A country’s leave policy refers to the number of days off work an employer must offer to comply with local laws. The leave policy in Thailand is generous in some ways, and less so in others. 

Both paid and unpaid, “leave” includes vacation days, sick pay, parental leave, and public holidays. In Thailand, employers must also offer leave for military service and union activity.

Staying compliant with local leave policy isn’t just a legal requirement. Extending an employee the appropriate and expected amount of paid time off (PTO) for their role will help with engagement and productivity.

An Employer of Record in Thailand can help you manage employees without setting up a local entity, including insights on how to navigate the leave policy in Thailand.

Vacation leave policy in Thailand

The leave policy in Thailand mandates 6 days of paid vacation for full-time workers, though this quota only becomes available after a year of continuous work. 

This puts Thailand among some of the least generous vacation time policies globally. Because 6 days isn’t a lot of vacation time, some companies offer more than what local law mandates.

Public holidays in Thailand

Thailand observes around 13 national holidays. Substitution days are added to observe those that fall on a Sunday.

Thailand’s public holidays include:

Public holidays in Thailand	Date (Typically falls on)
New Year’s Day	January 1st
Makha Bucha Day	Varies according to the lunar calendar
Chakri Day	April 6th
Songkran Festival	April 13th to 15th
Labor Day	May 1st
Coronation Day of King Vajiralongkorn	May 4th
Visakha Bucha Day	Varies according to the lunar calendar
Queen Suthida’s Birthday	June 3rd
Asanha Bucha Day	Varies according to the lunar calendar
Buddhist Lent or Khao Phansa Day	Varies according to the lunar calendar
King Vajiralongkorn’s Birthday	July 28th
Her Majesty the Queen Mother’s Birthday	August 12th
Passing of His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol	October 13th
Chulalongkorn Memorial Day	October 23rd
His Majesty King Bhumibol’s Birthday	December 5th
Constitution Day	December 10th
New Year’s Eve	December 31st

Not all of these days will be offered to employees. Leave policy in Thailand states that employers must offer 13 public holidays as PTO. The rest are at the company’s discretion.

Sick leave in Thailand

Employees in Thailand have a paid sick leave of 30 days. If the worker is ill for longer than 30 days, they can use any remaining vacation days or take unpaid leave instead. 

Maternity leave policy in Thailand

New moms can take up to 120 days of maternity leave in Thailand. This includes days taken for prenatal examinations.

60 of these days will be paid (supported by their employer), remaining as per the agreement.

Paternity leave in Thailand

Thai law has no mandatory provision for paternity leave in the private sector. There is currently no government-set policy for shared parental leave in Thailand, either. Whether employees in Thailand are offered this leave, and for how long, is at their company’s discretion.

Consider the impact of offering too little paternity time off when creating your leave policy in Thailand. A good PTO policy can boost employee loyalty and retention, so it’s worth running a cost-benefit analysis with all your options.

Personal business leave in Thailand

Employees in Thailand are entitled to 3 days a year as “personal business leave.” This covers family emergencies, bereavement, and other personal matters.

Other types of leave in Thailand

Thailand’s leave policy covers several other leave types.

Other PTO in Thailand

• Military service leave: <60 days of leave at the employee’s basic pay.
• Sterilization leave: Offered to both male and female employees following sterilization surgery. The number of leave days will be agreed between the employer and the medical practitioner and will be fully paid.

Leave types with no law-mandated policy

• Marriage leave: Thai law does not mandate marriage leave. However, an employer may offer paid leave for workers to attend weddings and related celebrations.
• Adoption leave: Thai law has no provision for adoption leave. This is at the company’s discretion. 
• Jury duty leave and voting leave: Thai employees must work with their employer to agree on any leave around jury duty or voting.

Explore Payoneer Workforce Management for Thailand 

As you’ve seen, the leave policy in Thailand can get confusing. And a lot is left up to specific agreements between the employer and the employee.

Use Payoneer Workforce Management as your Employer of Record to hire and grow your team in Thailand, and for assistance with onboarding, employment contracts, payroll, time-off management, and more. 

Book a demo today!

FAQs

1) How many leave days per year in Thailand?

Thailand’s leave policy mandates 6 days of annual paid vacation and 13 days of public holidays per year.

2) Do employees have to take annual leave in Thailand?

Thai law has an interesting approach to annual leave, putting the responsibility of organizing leave on the employer, even if it’s booked without the employee’s consent. 

3) Does unused annual leave roll over in Thailand?

Yes. Thai law says employers must allow employees to roll over unspent annual leave.