Start Here
If you haven't filed anywhere yet, choose your route first: file a complaint with a labour inspector or sue the Labour Court. If you already have a labour inspector's order in hand, read the next section right away.
⚠️ What makes employees lose cases most often is not the substance, but the procedure: namely failure to appear and signing agreements without understanding what rights they waive.
Three deadlines that are hardest to remedy once missed
| Matter | Time limit | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| Bringing a labor inspector's order to court | 30 days | The date the order is known |
| Registering as unemployed with Social Security | Not exceeding 30 days | The date employment ends |
| Appealing a Labor Court judgment | 15 days | The date the judgment is read |
If the case has already passed the labor inspector stage, an employer, employee, or statutory heir of an employee who is dissatisfied with a labor inspector's order must bring the case to court within 30 days from the date of becoming aware of the order; otherwise, the order becomes final. If the employer is the plaintiff, the employer must deposit with the court the amount due for payment under the order. The employee or heir does not have to make this deposit. And if the employer is the party bringing the case to court, you will be the defendant in that case.
While the case is pending, the insured person should register as unemployed immediately and no later than 30 days from the date employment ends, because registering late may result in not receiving retroactive benefits. In the case of dismissal, the insured receives 60 percent, not exceeding 180 days per year. In the case of resignation or contract expiration, the insured is entitled to receive 30 percent, not exceeding 90 days per year. Provided that the contribution payment period must be complete and the claimant must not fall within any statutory ground of exclusion. If the employer has not yet reported the termination, do not wait; register and bring the supporting documents to the Social Security Office immediately.
The prescription period for each claim is longer than this, but do not wait until the prescription period is nearly expired, because each installment is counted from a different starting point, and the 30-day deadline for objecting to a labor inspector's order is another deadline much shorter than the prescription period.
The Labor Court is not like other courts
Filing a lawsuit and conducting proceedings in the Labor Court are exempt from court fees, but litigants may still incur certain actual expenses, such as attorney fees, travel expenses, document costs, or special expenses in the execution of judgments. Those without a lawyer may file an oral claim before the court, where the court will ask questions and record the statement as a complaint. However, court officials do not act as lawyers or take responsibility for shaping the case on behalf of the plaintiff.
This exemption attaches to the labor case itself, not a personal right of the employee. As for oral filing, that right is real, but what the court records is the story you tell. If you tell it incompletely, the statement of claim will be incomplete as well.
Where to File and What to Prepare
As a general rule, the lawsuit must be filed with the Labor Court in the locality where the cause of action arose, which includes the place where the employee works. An employee who has moved back to his or her hometown may request permission to file with the Labor Court in the area of his or her domicile if it can be shown that the proceedings there would be convenient. However, this is not an automatic right, and the court must grant its permission first. Khon Kaen Province falls under the jurisdiction of Labor Court Region 4, which is located in Udon Thani Province, and inquiries about filing may be made through the Provincial Court in the area.
Use the full juristic name as registered, and set out all claims from the outset, because those who handle the case themselves often claim only severance pay and forget payment in lieu of advance notice, unpaid wages, annual leave pay, overtime pay, or damages for unfair dismissal, which are much harder to add later — see Severance Pay and Employee Rights.
If you have already filed the same matter with a Labor Inspector, do not pursue both channels at the same time. For the same statutory monetary items, filing a petition with a Labor Inspector or filing a lawsuit with the court may be deemed a choice of channel from the date of filing; therefore, you should not proceed through both channels at the same time. If you wish to withdraw the petition from the Labor Inspector in order to file a lawsuit, you should complete the withdrawal and keep evidence of it before filing the lawsuit. As for damages for unfair dismissal, the claim rests on a separate legal basis and must be filed with the Labor Court, and the monetary items must be separated so that they do not duplicate the matter pending with the Labor Inspector.
The First Court Date Is for Mediation, Not for Judgment
That day is an opportunity to reach a settlement. If no settlement is reached, the court will define the issues and schedule a witness examination. Many labor cases end at this stage, so you should attend with the amount you are claiming, the minimum amount you can actually accept, decided while still at home, and your document file. Before accepting any offer, weigh four things: your right to the full amount, the risk and time if you continue to fight, whether you can actually collect the money if you win, and the scope of the agreement and the payment conditions.
A settlement agreement made before the court is not an ordinary piece of paper. Once there is a judgment by consent, in principle you cannot file a new lawsuit on the same matter. You may ask for time to read the agreement before signing it.
If You Cannot Attend, or Have Already Missed the Hearing
If you know in advance that you cannot attend, notify the court before the hearing date with reasons and evidence—don't just disappear.
If you have missed the hearing and the court has ordered the case struck off, don't conclude it's over just yet. The court may deem the absent party as not wishing to proceed with the case, but those with justifiable reasons still have a channel to file a request for a new trial. This channel genuinely exists, but the time limit is very short, is not automatic, and you must explain with evidence why you did not attend. This guide does not specify the number of days because it depends on the order in your case file. What you need to do is request a copy of the court order and contact a lawyer on the day you become aware—not wait for several weeks thinking all hope is lost.
Hearing Day and Going Alone Without a Lawyer
In the courtroom, answer only what is asked; if you do not know, say you do not know; if you do not remember, say you do not remember, and do not acknowledge any document you have never seen. Labor cases are decided by documents more than by words. The set you should have is: evidence of employment, salary slips or bank account statements, your first and last working days, work time records, and chats with HR around the time you were let go. Because company email and work chat groups are often shut down as soon as your employment ends, you must download and keep them beforehand.
The court must remain neutral, so it will not go looking for claims you forgot to include, will not cross-examine the employer’s witnesses on your behalf, and will not tell you whether a settlement offer is worthwhile. The point where going alone is clearly at a disadvantage is when the employer has a full team of lawyers, or argues that you resigned on your own or that you were not an employee.
After the Judgment: Enforcement and Appeal
If you win, the judgment does not put money into your account by itself. If the employer does not pay, you must initiate enforcement proceedings, which require investigating the employer's assets for seizure or attachment and involve actual costs separate from the waiver of court fees. A judgment is therefore worth only as much as the assets that can actually be seized. If the company is wound up and has no assets left, what you recover may be far less than the amount in the judgment — and in some cases you may recover nothing at all.
There are two avenues you should know about. First, if your case has already been through a labor inspector's order and the employer still has not paid, the employee may request financial assistance from the Employee Welfare Fund without first having to enforce the judgment to the point of proving that the employer has no assets. The amount is only assistance money and may be lower than the amount the employer owes. Second, if the employer is bankrupt or enters business rehabilitation, the employee must file a claim for payment of debts with the official receiver within the deadline set for that case. Filing a complaint with a labor inspector or bringing a labor lawsuit alone will not preserve that deadline for you.
If you lose, a judgment or order of the Labor Court may be appealed to the Court of Appeal for Specialized Cases only on questions of law, and the appeal must be filed with the Labor Court within 15 days from the date the judgment or order is read. An extension of time is at the court's discretion and should be requested before the deadline expires. An appeal does not automatically stay enforcement. In practical terms, the witness-examination day is your main opportunity — not the first round of several — and you should have a lawyer read the judgment immediately to see whether there is a question of law that can genuinely be raised.
If you already have a hearing date scheduled, have a labor inspector's order in hand, or have just missed a court hearing, an initial consultation with our labor litigation team is free of charge. Call 092-254-2045 or write to us at contact us — we will review how much time remains and which claims may have been overlooked.
If you win but the employer still does not pay
A final labor inspector's order is not yet a writ of execution for directly seizing assets. If the employer does not pay, the employee should bring the order back to notify the Labor Welfare and Protection Office to request that it follow up and pursue criminal prosecution for failure to comply with the order, and also request assistance in filing a case with the Labor Court so as to obtain a judgment that can be used to seize or attach assets.
In addition, the employee may also apply for money from the Employee Welfare Fund at the same time if eligible, by filing form สกล.1 (Employee Welfare Fund claim form) at the Provincial Labor Welfare and Protection Office, together with the labor inspector's order, national ID card, bank account evidence, and evidence of hardship.
If the employer enters bankruptcy or business rehabilitation proceedings, a claim for payment of debt must be filed with the official receiver within the time limit prescribed in that case. Filing a complaint with the labor inspector alone does not preserve the deadline in bankruptcy proceedings.
Read more
- Should you file a complaint with a labour inspector or sue the Labour Court?
- Employees' rights upon dismissal
- How is severance pay calculated?
- A creditor's guide to bankruptcy and business rehabilitation cases
This guide was prepared by Suwanvara Law Firm — a law firm in Khon Kaen, established in B.E. 2529. It is general information, not legal advice for any specific case. The outcome of each case depends on the facts of that case. Deadlines should be checked with a lawyer.