Thailand Labour Law: Time & Attendance Requirements Every Employer Must Know

Why Accurate Time Tracking Is a Legal Obligation in Thailand

The Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998) is the cornerstone of employment law in Thailand. It establishes clear rules about working hours, rest periods, overtime, and — critically — the employer's duty to maintain accurate attendance records.

Key Legal Requirements

Working Hours Limits

Standard work: maximum 8 hours/day and 48 hours/week

Hazardous work: maximum 7 hours/day and 42 hours/week

Rest periods: minimum 1 hour after 5 consecutive hours of work

Weekly rest: at least 1 day off per week

Record-Keeping Obligations

Employers must maintain detailed records of daily working hours, rest breaks, holidays, and overtime

Records must be preserved for at least 2 years

Must be readily available for inspection by Labour Inspectors

Companies with 10+ employees must create written work rules and submit them to the local labor office

Overtime Rules

Overtime is voluntary — requires employee consent

Regular overtime: 1.5× normal hourly wage

Holiday work: 2.0–3.0× regular wage depending on circumstances

What Happens If You Don't Comply?

The Department of Labour Protection and Welfare conducts regular workplace inspections. Non-compliance carries serious consequences:

1. Administrative fines up to ฿20,000 per violation (Section 146)

2. Criminal prosecution for repeated or severe violations — up to 6 months imprisonment (Section 144)

3. Unfavorable court outcomes — in labor disputes, missing or inaccurate records almost always work against the employer

How Automated Time Tracking Helps

Modern biometric attendance systems like those offered by WLTT eliminate the risk of non-compliance by:

Automatically recording every clock-in and clock-out

Generating compliant reports ready for labor inspections

Calculating overtime and rest periods in real-time

Maintaining tamper-proof digital records

WLTT provides a complete solution: from selling and installing biometric terminals (Hikvision, Dahua, ZKTeco, HIP, TigerSoft) to our cloud platform saas.wltt.asia that handles all the data processing, reporting, and compliance documentation.

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Need help setting up compliant time tracking for your business in Thailand? Contact WLTT at [email protected] or call +66 800 800 911.