Leave to take parents to see a doctor or leave to see parents for the last time. In principle, we can use sick leave. However, many employees may not know about this, which is why they may be taken advantage of by their employers and find a reason to sue them or have them fired.
There are many cases where employees are taken advantage of due to ignorance, such as requesting leave to take their parents to see a doctor once a month and then being fired by the employer (Details: https://pantip.com/topic/34563396/page2 )
Or the latest case, Phi Kob of a famous hotel refused to let her employee take leave to go back to see her mother who was about to pass away. The gist of the situation is that the mother of this employee was seriously ill and about to die, so she asked for leave to go see her mother, but Phi Kob did not allow it. In the end, she really had to take leave because her mother had passed away. But instead of Phi Kob sympathizing and allowing her to go home to take care of the funeral, she chose to reply via Line Chant, inviting her to resign instead. (More details: Labor waiting for Monday to invite “Phi Kob – the executive” to explain the reason for not allowing leave .)
“What did I do wrong? Should I sympathize with you or understand you? Isn’t that too much?”
The reproachful sentence that occurred after the incident, along with the Line Chat image where the young female employee was talking back to Phi Kob HR, was shared online, and many big phenomena followed. For example, many netizens shared the post, a heavy tour bus hit the famous hotel where Phi Kob worked, TV and online media shared the story, and there was a lot of criticism. And that’s not all, in terms of the law, many famous lawyers talked about this issue. A representative from the Ministry of Labor has ordered an investigation into the incident.
“Brother Kob HR is a very important case study.”
The matter of Empathy or sympathy is an important foundation that a good human being should have, especially in the business that P’Kob works in taking care of employees, which is the hotel business or Hospitality, which is a business that requires a lot of love and care in providing service. But it turns out that the behavior that is shown is the complete opposite. The consequences cause a lot of damage, whether in terms of the image of the organization and the hotel.
At this point, it is uncertain whether this will affect the hotel’s income, such as whether customers will cancel their bookings or not. Will it affect their choice of accommodation? In this case, there is a risk of being considered as an unfair dismissal. However, the latest news is that the hotel management has informed that there is no need to resign. Let the female employee take care of the funeral arrangements and then return to work.
However, the reputation of the hotel has been severely damaged, both by Phi Kob or HR and by the hotel itself. It is considered to be completely destroyed because both online and offline communities have come out to condemn it. Everyone wants to know how Phi Kob HR will end up?
How will this end? We have to wait for clarity, but this makes us come back to understand the law more so that we don’t fall victim to HR or executives who are looking to take advantage of employees.
“Is taking leave to take your parents to see a doctor or taking leave to see your parents for the last time considered necessary business?”
According to the Labor Law page, if it is a case where parents must be taken to see a doctor,
In this case, it should be considered necessary and must be done by yourself. Sick leave can be taken to attend to necessary family business, such as attending a wedding or ordination ceremony of a child or a funeral of a family member. Or, it can be taken to attend to one’s own business, such as making an ID card, a driver’s license, or registering a marriage, etc.
Or taking parents or children to see a doctor or get vaccinated is considered a necessary task because the law has determined that taking care of parents or children is a moral obligation that must be done.
Therefore, if it is a case of taking leave to visit parents for the last time, it is also considered an essential business.
All employees are therefore able to use sick leave, according to the Labor Protection Act 41, Section 34, which states that employees have the right to take leave for necessary business for no less than 3 working days per year, and will receive wages for the entire sick leave period.
If an employee requests to exercise his/her rights, the employer or supervisor should consider his/her rights by considering whether the reason for the leave is “essential business” or not, not giving him/her an option by letting him/her resign.
What if the employee has used up all their sick leave rights?
Employees can also use their annual leave rights, which are granted by law to 6 days per year with pay, or some companies may provide more. This is considered a right that employees can use.
And what if the employee has already used up all of his/her sick leave and vacation leave?
Employees can also use the right to unpaid leave, such as taking leave on a certain day and not receiving a salary for that day. This is another option that can be used if the employee truly needs to take a parent or child to see a doctor or needs to take leave for necessary business.
Conclusion
In terms of leave or sick leave, employees have the right to use it. Even employers have the right not to approve it. If they see that both types of leave requests are not reasonable, they can do so. But in P’Kob’s case, it may be considered an overreaction, which both P’Kob and his employer must be responsible for the results and impacts that will follow.
For employees, we also need to know some relevant laws and know what forms of leave we can choose so that we do not lose benefits and are not taken advantage of by employers.
More information about labor laws : Department of Labor Protection and Welfare Hotline 1506 press 3 and 1546
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