Employees in Thailand afforded more freedom to choose where to work

The Labour Protection Act in Thailand has been amended to improve employees’ work-life balance and provide more leverage for employees to negotiate with their employees on where they wish to work from.

According to deputy government spokeswomen Traisuree Taisaranakul, the amendment to the Labour Protection Act represents an improvement over the former act published in 1998, parts of which do not fit in with the new global trend in which more work is done outside of conventional workplaces, including people’s homes.

The newly added article 23/1 will allow employees to agree with their employers on the location of where they want to work. The amended legislature will also address issues such as the duration an employee is allowed to work remotely, overtime and rest periods, leaving-taking procedures, and conditions for providing work-related equipment to support employees.

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Lastly, employees will be allowed to reject any contract after the working period designated in the agreement if they do not agree on overtime work with the employer, said Traisuree.

The amended Labour Protection Act was published in the Royal Thai Government Gazette on March 19 and will take effect on April 18, reported the Bangkok Post.