Understanding Overtime Under Labor Law

Before diving into overtime rules, let’s first examine basic labor rights to provide a broader context. Here are the key protections provided by labor law:

Limits on Working Hours and Mandatory Rest Periods – Ensuring employees are not overworked.

Leave Entitlements – Including sick leave, personal leave, self-improvement leave, and annual leave.

Severance Pay – Compensation for employees who are terminated without cause after long service.

Advance Notice Pay – Providing financial stability while transitioning to a new job.

Holidays – Weekly and annual leave entitlements.

Wages – Employees must be paid for their work, regardless of productivity, as long as they fulfill their duties.

Overtime and Holiday Work Pay – Additional compensation for extra working hours or working on public holidays.

While labor law covers numerous areas, understanding its core principles makes it more straightforward. The main objective is to protect employees from exploitation while balancing employer needs. Now, let’s take a deeper look at working hours before discussing overtime.

Although most people are familiar with standard work schedules, let’s clarify what the law states about working hours.
Labor law does not mandate specific workdays but allows employers and employees to agree on their own schedules. Employees may work six days a week or only two to three days per week, depending on their contract. However, the law sets a limit of 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week to prevent excessive workloads.

For overtime (OT)—which comes from the term “Over Time”—it simply means any hours worked beyond the agreed-upon daily limit. For example, if the normal working hours are 8 per day, and an employee works 9 or 10 hours, the extra time is considered overtime, for which they are entitled to additional pay.
Additionally, labor law mandates at least one rest day per week to ensure employees have time to recover.

Although overtime offers additional earnings, labor law imposes a weekly cap of 36 hours of overtime to prevent excessive workloads. However, the law does not specify a daily overtime limit.

Importantly, employees must voluntarily agree to work overtime. If an employer forces an employee to work beyond regular hours, they are violating labor laws.
While such violations are not classified as criminal offenses, they do carry penalties. Employers found guilty of forcing employees to work overtime unlawfully may face up to six months in jail or a fine of up to 100,000 THB. This serves as a reminder that labor laws primarily protect employees, so employers must be extra cautious.

This is a common issue. Employees often enjoy greater legal protection than employers, especially regarding termination procedures.
Let’s break this down into two scenarios:

If there is no contract requiring advance notice, an employee may resign immediately without legal consequences. This is usually the case in jobs where replacements are easy to find, and sudden departures do not cause significant disruptions. However, if an employee’s abrupt resignation directly causes financial harm to the employer, the employer may sue for damages.

Notice Period Required by Contract