Thailand: Operating a Business

Public Limited Company

Number of partners: Minimum 15 shareholders.
The board of directors must have a minimum of 5 members, at least half of whom must have a domicile in Thailand.
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital requirement.
Shareholders and liability: Liability is limited to the amount contributed.

Private Limited Company

Number of partners: Minimum 3 partners.
Capital (max/min): Minimum capital: THB 15 (share’s value must be at least THB 5)
Shareholders and liability: Liability is limited to the amount contributed.

Unregistered ordinary partnership

Number of partners: Minimum 2 partners.
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital required.
Shareholders and liability: Partners' liability is joint and several.

Registered ordinary partnership

Number of partners: Minimum 2 partners.
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital required.
Shareholders and liability: Partners' liability is joint and several.

Limited partnership

Number of partners: No minimum.
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital required.
Shareholders and liability: Liability is limited to the amount contributed for sleeping partners and unlimited for active partners.

Business Setup Procedures

The Competent Organisation

Department of Business Development

For Further Information

Consult Doing Business Website, to know about procedures to start a Business in Thailand.

Financial Information Directories

Dun & Bradstreet - Worldwide directory with financial information on businesses

For Further Information About the Labour Market

ILO Thailand profile

Opening Hours

 

• Legal Weekly Duration

48 hours or eight hours per day over six days, with a limit of 36 overtime hours per week.

• Maximum Duration

The maximum number of work hours is eight per day or 48 per week, except for work deemed by law to be hazardous, in which case employment is limited to seven hours per day and 42 hours per week. Overtime compensation must be paid at a rate of between 1.5 to three times the normal hourly rate to qualifying employees.

• Night Hours

Overtime compensation must be paid at a rate of between 1.5 to three times the normal hourly rate to qualifying employees.

Working Rest Day

Saturday and Sunday.

Paid Annual Vacation

Employees are entitled to 13 national holidays per year, plus a minimum of six days of vacation after one year of consecutive work. Thirty annual paid sick days is standard, and an employer may require a doctor’s certificate for sick leave of three days or more. Female employees are entitled to 90 days of maternity leave, including 45 days of paid leave.

Retirement Age

There is no legal age of retirement except for civil servants who can retire at 60.

Child Labour and Minimum Age For Employment

Thailand has been successful in reducing child labor over the past 15 years due to positive measures on social and economic development and a reduction in population growth. However, some forms of child labor still persist. Ministry of Labor analysis suggests that there were 300,000 children aged 15-17 years legally employed in registered establishments in (60% male and 40% female). In reality, this official figure is compounded by illegal work by children under 15, and especially by non-registered or falsely registered migrant children. Thailand also continues to face challenges in combating some of the worst forms of child labour: victims of trafficking, working children under 15 years old, children used in begging, and children in domestic labour. Other sectors include child labor in some manufacturing and fishery industries, services such as karaoke bars and restaurants, and in the agricultural sector. Vulnerable groups include children of minority groups, migrant children, and children in poverty.

Pay

Minimum Wage

In January 2020, the new minimum wage law came into effect. The increase is applicable to unskilled workers and ranges from 313-336 Baht, depending on the province, representing an increase of five to six Baht from the previous daily wage range of 308-330 Baht.
For more information, please visit the ministry of labor website.

Average Wage

Average gross monthly wage: THB 14,419.08 as of December 2020 (source: Bank of Thailand, latest available data).

Social Security Costs

The Areas Covered

For details on the areas covered by the social security access the website of the Social Security Office.

Contributions

Contributions Paid By the Employer:

The Social Security Act is used to finance compensation to employees for maternity, death, unemployment, accidents, illnesses, and physical disabilities occurring outside the workplace. Employers (with one or more employees) and the government are each required to contribute 5% of the employee’s wage to the social security fund, subject in each case to a maximum contribution of THB 750 (5% of THB 15,000) per month.

• Disability, maternity and death benefits: 1.5%
• Child and old age benefits: 3%
• Unemployment benefits: 0.5%

Contributions Paid By the Employee:

The Social Security Act is used to finance compensation to employees for maternity, death, unemployment, accidents, illnesses, and physical disabilities occurring outside the workplace. Employees pay contributions at 5%, subject to a maximum contribution of THB 750 (5% of THB 15,000) per month.

• Disability, maternity and death benefits: 1.5%
• Child and old age benefits: 3%
• Unemployment benefits: 0.5%

Competent Organization

Social Security Office.

Recruitment

Recruitment Websites

Jac Recruitment
Peak
Robert Walters

The Contract

Social Partners

Employer Associations

FTI - Federation of Thai Industries
Thailca - Thai Listed Companies Association

Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners

The Labour Relations Act allows private sector workers to form and join trade unions without prior authorisation, bargain collectively, and conduct legal strikes, and it prohibits antiunion discrimination. However, Labour law enforcement is inconsistent and, in some instances, ineffective in protecting workers. Employers sometimes use various techniques to stop workers’ strikes and weaken labour union collective bargaining efforts. No laws allow civil servants to form or register a union. The law forbids strikes and lockouts in the public sector, government-owned enterprises, and 'essential services'. Trade unions include the Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand (CILT), the Labour Congress of Thailand (LCT), the Thai Trade Union Congress (TTUC), the Confederation of Thai Electronic, Electrical Appliances, Auto and Metal Workers (TEAM), etc.

Unionisation Rate

According to ITUC-CSI, Thailand has the lowest unionisation rate in Southeast Asia, at 1.5%.

Labour Unions

Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand (CILT)

Regulation Bodies

Ministry of Labour