You are using an outdated browser and your browsing experience will not be optimal. Please update to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Install Microsoft Edge

January 19, 2023

Thailand Passes New Labor Law on Work-from-Home Arrangements

Subscribe to Updates

The Thai parliament has passed the so-called Work from Home Bill—formally known as Labour Protection Act (No. 8) B.E. 2566 (2023)—which amends the country’s Labour Protection Act (LPA) to reflect current circumstances. The accompanying legislative remark states that the proposed amendments to the LPA will provide additional options for work arrangements between employers and employees, upgrade the level of labor protection, increase work stability, and improve quality of life for employees in Thailand.

The legislation adds a single section to the LPA providing that an employer and an employee “may agree in the employment contract” that the employee is allowed “to bring work . . . to perform at home or at the residence of the employee or anywhere that the employee can work remotely through information technology, if the nature of the work permits.”

The provision further provides that employers are responsible for ensuring that remote work agreements are in writing, either physically or electronically, and may include the following details:

  • Period of the agreement;
  • Normal working hours, rest periods, and overtime work;
  • Criteria for overtime work, holiday work, and various types of leave;
  • Scope of work and control or supervision by the employer; and
  • Responsibility for arranging supplies and equipment, including necessary costs relating to the work.

The amended LPA gives employees who work from home the right to refuse contact from the employer or the supervisor beyond working hours. In addition, employers must treat remote employees equally to on-premise employees.

The most notable question surrounding this legislation is whether employers must allow employees to work remotely. The phrase “may agree” suggests that employers do not have to agree to allow an employee to work remotely. Another important aspect of the amendment is that there is no criminal punishment attached to it, which suggests that the legislation promotes remote work rather than penalizing any wrongdoing.

The legislation is now awaiting royal endorsement and is expected to be enacted very soon.

For more details on the amended LPA, or on any aspect of employment law in Thailand, please contact Tilleke & Gibbins at [email protected].

Related Professionals

Practices

Employment

Location

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

September 17, 2020
After the COVID-19 outbreak, a number of business operators were forced to react to the situation by reducing the number of workers or staff they employed. For the labour courts and labour officers, one important point related to such reductions is whether employers have paid the correct amount of severance, remuneration in lieu of advance notice, and overtime payments to their employees.
Read More
September 15, 2020
With many employees in Thailand working outside their company’s normal IT security fence, their increased use of their own computers and devices instead of those in their offices with standard or enhanced security mechanisms has made it more challenging for employers to control access to key business information. In the rush to set up a fully or partially remote workforce, most companies have had little time to establish work-from-home guidelines on protection of their valuable intangible assets like trade secrets and confidential business information.
Read More
August 5, 2020
While we’ve all seen how quickly life has changed during the pandemic, from a business and HR angle the possibility of intellectual property misappropriation and theft occasioned by work-from-home policies may not yet be clear to many. With many employees working outside their company’s normal IT security fence, their increased use of their own computers and devices instead of those in their offices with standard or enhanced security mechanisms has made it more challenging for employers to control access to key business information.
Read More