Abolition of Criminal Offenses in Case Employers Fail to Pay Money under the Labor Protection Act B.E. 2541 to Employees

Abstract

The labor contract, fundamentally a civil law agreement, is governed by Sections 575 to 586 of the Civil and Commercial Code. This contract obligates the employee to work for the employer, who in return agrees to compensate the employee for all hours worked. Compensation may include wages or salaries, as well as overtime, holiday pay, holiday overtime, and other monetary benefits mandated by the Labor Protection Act B.E. 2541, which must be paid accurately and punctually. In this article, the compensation received by the employee is referred to as “Compensation for work.” Failure by the employer to pay this remuneration appropriately or on time constitutes a breach of the labor contract. Although this is considered a civil offense, under the Labor Protection Act B.E. 2541, it is also subject to criminal penalties including imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand baht, or both. Typically, employees do not seek criminal prosecution of the employer; instead, they prefer to claim their wages as per their legal rights. Even if the employer is subject to criminal penalties, employees must still pursue their claims through conventional processes, such as filing a lawsuit in labor court or submitting a request to the labor inspector – all of these are independent of the criminal proceedings. It is crucial to note that these offenses aim not primarily at imposing punishment or serving as criminal penalties. Furthermore, these practices may contravene the principles of the 2017 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, potentially leading to an overinflation of criminal law and various adverse outcomes. Therefore, the objective of this article is to propose the abolition of criminal penalties for failing to pay remuneration properly or within the designated timeframe, and to explore alternative methods of addressing such offenses, such as non-criminal (Pinai) fines.