceed 360 days; a balance period of 180 days shall be counted as one full year.
Remarks: This is the same as the old law.
By huahin Business lawyer
www.k-huahinlawyer.com