No more commuting? Thailand enshrines work-from-home culture in law
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No more commuting? Thailand enshrines work-from-home culture in law
10 Sept 07:26Key points summarised by AI
Thailand's new labor law, effective April 18, legalizes work-from-home arrangements and grants employees the right to ignore work communications outside official hours without fear of backlash.
The legislation mandates written agreements for remote work, detailing terms such as working hours, expenses, and equipment, while ensuring remote employees receive the same rights as their in-office counterparts.
This move reflects Thailand's growing work-from-home culture, building on earlier government guidelines issued in late 2022 for civil servants to promote flexibility and adaptability.
Thailand joins a global trend, with countries like Taiwan, Spain, Denmark, and Australia having already introduced or amended laws to support remote workers' rights, equipment, and well-being.
Thailand's Education Ministry is implementing a four-pronged strategy to address its students' below-average performance in PISA 2025 and tackle significant educational inequality.
The plan prioritizes closing performance gaps by increasing funding for small and low-income schools, overhauling the curriculum to foster critical thinking, and adopting a data-driven management system to reduce teacher workload.
Key initiatives include enhancing school safety, combating cyberbullying, and expanding mental health support through peer-to-peer networks, recognizing the severe impact of distress on academic performance.
An education expert advises verifying if PISA improvements stem from structural changes, advocating for a revived STEM curriculum with practical 'learn by doing' methods, and urging bureaucratic reform to link teacher evaluations to student development.