Thai government extends paternity leave to 15 days for male employees

The Thai government extended paternity leave for male government employees, granting them 15 days of paid leave following the birth of their child. This change is part of the recent Government Employees Executive Committee announcement regarding government employee benefits, signed by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam.

The updated paternity leave regulation was added to the section on maternity leave in the previous version of the announcement, which was issued in 2011. The older version allowed only government officials to have 98 days of maternity leave and 15 days of paternity leave, both with full pay. Female government employees already receive 90 days of maternity leave.

Wissanu Krea-ngam stated that the new regulation aims to provide equal rights to government employees working for government agencies who do not receive the same fringe benefits as government officials. Government employees, including those on limited contracts, perform similar tasks as government officials, but they do not have to pass a national government test and do not receive a pension upon retirement. This system was introduced to reduce costs, reported Bangkok Post.

According to the announcement, male employees wishing to take the 15-day paternity leave must inform their supervisor within 30 days after the child’s birth.

Supervisors have the authority to request evidence from the employees. If employees want to take leave after their child is more than 30 days old, they can do so without pay for 15 days, unless their supervisors approve the leave with full pay.