Maternity and Paternity Leave
Under the Labour Protection Act (“Act”), employees are legally entitled to leave with pay for various different types of leave.
Keywords: Mazars, Thailand, Legal, Labour Protection Act, Ministry of Labour
14 October 2013
Leave | Entitlement (no. of days) | Pay |
Annual holidays | 6 working days for an employee who has worked for 1 full year Pro-rata basis for an employee who has worked for less than one year | Yes, throughout the holiday period |
Sick leave | Actual | Yes, but not more than 30 days per year |
Leave for the sterilization | As prescribed in the medical certificate | Yes, throughout the leave period |
Personal business leave | As necessary in accordance with work regulations | Depending on the company‘s discretion |
Maternity leave | Up to 90 days per pregnancy | Yes, but not more than 45 days during the maternity leave |
Military leave | Upon the call from the government | Yes, but not more than 60 days per year |
Training or development of knowledge and skills leave | Up to 30 days or 3 times per annum | Depending on the company‘s discretion (except for youth employer) |
Focusing on maternity leave, we note that only female employees are entitled for such leave upon the birth of a child. However, there are encouraging signs for fathers-to-be, because at the end of last year the Ministry of Labour made an announcement requesting collaboration from employers to allow male employees to take paternity leave under similar circumstances.
The announcement is not treated as law to which every employer must comply, so the announcement leaves the decision to employers to set the terms of the paternity leave and whether or not salary is paid during paternity leave.
Please download a copy of the guidance, in Thai.
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