Many business operators know they must have "work regulations," but they treat them as documents to be prepared just to check the compliance box—downloading a sample, changing the company name, and filing it away.
The reality is that this document is the rulebook that is picked up and read first when a dispute arises, both by labor inspectors and at the Labor Court. An employer whose regulations are written to match how work is actually done has an entirely different standing from an employer holding a ready-made document that was never used.
When is it required?
The law requires employers who have employees at or above the number specified by law to prepare work regulations in Thai, within the time period counted from the date on which the number of employees reaches that threshold.
Fast-growing businesses often miss this point, because the number of employees crosses the line from the month they bring in a large batch of staff, but no one notices. You should check the number currently specified by law, because the details can be updated.
Topics That Must Be Included at Minimum
Generally, the regulations must cover at least the following:
- Working days, normal working hours, and rest periods
- Holidays and rules for taking holidays
- Rules for overtime work and work on holidays
- Days and places for payment of wages, overtime pay, and holiday work pay
- Leave days and rules for taking leave
- Discipline and disciplinary penalties
- Grievances
- Termination, severance pay, and special severance pay
The topics that are most often written loosely are discipline and disciplinary penalties and grievances, even though these two topics are the ones actually used when an issue arises.
If You Already Have One, What to Do Next
- Issue it within the prescribed deadline from the date the number of employees reaches the threshold required by law.
- Publish and post it openly in the workplace — do not keep it only with the HR department.
- Keep it at the place of business so that labor inspectors can inspect it.
- Notify employees of it and keep evidence that they were notified, such as document receipt signatures or an internal system that records acknowledgment.
The point most often lost in practice is: the employer does have work rules, but cannot prove that the particular employee was ever notified of them.
Common Mistakes
Copying a ready-made template in its entirety and having text that does not match your own business, such as referring to work shifts that do not exist or benefits that were never provided, which becomes a promise that employees can invoke.
Setting punishment at only one level leaving no intermediate step between a warning and dismissal. When the time actually comes, you jump straight to dismissal without a history of warnings to support it.
Unilaterally amending the document to reduce previously granted rights without considering whether it affects the original employment conditions.
Making the English version the primary one and translating it into Thai later without checking that both versions match.
Not reviewing the document for many years even though the organizational structure, working hours, and benefits have all completely changed.
If you are going to review what you already have, where should you start?
- Compare the regulations against current actual work practices, item by item.
- Check which provisions grant more rights than intended and which fall below the law — the parts that fall below the law are unenforceable anyway.
- Check whether the discipline, penalty, and grievance sections are actually workable if an issue arises tomorrow.
- Check the acknowledgment evidence of every employee currently working.
- Set a review cycle, such as once a year together with the review of employment contracts.
Read more
- Probation: How Far Can Dismissal During Probation Go?
- Employer's Guide to a Labour Law Compliance Health Check
- Rights When Dismissed
📌 See more: Labour Cases · Business Law
If you would like your existing regulations reviewed to see whether they are sufficiently watertight, consult a lawyer free of charge — call 092-254-2045
This article provides general information, not legal advice for any specific case. Employee headcounts and statutory deadlines may have been updated; please check the version currently in force.