COVID-19 vaccination leave

Keywords: Mazars, Thailand, Legal, Labour, Labour Protection Act, COVID-19 vaccination

13 August 2021

Under Section 32 of the Labour Protection Act, an employee is entitled to sick leave if he or she is actually sick. Being vaccinated is not considered an illness or injury, so an employee is not entitled to take sick leave to get vaccinated.

However, an employee is entitled to take sick leave if the employee feels unwell after being vaccinated and can’t work.

Under Section34 of the Labour Protection Act, an employee is entitled to leave for taking care of necessary personal business. The law does not define "necessary personal business ". However, it states that employees must take care of such business on their own and they cannot assign another person to do so on their behalf. Therefore, an employee is entitled to take leave for necessary personal business to get vaccinated.

It is noted that employers may require employees to take leave for being vaccinated as set forth in the employment contract or working regulations.