Legislation Concerning Disability Employment in Thailand

1. Legislation Concerning Disability Employmentin Thailand National Office for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (NEP.), Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS), Royal Thai Government

2. Purpose of Legislation • To provide guidelines and improvements of instruments and practices concerning empowerment of persons with disabilities. • To provide regulations regarding rights and privileges of persons with disabilities and protection against unjust discrimination on the basis of physical conditions and health. • To ensure that persons with disabilities have equal rights to access public facilities and receive assistance from the government, and to mandate the government to provide welfare services for persons with disabilities in order for them to have improved quality of life and become self-reliance.

3. Legislation Concerning Disability Employment • Adoption of mandatory quota system in disability employment • Promotion of disability employment • Duties of government agencies to support disability employment

4. Section 33: Quota System in Disability Employment • Both government and private agenciesare required by law to employ persons with disabilities to work in suitable positions and suitable proportions toentire numbers of employees. • Government agencies involved in Thailand are currently revising the quota ratio in disability employment; • The legislated quota ratio currently employed is 200:1 (covering the total 6,547 workplaces). • The National Committee for Employment of Persons with Disabilities is proposing the ratio of 50:1 (resulting in the projected increase to 23,669 workplaces). • The objective of this revision is to create social justice and enhance opportunity for persons with disabilities to have open and full access to employment in the open market.

5. Section 34: Levy System/Fund for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities • Entrepreneurs or employers who decide not to employ persons with disabilities as outlined in Section 33, must make a contribution to the Fund for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. • At present, the levy is collected annually and calculated by the following formula: half of the minimum wage applied to the particular area in which a business or entity is located multiplied by 365 and then multiplied by the number of persons with disabilities not to be employed. • The objective of this system is to create funding capital for self-employed enterprises and disability empowerment.

6. Section 35: Alternative Measures • If any government or private agency neither employs persons with disabilities nor makes a contribution to the Fund, it may, in substitution, provide alternative measures. • The objective is to increase options for government or private agency regarding employment promotion and improvement of quality of life of PWDs.

7. Benefits of agencies employing PWDs • Section 34 paragraph 3: Employers or entrepreneurs who employ PWDs or make a financial contribution to the Fund shall be eligible for tax exemption. • Section 37 paragraph 2: Owners of premises, venues, vehicles, transportation services and other public service operators who provide accessible equipments, facilities or services shall be eligible for tax reduction or exemption.

8. Benefits of agencies employing PWDs (Continued) • Section 38: Employers or entrepreneurs whose disabled employees have continuously accounted for more than 60 percent of the entire workforce for more than 180 days in a fiscal year, shall be eligible for tax exemption in that fiscal year. • Section 39 paragraph 2: Prior to awarding rewards or recognitions, information on law compliance must be taken into consideration.

9. Measures to be taken in case of law violation • Section 34 paragraph 2: Violators are subject to payment of interests at the rate of 7.5 per annum of the outstanding amount. • Section 36: Order to enforce the forfeiture of property of any employer or entrepreneur who violates the obligation outlined in Section 34

10. Measures to be taken in case of law violation (continued) • Section 39: Public announcement of compliance or violation of Sections 33,34, and 35 of employers or entrepreneurs at least once a year. • Social sanctions experienced by violators.

11. Measures to be taken in case of law violation (continued) • Section 14: Written notification to request a report, opinions, statements, or documents about business operations and clarifications of issues. • Section 40: Violators of Section 14 are subject to the fine of not exceeding 5 thousand baht.

12. Measures to be taken in case of law violation (continued) • Section 15: Discrimination or unjust actions on the basis of disability are prohibited. • Section 16: Rights to file a petition against discriminatory and unjust actions mentioned in Section 15

13. Rights to file a civil lawsuit • PWDs have full rights to file a civil case to seek compensations as a result of discriminationon the basis of disability. • Punitive compensations not exceeding 4 times the actual damages incurred as a result of intentional manner or serious carelessness or neglect. • PWDs can give authorization to an organization of persons with disabilities to act on their behalf. • A lawsuit of this kind is waived from court fees.

14. Differences between the 1991 Act and 2007 Act • The Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons Act B.E.2534 (1991 A.D.) involves use of judgments of the Minister to impose guidelines and instruments on disability employment, therefore allows some exceptions not to employ persons with disabilities. • The Persons with Disabilities Empowerment Act B.E.2550(2007 A.D.)has the mandatory provisions in terms of disability employment. The Minister has the duty to only determine the quota for disability employment. Exceptions are only accepted in occasions that persons with disabilities choose not to enter workforce.

15. Differences between the 1991 Act and 2007 Act • The mandatory employment of persons with disabilities under the 1991 Act applies to only private agencies. • The obligation to employ persons with disabilities under the 2007 Act applies to both government and private agencies.

16. Differences between the 1991 Act and 2007 Act • According to the 1991 Act, there were no legal punishments for violations by employers under Sections 33 and 34 (violation rate by employers before cancellation of the Act was 46%). • The 2007 Act imposes 7.5% interest rate per annum as penalty for law violators (violation rate by employers in previous year fell to 34%). • According to the 2007 Act, employers cannot testify on the ground that they have no intention to violate the law.

17. Differences between the 1991 Act and 2007 Act • Under the 1991 Act, there were no alternative measures to substitute direct employment of persons with disabilities. Management of disability employment had been carried out solely by Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS). • The 2007 Act integrates various alternative measures and active participation from many agencies in the management of disability employment is promoted.

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