Labour law
What leave employees get in Thailand, and how much of it is paid
Facts checked against the sources on · Updated · Sources
Under the Labour Protection Act, an employee may take sick leave for as long as they are actually sick, paid for up to 30 working days a year; at least 3 working days a year of paid personal business leave; and, after a year of service, at least 6 working days of annual holiday. Since 7 December 2568 (2025), when Labour Protection Act No. 9 B.E. 2568 came into force, maternity leave is 120 days with 60 of them paid by the employer, and there are two new leaves: up to 15 days of continued childcare leave at half pay, and up to 15 days of fully paid leave to support a spouse who gives birth.
Every statutory leave#
| Leave | Entitlement | How it is counted | The employer pays | Section |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sick leave (ลาป่วย) | As long as actually sick. From 3 working days the employer may ask for a certificate from a first-class doctor or a government hospital; without one, the employee explains. Absence after a work injury and maternity leave are not sick leave | Working days | Up to 30 working days a year | s.32, s.57 |
| Sterilisation (ลาเพื่อทำหมัน) | For the operation and the time a first-class doctor sets and certifies | As certified | Every day | s.33, s.57 |
| Personal business (ลากิจธุระอันจำเป็น) | At least 3 working days a year | Working days | Up to 3 working days a year | s.34, s.57/1 |
| Military service (ลาเพื่อรับราชการทหาร) | For call-ups to check reservists, military training or readiness tests under the Military Service Act | — | Up to 60 days a year | s.35, s.58 |
| Training or skills development (ลาเพื่อฝึกอบรม) | For labour and social welfare, skills on a defined course and period, or examinations held by the state; the reason and evidence given at least 7 days ahead. The employer may refuse once 30 days or 3 occasions were taken that year, or if it would harm the business | — | See the note below | s.36, Ministerial Regulation No. 5 |
| Annual holiday (วันหยุดพักผ่อนประจำปี) | After 1 year of continuous work, at least 6 working days a year, set in advance by the employer or by agreement. More may be given; unused days carry over when agreed in advance; in the first year the employer may give a share | Working days | Every day | s.30, s.56 |
| Maternity (ลาเพื่อคลอดบุตร) | Up to 120 days a pregnancy, prenatal check-ups included. Every female employee: any nationality, paid by the day or the month, on probation or not | Holidays inside the leave count | Up to 60 days | s.41, s.59 |
| Continued childcare (ลาต่อเนื่องเพื่อเลี้ยงดูบุตร) | The mother, after her maternity leave, up to 15 days when the child has an illness at risk of complications, an abnormality or a disability, with a doctor's certificate. It may be split; the condition must arise during the maternity leave | Holidays between consecutive days count | 50% of the wage, every day | s.41 para 4, s.59/1 |
| Supporting a spouse who gives birth (ลาเพื่อช่วยเหลือคู่สมรสซึ่งคลอดบุตร) | An employee whose registered spouse gives birth (same-sex spouses included): up to 15 days a birth, within 90 days of it. It may be split | Holidays between consecutive days count | Up to 15 days | s.41/1, s.59/2 |
| Training of employees under 18 | Meetings, seminars, training or courses held by schools or approved bodies, with notice | — | Up to 30 days a year | s.52 |
A "working day" is a day the employee normally works; pay for a leave day is the wage of a working day.
Note: This page does not cover pay for training leave, how military leave's days are counted, half days or hours of leave, or what "a year" means for the quotas: we could not confirm them in primary sources. A company's work regulations should settle them.
Annual holiday not taken#
- If the employer does not let the employee take the annual holiday, it pays holiday work pay as if the employee had worked on those days (s.64).
- When the employer dismisses an employee other than for a reason in s.119, it pays the year's annual holiday in proportion, and carried-over days are always paid (s.67).
Maternity leave of 120 days#
- Holidays inside the leave count as leave days (s.41 para 3). The Ministry of Labour's example: 8 December 2568 to 6 April 2569 is 120 days.
- The employer pays the wage of a working day "throughout the leave, but not more than sixty days". The law does not require it to pay days 61 to 120, and not paying them is not a deduction.
- A miscarriage before 28 weeks is not maternity leave: sick leave applies.
- Leave running on 7 December 2568 was extended to 120 days, with the employer's pay capped at 60 days in all.
| From | Maternity leave | Paid by the employer |
|---|---|---|
| 19 August 2541 (1998, the original Act) | 90 days | 45 days |
| 5 May 2562 (2019, Amendment No. 7) | 98 days | 45 days |
| 7 December 2568 (2025, Amendment No. 9) | 120 days | 60 days |
What social security pays on top#
| Benefit | Detail |
|---|---|
| Maternity cash benefit | An insured woman who paid contributions for 5 months in the 15 before the birth receives a lump sum of 50% of her average wage for 90 days, at most twice (Social Security Act s.67), paid by the Social Security Office on top of the employer's 60 days |
| The wage base | At most 17,500 baht a month from 1 January 2569 (15,000 before) |
| Childbirth lump sum | 15,000 baht a birth, to the mother, or to an insured father for his wife |
Continued childcare leave and spouse leave have no social security benefit: the employer pays them.
Traditional holidays and substitute days#
- The employer announces in advance at least 13 traditional holidays a year, National Labour Day included, as the Minister announces (s.29), chosen from the government's official holidays, religious holidays and local customary holidays.
- Special holidays the cabinet adds, and substitute days the company invents, do not count toward the 13 (the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare's opinion 62_00002).
- Once announced, the employer cannot change them alone: the employees must consent (opinion 43008/2554).
- A traditional holiday on the employee's weekly holiday gives them the next working day off (s.29 para 3). The substitute day cannot be moved elsewhere, except for some work under Ministerial Regulation No. 4 (opinion 48317/2548).
- There is at least one weekly holiday a week, with no more than 6 days between them (s.28).
A company may give more#
A contract or the company's work rules may always give more leave or more pay than the Act. Cutting what was given needs the employees' consent (the Ministry of Labour's note on Amendment No. 9). An employer of 10 or more employees has work regulations in Thai that include the leave days and the rules for taking them (s.108).
Worked example#
Malee starts her maternity leave on 8 December 2568 and takes all 120 days, to 6 April 2569; the holidays in between count as leave. Her employer pays the first 60 days, 8 December 2568 to 5 February 2569. The Social Security Office pays her maternity cash benefit separately, as a lump sum.
If her child is born on 10 December 2568, her registered husband may take up to 15 days of leave to support her within 90 days of the birth; following the Ministry of Labour's example, a request after 10 March 2569 may be refused.
In Panya#
Panya sets up the leave of the Labour Protection Act as the Act gives it. A company may give more, but Panya refuses fewer days or less pay than the Act. It counts each request on the employee's work schedule (working days, or calendar days with the holidays, by the type), works out which days the employer pays, such as 60 of a 120-day maternity leave, and keeps each year's balances; the unpaid days come off the salary in the next payroll run. See HR in Panya, the manual's leave types and company holidays.
FAQ#
How long is maternity leave, and how much of it is paid?#
Since 7 December 2568, up to 120 days a pregnancy, holidays and prenatal check-ups included. The employer pays up to 60 days, and an insured employee also receives the Social Security Office's lump sum of 50% of her average wage for 90 days.
After how many days of sick leave can the employer ask for a medical certificate?#
From 3 working days of sick leave the employer may ask for a certificate from a first-class doctor or a government hospital; without one, the employee explains. The employer pays sick leave for up to 30 working days a year.
Does an employee get annual holiday in the first year?#
The Act gives at least 6 working days of annual holiday after a year of continuous work. In the first year the employer may give a share, but does not have to.
Can a father take leave when his wife gives birth?#
Yes. Since 7 December 2568, an employee whose registered spouse gives birth may take up to 15 days a birth within 90 days of it, and the employer pays up to 15 days.
Is there a substitute day when a traditional holiday falls on a weekend?#
Yes, when that day is the employee's weekly holiday: they get the next working day off. If Saturday is one of the employee's working days, a holiday on it is simply the traditional holiday.
Sources#
- Labour Protection Act (No. 9) B.E. 2568, Royal Gazette vol. 142 part 74 ก
- The Ministry of Labour's explanatory note on Amendment No. 9 (Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, legal division)
- Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541, consolidated to Amendment No. 9 (Department of Labour Protection and Welfare)
- Labour Protection Act (No. 7) B.E. 2562 (Department of Labour Protection and Welfare)
- Ministerial Regulation No. 5 (B.E. 2541) on training leave (Department of Labour Protection and Welfare)
- Maternity benefits (Social Security Office)
- Social Security Act, consolidated (Social Security Office)
- Department of Labour Protection and Welfare opinion on special holidays (62_00002)
- Department of Labour Protection and Welfare opinion on changing announced holidays (43008/2554)
- Department of Labour Protection and Welfare opinion on substitute days (48317/2548)
This guide is general information from the sources above, as they read on the day they were checked. It is not legal or tax advice: rules change, so check the sources, or ask an accountant, before you rely on it.