Services / Labour and employment
A labour inspector's order: thirty days
A labour inspector's order is not an opinion. It becomes final of its own accord if left for more than thirty days, and an employer wishing to challenge it faces a further condition: money on deposit first.
Thirty days from learning of the order
The first paragraph of section 125 of the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998) provides that once a labour inspector has made an order under section 124, an employer, an employee, or the statutory heirs of a deceased employee who is dissatisfied may take the matter to court within thirty days of learning of it. The right belongs to both sides, not only to whoever lost before the inspector.
Left alone, the order becomes final
The second paragraph provides that where none of them brings the matter to court within the period, the order becomes final. Final here means the substance can no longer be disputed, not merely that a chance to appeal has been lost. The consequence is therefore much heavier than letting a deadline slip in an ordinary case.
The condition placed on employers
The third paragraph provides that where the employer is the one bringing the matter to court, it must first deposit with the court the amount falling due under the order. That is a condition of suing at all, not something to be arranged afterwards. An employer intending to challenge therefore has to have both the pleading and the money ready inside the same thirty days.
What happens to the deposit
The closing paragraph provides that where the case ends and the employer is liable to pay, the court may release the deposited money to the employee or the deceased employee's statutory heirs. The deposit is therefore not a fee that disappears but money awaiting the outcome, which is why assessing the prospects before filing has a direct financial weight.
Choosing the route at the outset
In practice employees often go to the labour inspector because it costs nothing, but that route covers only the sums arising under the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998); damages for unfair dismissal must be claimed in the Labour Court separately. Where both are in play the order of steps has to be planned from the start, because it shapes the whole case.
PREPARE
What to bring
- The inspector's order, with the date you received it
- The complaint and documents filed at the inspector stage
- The statements given during the investigation
- Evidence of wages and length of service
- The amount payable under the order, if you are the employer
QUESTIONS
Questions this raises
I learnt of the order forty days ago.
The second paragraph provides that if the matter is not taken to court within thirty days of learning of the order, it becomes final. What still needs checking is the date on which the order is treated as known, which depends on how it was served and what evidence of receipt exists, so the service documents are worth examining before concluding the period has passed.
As the employer, can I sue without depositing the money?
The third paragraph states that the employer must deposit the amount falling due under the order before it may sue. The deposit is a condition of suing, not an option. What can be examined is exactly what amount falls due under the order, which is sometimes not the figure the employer assumes.
LAW
The legislation
- Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998), sections 124 and 125
ENQUIRIES
