'Service fees should not be part of Bt300 wage'Service charges on bills paid by customers for food or hotel staff will not be counted as part of their Bt300 daily minimum wage, a recent meeting of tourism and hospitality operators agreed.20 Mar 12 The Nation These employees can be given service charges independent of the Bt300 wage they earn from hotels, said Somkiat Chayasriwong, permanent secretary of the Labour Ministry, who headed the meeting. The labour law does not require employers to pay employees only the Bt300 wage, and not to pay them service charges. "Employers should be considerate about employees' morale if they choose to pay them only the daily Bt300," he said. "In case of employee complaints, the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare [under the Labour Ministry] can only ask such employers to 'cooperate' by paying them service charges paid by guests for service staff, because there is no law against employers paying only the Bt300 wage to employees." Arphorn Chunworn of Apsara Beach Resort and Spa in Phang Nga said a row over service fees would be discussed in an internal meeting on March 28. On April 1, the Bt300 wage will go into effect in Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Phuket, Nakhon Pathom and Pathum Thani. |
