Author: กองบรรณาธิการ

2017 Labour Protetion Act Amendments: Statutory Retirement Age and Retiree Entitlements Recent proposed amendments to the Thailand’s Labour Protection Act (1998) (LPA) aim to set a statutory retirement age of 60 years for workers in Thailand and also provide retirees with a statutory entitlement to severance pay. The amended Act is currently being reviewed by the Office of the Council of State. It is expected that the amended Act will enter into force within 2017. Current situation regarding Retirement under Thailand’s Labour Protection Act Section 118 of the LPA requires employers to pay severance pay to employees where it is deemed that they have been terminated without legal cause. If an employer’s Work Rules or employment contract specify a retirement age for employees then an employee will be deemed to have been terminated upon reaching the specified retirement age and […]

Negotiation Strategy in Compromise Negotiations in Labour Court In this article, we shall examine negotiation strategy and certain techniques and tactics which could be useful in the course of compromise negotiations held at the Thai Labour Court. One should bear in mind that every negotiation is different and the correct strategy and approach will need to be adapted according to various factors such as the issues in the dispute, who the parties are, the strength of party’s legal position and several other issues such as time/ money constraints and the culture of the person who you are negotiating with.   Strategy in Compromise Negotiations: Compromise negotiations are an important part of labour law cases as the Labour Courts generally try to encourage the parties to reach a compromise settlement so that the dispute can be resolved swiftly without the need […]

In this month’s article we shall continue on from our last article and will examine the final stage in formally resolving a dispute under the Labour Relations Act (1975). We shall then move on to discuss several other important related matters, such as how to appoint a labour advisor and what protections are available to employees who are involved in a workplace dispute with their employer Step 5 – Using a Labour Dispute Arbitrator or Striking/Locking Out Option 1: Labour Dispute Arbitration If the Conciliation Officer can’t resolve the dispute between the parties then the employer and employees may agree to appoint one or several Labour Dispute Arbitrators to settle the dispute. The arbitrator(s) should be appointed in writing and such appointment should be signed by the authorized representatives of both parties to the dispute. We suggest that the parties […]

i Introduction In this month’s article we shall examine how employees in Thailand can formally resolve a dispute under the Labour Relations Act (1975). We shall begin by going through the various steps in the process and examining the general requirements and important legal aspects of each stage and what employees should be wary of. Dispute Resolution Process: Step 1 – Issuing the Demand If a dispute has arisen between staff and their employer in relation to conditions of employment (such as a disagreement over wage increases or working hours etc), then as a first step the employees must submit their demands in writing to their employer. In relation to who such demands should be given to, ordinarily the demand letter should be given to the owner or the authorized director(s) of their employer (depending on whether the owner is […]