Leave Policy in Thailand

Thailand updated its Labour Protection Act in 2025 (No. 9) B.E. 2568, with amendments effective December 2025. The changes expand maternity leave, extend paternity leave to private-sector employees, and add infant-care leave. Employers must apply the new rules to all covered workers.

Key entitlements under Thai law:

• Annual leave: 6 days per year after completing one full year of service, with pro-rata available for shorter tenures
• Public holidays: 13 mandatory days per year, with a substitute day if a holiday falls on a rest day
• Maternity leave: 120 days total under the 2025 amendment, up from 98 days
• Paternity leave: 15 days for all employees, including private-sector workers, under the 2025 amendment
• Sick leave: 30 days paid per year, with a medical certificate required for absences of three or more consecutive days

Gloroots manages leave entitlements, tracks balances, and keeps employment contracts aligned with Thailand's Labour Protection Act. Compliance & Employment Governance is built into the platform so your team maintains control without managing each rule change manually.

Leave Policy at a Glance

Overview and Legal Basis for Leave in Thailand

Thailand's primary labour statute is the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998), which sets the statutory floor for all leave entitlements. The most recent amendment, the Labour Protection Act (No. 9) B.E. 2568 (2025), took effect on December 7–8, 2025, and explicitly extended general LPA protections to government-agency contract workers.

Statutory minimums apply to all covered employees. Employers may offer more generous terms through employment contracts or company policy, but cannot fall below the statutory floor. Understanding how does EOR work helps companies apply these rules correctly without establishing a local entity.

The LPA covers the following leave categories:

• Annual leave
• Public holidays
• Sick leave
• Maternity leave
• Paternity leave
• Infant-care leave
• Personal business leave
• Sterilization leave
• Military leave
• Training leave

A separate draft Labour Protection Bill, approved in principle on 24 September 2025, proposes a 40-hour workweek, 10 days of annual leave after 120 days of service, menstrual leave, and family care leave. These changes are not yet law.

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Annual Leave (Earned / Privilege Leave)

Under the Labour Protection Act, employees are entitled to at least 6 days of paid annual leave per year after completing one full year of service. Employers may grant leave on a pro-rata basis for employees who have not yet completed a full year.

Section 30 of the LPA requires employers to announce and fix annual leave dates in advance. Employers may schedule leave dates unilaterally under this provision. Failure to comply carries a penalty of up to $603 (THB 20,000) under Section 146 of the LPA.

Carryover of unused annual leave can be agreed upon between employer and employee before the leave year ends. If employment is terminated, any unused annual leave must be compensated in cash. The settlement deadline is 3 days after the end of employment.

A pending draft Labour Protection Bill, approved in principle on 24 September 2025, proposes increasing the annual leave entitlement to 10 days after 120 days of service. This proposal is not yet law. For a regional comparison, see the leave policy in Vietnam.

Gloroots tracks statutory leave balances, records carryover agreements, and calculates termination settlements against verified entitlements, giving finance and HR teams accurate data at each payroll cycle.

Public Holidays

Thailand requires private-sector employers to observe at least 13 traditional public holidays per year, as set out in Section 29 of the Labour Protection Act (LPA). Employers must announce the full list of holidays in advance each year.

When a public holiday falls on a weekly rest day, employees receive a substitute day off on the following working day. That in-lieu day cannot be carried forward to the next year.

Sector and regional differences apply. The government sector does not observe National Labour Day (1 May) but does observe the Royal Ploughing Ceremony and Khao Phansa Day. Private-sector employers observe Labour Day but not those two. Employees in the southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Satun, and Songkhla observe a separate regional holiday schedule.

This table covers the national schedule for the private sector. Verify the final official list with the Thai Ministry of Labour before the start of each calendar year, as additional special holidays may be declared.

Sick Leave

Employees in Thailand may take sick leave whenever they are genuinely ill, with no statutory cap on the number of days taken per year. The employer's payment obligation, however, is limited to 30 days of paid sick leave per calendar year under the Labour Protection Act.

The 30-day paid entitlement is a statutory minimum. Employers may offer a higher paid allowance through the employment contract, but they cannot offer less. Unused paid sick leave does not carry forward: the entitlement resets at the start of each new calendar year.

For absences of three or more consecutive days, the employer may require a medical certificate from a qualified healthcare provider. If the employee cannot produce one, the employer is not obligated to pay for those days.

Sick leave rules vary across Southeast Asia. Comparing Thailand's framework with the leave policy in Philippines can help employers set consistent standards across a regional workforce.

Casual Leave

Thailand's Labour Protection Act (Section 34) provides a statutory equivalent of casual leave called Personal Business Leave. Employees are entitled to a minimum of 3 paid working days per year to attend to genuine personal matters.

This entitlement is separate from annual leave and cannot be deducted from it. Employers may not unreasonably refuse a valid request. The leave is generally non-carry-forward and must be used within the leave year for legitimate personal necessity.

Maternity Leave

Under the Labour Protection Act (No. 9) B.E. 2568, effective December 2025, female employees in Thailand are entitled to 120 days of maternity leave per pregnancy. This replaces the previous 98-day entitlement.

The employer pays the first 60 days at 100% of the employee's normal wage rate. The Social Security Fund covers the remaining days at 50% of the standard salary rate. Employees must be enrolled in Social Security to access fund-backed payments.

A new Infant-Care Leave provision grants 15 additional days at 50% pay when a newborn has a medical condition, disability, or special needs. This applies to female employees only.

Managing maternity leave compliance across multiple countries requires tracking statutory changes as they occur. Gloroots EOR services apply current local rules to each employment record, so payroll and leave calculations reflect the correct entitlements without manual monitoring.

Paternity Leave

Thailand extended paid paternity leave to all employees under the Labour Protection Act (No. 9) B.E. 2568, effective December 2025.

Both private and public sector employees are now entitled to 15 days of paid paternity leave. This replaces the previous rule, which limited statutory paternity leave to public sector workers only.

Leave must be taken within 90 days of the child's birth and is paid at full salary. Employers should update internal policies to reflect this change and ensure payroll is configured accordingly.

Adoption and Surrogacy Leave

Thai law does not provide any statutory adoption leave entitlement. Employees who adopt a child have no legal right to paid or unpaid adoption leave under the Labour Protection Act.

Any adoption leave offered is entirely at the employer's discretion and must be set out in a written company policy. Without a policy in place, no obligation exists.

The same applies to surrogacy. Thai law includes no statutory surrogacy leave. Entitlement, if any, depends solely on what the employer has documented in its internal policies.

For comparison, biological mothers are entitled to 98 days of maternity leave under statute. That entitlement does not extend to adoptive parents or intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement.

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Bereavement Leave

Thai law does not mandate bereavement leave. There is no statutory entitlement under the Labour Protection Act.

In practice, employers handle bereavement through Section 34 personal business leave, which provides up to 3 days of paid leave per year. Some employers supplement this through company policy, granting 3 to 5 days specifically for the death of an immediate family member.

The family relationships covered vary by employer. Common inclusions are spouses, parents, and children, but each company defines its own scope. Employers should document this clearly in employment contracts or internal policy.

Other Leave Types

Thailand's Labour Protection Act provides several additional leave entitlements beyond the standard categories.

Under Section 33, employees are entitled to sterilization leave. The duration is determined by a certificate from a first-class physician. This leave applies to both male and female employees and is paid at the regular wage rate.

Section 36 grants employees a statutory right to leave for training or skills development. Employers may refuse this leave only under specific exceptions permitted by ministerial regulations. Outside those exceptions, the entitlement stands.

• Monkhood and Hajj leave: Buddhist employees entering monkhood and Muslim employees performing the Hajj pilgrimage may be eligible for up to 120 days of leave. Employers should confirm the applicable legal basis under current regulations.
• Voting leave: Thailand holds elections on Sundays, so no statutory voting leave exists.
• Jury duty leave: Thailand does not operate a jury system, so no jury duty leave applies.

The voting and jury duty points are useful compliance confirmations for international employers building leave policy documentation for Thai employees.

Carry-Forward and Leave Encashment Rules

Annual leave carry-forward in Thailand requires advance agreement between the employer and employee. Without that agreement, unused annual leave does not automatically roll over to the next year.

Substitute days granted in lieu of public holidays falling on rest days cannot be carried into the following year. Employees must use those in-lieu days within the same leave year.

Sick leave entitlement does not carry forward. The paid entitlement of up to 30 days resets at the start of each year, regardless of how many days were used in the prior period.

When employment ends, employers must compensate employees for any unused annual leave. Full settlement of all owed payments, including that unused leave balance, must be completed within three days of the employment ending. Readers managing multi-country Asia-Pacific teams may find it useful to compare these rules with the leave policy in China, where encashment and carry-forward obligations differ.

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Best Practices for Managing Leave Compliantly in Thailand

Staying compliant with Thailand's leave rules requires consistent attention to both the law and internal documentation practices. Four actions reduce compliance risk significantly.

• Audit policies against the 2025 amendment. The Labour Protection Act (No. 9) B.E. 2568 (2025) changed maternity and paternity leave entitlements. Review all employment contracts and handbooks against the current text of the Act.
• Put every statutory entitlement in writing. Employment contracts and employee handbooks should state all leave types, including personal business leave and sterilization leave, which employers frequently omit.
• Document leave requests and approvals. Maintain records that demonstrate compliance with Section 30 on advance scheduling and Section 34 on personal business leave. Records protect both parties in a dispute.
• Offer above-statutory leave where possible. Enhanced bereavement leave or additional annual leave days support retention in a competitive hiring market. About 71% of employers in APME report difficulty filling roles, according to ManpowerGroup, making above-floor benefits a practical retention tool.

Using employer of record software helps track leave balances, automate approval workflows, and maintain the audit trail required for each of these practices.

Managing Leave Policy in Thailand with Gloroots

Thailand's Labour Protection Act spans multiple sections and was amended in 2025, adding paternity leave entitlements for private-sector employees. Manual tracking across these provisions creates real compliance risk for international employers.

Gloroots manages leave balance tracking, leave request processing, and payroll calculations for maternity and paternity pay. The platform generates compliance reports tied to Thai statutory requirements, giving HR and Finance teams clear visibility into entitlements and costs. See pricing for country-specific plan details.

When Thai regulations change, Gloroots updates its configurations to reflect the new rules. The 2025 LPA amendment is already incorporated. Employers do not need to monitor legislative updates independently or adjust their own systems when the law changes.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Leave Policy in Thailand

How long must an employee work before earning annual leave in Thailand?

Employees must complete one full year of continuous employment before they are entitled to a minimum of six days of paid annual leave per year.

Employers may grant pro-rata annual leave to employees who have not yet completed one year of service, but this is at the employer's discretion rather than a statutory requirement.

How many public holidays are Thai employees entitled to each year?

Thai employees are entitled to at least 13 public holidays per year under the Labour Protection Act. Employers must announce the specific dates at the start of each calendar year.

When a public holiday falls on a rest day, employees are generally entitled to a substitute day off on the following working day.

Did the 2025 LPA amendment introduce paternity leave for private-sector employees?

Yes. The 2025 amendment to the Labour Protection Act introduced statutory paternity leave for private-sector employees in Thailand. Prior to this change, only public-sector employees had a statutory entitlement.

Private-sector employees now have a defined paternity leave entitlement under Thai law. Employers should update their employment contracts and HR policies to reflect this change.

What happens to unused annual leave when an employee's contract is terminated?

Under the Labour Protection Act, employers must pay out any accrued but unused annual leave upon termination of employment. This applies regardless of whether the termination is initiated by the employer or the employee.

The payout is calculated based on the employee's daily wage rate multiplied by the number of unused leave days remaining at the time of termination.

When does an employee become eligible for annual leave in Thailand?

Employees become eligible for paid annual leave after completing one full year of continuous employment. Employers may grant pro-rata leave to employees who have not yet reached that threshold, but this is discretionary and should be stated in the employment contract.

How many public holidays are mandatory in Thailand?

Thai law requires employers to provide a minimum of 13 traditional public holidays per year, including National Labour Day on May 1, under Section 29 of the Labour Protection Act. Employers must announce these holidays in advance. When a holiday falls on a weekly rest day, a substitute day off is granted on the next working day.

Is paternity leave available to private sector employees in Thailand?

Yes, as of December 2025. The Labour Protection Act (No. 9) B.E. 2568 (2025) introduced 15 days of paid paternity leave for all employees, including private sector workers. Leave must be taken within 90 days of the child's birth and is paid at the employee's full normal wage rate.

What happens to unused annual leave when employment ends in Thailand?

Employees are entitled to compensation for any unused annual leave when employment ends. Under the Labour Protection Act, employers must settle all outstanding payments, including unused leave, within three days of termination. Failure to comply may result in statutory penalties.

When can an employer require a medical certificate for sick leave?

Under the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541, employers may request a medical certificate when an employee takes sick leave for three or more consecutive days. For absences shorter than three days, employers generally cannot require documentation, though internal company policy may set additional guidelines.

What is personal business leave and how does it differ from annual leave in Thailand?

Section 34 of the Labour Protection Act entitles employees to at least three paid working days per year for necessary personal matters. This is a separate statutory entitlement. Employers cannot deduct personal business leave from an employee's annual leave balance, and they may not unreasonably refuse a valid request.

How did the 2025 Labour Protection Act amendment change maternity leave in Thailand?

The Labour Protection Act (No. 9) B.E. 2568, effective December 2025, increased maternity leave from 98 to 120 days per pregnancy. Employers must now pay the first 60 days at 100% of the employee's normal wage, up from the previous 45-day employer-paid period. The Social Security Fund covers the remaining days at 50%.