Key Amendments under the Labour Protection Act (No. 9), B.E. 2568 (2025)

Tax and Legal Updates No. 2 / 2026 : Key Amendments under the Labour Protection Act (No. 9), B.E. 2568 (2025)

The Royal Thai Government Gazette has announced the Labour Protection Act (No. 9), B.E. 2568 (2025) (“Amendment No. 9”), which amends key provisions under the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998) (“Labour Protection Act”). The amendments are effective from 7th December 2025 introduce new protections, leave entitlements and employer compliance requirements.

Here are the key changes of the amendments:

1. Extension of Maternity Leave
 

2. Postnatal care leave (Female employee) 

• Up to 15 days for caring for a child with illness, complications, abnormality, or disability. 
• Requires a medical certificate issued by a modern medicine practitioner. 
• Wage entitlement: 50% of wage.

3. Leave to assist his/her spouse giving birth: to 15 days

• Entitlement increased to 15 days. 
• Applies to spouses under the Marriage Equality regulation. 
• Wage entitlement: 100% of wage. 
• Leave may be taken: 
  • before or on the date of childbirth; and
  • must be taken within 90 days of childbirth.

4. Required Employer to submit Form Kor Ror. 11

5. Protection of Service Contractors Engaged by Government Agencies

Certain individuals engaged under government service contracts may now be treated similarly to employees under labour law protections.

Additionally, others than the amendments mentioned above, labour experts and stakeholder groups have recently proposed further revisions to the Labour Protection Act, aiming to modernise Thailand’s labour standards and strengthen employee well-being. 

The proposed draft amendments introduce eight key areas of enhancement:

• Establishing clearer obligations for employers to treat all employees equally in all aspects of employment.
• Requiring employers to publicly announce normal working hours, including daily start and end times, consistent with the working-hour limits specified in ministerial regulations for each type of work.
• Increasing weekly rest days to at least two days per week, with no more than five consecutive working days between rest days.
• Allowing employees who have worked for at least 120 consecutive days to take a minimum of ten days of annual vacation leave per year.
• Clarifying that days on which employees are unable to work due to work-related injury or illness, menstruation leave, or maternity leave shall not be counted as sick leave.
• Granting employees the right to take leave to care for close family members or dependents who are hospitalised or require physical or psychological care.
• Requiring employers to provide appropriate and safe facilities for breastfeeding or milk expression in the workplace.
• Introducing the right for female employees to take menstruation leave.

These draft amendments are currently under review by the relevant parliamentary committee and are expected to be discussed during the upcoming parliamentary session scheduled to open on 12 December 2025. If progressed, they may lead to further elevation of labour standards and employee rights.

Conclusion

The Amendment mentioned above enhances employee protection but requires careful compliance. Employers should update HR policies, while further Labour Protection Act amendments may follow, with updates to be monitored.

For full details of the amendment and all applicable requirements, please refer to: https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/documents/89818.pdf