A House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee has approved a bill increasing paid parental leave from 90 days to 120 days. The bill is expected to be returned to parliament for its second and third reading once the session opens in July.

People’s Party MP Sia Jampathong said in a Facebook post that the House of Representatives’ Ad-Hoc Committee responsible for drafting amendments to the Labour Protection Act approved a version of the bill which would increase paid parental leave to 120 days, with an additional 15 days if the baby is born unhealthy. A partner can also take leave of up to 15 days for parental duties. Employers will be required to pay for 60 days of parental leave, while the Social Security Fund will cover the remaining 60 days.

The bill would also extend the protection under the Labour Protection Act to government and state enterprise employees.

In March 2024, the House passed the first readings of two versions of the bill on parental leave, one proposed by People’s Party MP Wanvipa Maison and another by the Bhumjaithai Party. On 19 February 2025, the committee returned the bill to the House for its second reading, but the House voted to return the bill to the committee for improvement following a debate on whether to include a clause requiring all labour rights regulations to meet the standards enshrined in the Labour Protection Act and how to write this part of the legislation.

The bill is expected to return to parliament for its second and third readings after the new session opens in July.

Sia said that although he is disappointed that he could not push for a 180-day parental leave as he promised during the 2023 election campaign, he considers the increase to 120 days to be progress. He noted that parental leave in Thailand has not been increased since it was set at 90 days a decade ago.