How Companies in Thailand Can Shut Down Temporarily During COVID-19 泰國企業如何在COVID-19期間暫停營業

During COVID-19, many Thai companies are struggling to survive. Some decide to lay off employees, and some decide to close its business temporarily or permanently. It is important for Thai employers to understand required legal steps when shutting down companies temporarily in Thailand.

在COVID-19期間，許多泰國公司為生存掙扎。有些決定資遣員工、有些決定暫停或永久停業。泰國雇主知道在泰國暫停業所需法律程序是件重要的事情。

According to Section 75 of the Thai Labor Protection Act, if a Thai employer is necessity to stop its business temporarily or permanently which is not considered a force majeure event, the Thai employer shall pay employees not less than 75% of the wages within the prescribed time. Also, the employer shall notify the employees and Labor Inspector in writing in advance of not less than three working days prior to the inception date of the business cessation. Please also refer to our earlier article “Termination of Employee” at https://0rz.tw/OrlqY for more detail of the advanced notice and severance pay.

依據《泰國勞工保護法》第75條規定，如果泰國雇主必須暫時或完全停業，並非不可抗力事件，泰國雇主應向員工支付不少於工資的75%，並在限定的時間付款。此外，雇主必須將停止業務一事提前三日書面通知員工和勞工監察員。有關預告通知以及支付資遣費的細節，請參考我們先前的文章“泰國終止僱傭關係”在https://0rz.tw/OrlqY。

Even though Labor Protection Act does not indicate the definition of “necessity” under Section 75 of the Act, the Supreme Court provides some guidance. Generally speaking, the situation should be serious and has significant impact on employer’s business.

即便《勞工保護法》第75條並未定義“必須”的規範，最高法院提供一些準則，一般來說，為嚴重的情況並且對雇主的業務有重要影響。

On the other side, we can explain that if a business is closed due to force majeure, employer does not need to pay employees wages. For example, on July 13, 2021, a Cabinet meeting approved compensation measures for COVID-19, as a measure to compensate for the lockdown resulting from the order to close the place of business issued in accordance with Section 9 of Emergency Decree No. 27 by paying compensation to people affected by lockdown orders and curfews in dark red areas.

另一方面，我們解釋當企業因不可抗力停業，雇主不需要支付員工薪資。舉例來說，2021年7月13日的內閣會議通過COVID-19的補助措施，因應根據第 27 號緊急命令第 9條發布的關閉營業場所的命令而導致的封城，並補償給收到封鎖令的深紅色區域和宵禁影響的人。

Currently only Ministry of Labor announces that COVID-19 is considered as force majeure. For more information, please refer to our earlier article “Can COVID-19 be Taken as Force Majeure For Contracts Performance” at https://0rz.tw/lIlPc.

目前只有勞工部將COVID-19視為不可抗力。更多資訊請參考我們先前的文章 “COVID-19是否可成為履行合約中不可抗力因素”在https://0rz.tw/lIlPc。

The Thai Supreme Court has ruled that the following events which cannot be taken as force majeure:

泰國最高法院規定以下狀況不視為不可抗力：

Ø The flooding of a factory 工廠淹水;

Ø A factory fire 工廠大火;

Ø A violent seasonal storm 嚴重的季節性暴風;

Ø A seasonal wildfire for which the party takes no preventive action

沒有採取預防措施的季節性野火。

In summary, if a business wants to close temporarily or permanently to survive during COVID-19, it is important to be aware of the relevant regulations.

總結，如果企業想要暫時或永久停業以便在COVID-19期間存續，了解相關規定是件重要的事情。

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