Laos - CLR

Laos

Score
improved

2024 Score

73.5

2022 Score

71.5

2020 Score

-

Rating

Reasonable Access to Decent Work

Fair
Wages

60

Decent
Working Hours

60

Employment
Security

80

Family
Responsibilities

50

Maternity
at Work

100

Safe
Work

75

Social
Security

100

Fair
Treatment

60

Child &
Forced Labour

100

Freedom of
Association

50

Fair Wages - 60

Question	Answer	Score	Legal Basis	Trend
Does the legislation or collective negotiation set and determine the minimum wages in the country?	Yes	1	§105 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	Score on the Minimum Wage component improved due to revision of minimum wage after 1 January 2022.
Does the law require regular and timely payment of wages?	No	0	§104 & 110 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law require overtime compensation to be at least 125% of the regular hourly rate?	Yes	1	§114 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law require any additional compensation for working on a weekly rest day?	No	0	No applicable legal provision could be located	No Change
Does the law require additional compensation for night work?	Yes	1	§61, 91 & 116 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change

Decent Working Hours - 60

Question	Answer	Score	Legal Basis	Trend
Does the law stipulate general weekly working hours as 48 hours or lower?	Yes	1	§51 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law restrict maximum working hours, including overtime, to 56 hours per week?	No	0	§53 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law require a paid weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours?	Yes	1	§54 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law require paid public holidays?	Yes	1	§55 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law require at least three working weeks of paid annual leave?	No	0	§57 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change

Employment Security - 80

Question	Answer	Score	Legal Basis	Trend
Does the law require a written employment contract or employment particulars to be given to a worker on commencement of employment?	Yes	1	§75-78 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law restrict the hiring of fixed-term contract workers?	Yes	1	§76 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law limit the length of the probation period, including renewals, to three months?	Yes	1	§79 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law require a 30-day notice period before employment contract termination?	No	0	§80, 82 & 83 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law require severance pay at the rate of at least two weeks of wages for every year of service?	Yes	1	§88 & 90 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change

Family Responsibilities - 50

Question	Answer	Score	Legal Basis	Trend
Does the law require a four-month parental leave for parents?	No	0	No applicable legal provisions could be located	No Change
Does the law require at least one week of paid paternity leave for fathers*?	No	0	§58 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law require flexible working arrangements* for workers with family responsibilities?	Yes	1	No applicable legal provisions could be located	No Change
Does the law require paid nursing breaks?	Yes	1	§98 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change

Maternity at Work - 100

Question	Answer	Score	Legal Basis	Trend
Does the law prohibit inquiring about pregnancy during recruitment?	Yes	1	§100 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law require maternity leave of at least 14 weeks?	Yes	1	§98 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law require cash maternity benefits to be at least two-thirds (66.67%) of a worker's former wage?	Yes	1	§99 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013; §24-25 & 49 of the Social Security Law, 2018	No Change
Does the law require cash maternity benefits to be paid through a contributory social insurance or a universal benefits system or such benefits are an employer's liability?	Yes	1	§99 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013; §24-25 & 49 of the Social Security Law, 2018	No Change
Does the law protect workers from dismissals during or on account of pregnancy?	Yes	1	§100 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change

Safe Work - 75

Question	Answer	Score	Legal Basis	Trend
Does the law require employers to provide free personal protective equipment to workers?	No	0	§64, 117 & 119 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law require employers to train workers on health and safety Issues?	Yes	1	§119 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law restrict work that is prejudicial to the health of the mother or the child?	Yes	1	§97 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law provide for employment injury benefits in the event of an occupational accident or disease?	Yes	1	§128 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013; §52-57 & §64-65 of the Social Security Law, 2018	No Change

Social Security - 100

Question	Answer	Score	Legal Basis	Trend
Does the law provide for an old age benefit?	Yes	1	§72-74 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law provide for survivors' benefits?	Yes	1	§129 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013; §16 & 17 of the Social Security Law, 2018	No Change
Does the law provide for unemployment benefits?	Yes	1	§66 & 67 of the Social Security Law, 2018	No Change
Does the law require paid sick leave (and sickness benefits) for the first six months of sickness?	Yes	1	§56 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013; §9, 27 & 51 of the Social Security law, 2018	No Change
Does the law provide for invalidity benefits?	Yes	1	§129 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change

Fair Treatment - 60

Question	Answer	Score	Legal Basis	Trend
Does the law require equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value?	No	0	§37 of the Constitution, 2003; §96 of the Labour Law, 2013; §15 of the Law for Protection of Women, 2004	No Change
Does the law prohibit sexual harassment in employment?	Yes	1	§35 of the Constitution, 2003; §83(4), 90 & 141 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013; Gender Equality Law	No Change
Does the law prohibit discrimination in employment matters?	No	0	§35 of the Constitution, 2003; §141 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law allow women to do the same job as men?	Yes	1	§37 & 39 of the Constitution, 2003; §96 of the Lao PDR Labour Law, 2013; §15 of the Law for Protection of Women, 2004	No Change
Does the law guarantee basic labour protection to the platform workers?	Yes	1	Social Security Law, 2018; ISSA Country Profile for Lao PDR	No Change

Child & Forced Labour - 100

Question	Answer	Score	Legal Basis	Trend
Does the law prohibit the employment of children?	Yes	1	§101 of the Laos Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law set employment entry age equal to or higher than the compulsory schooling age?	Yes	1	§12-14 and 28 of the Education Law, 2015	No Change
Does the law prohibit the employment of young persons in hazardous work under the age of 18 years?	Yes	1	§101 & 102 of the Laos Labour Law, 2013	No Change
Does the law prohibit forced labour?	Yes	1	§59 of the Laos Labour Law, 2013; §30 & 89 of the Law on Anti-Trafficking in Persons, 2016	No Change

Freedom of Association - 50

Question	Answer	Score	Legal Basis	Trend
Does the law allow workers to form and join unions of their own choice?	No	0	§20(1) of the Lao PDR Law on Trade Unions 2007; ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 (LAOS Profile); USDOS CRHRP 2023 (LAOS)	No Change
Does the law allow workers to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions?	Yes	1	§169 of Lao PDR Labour Law 2013	No Change
Does the law provide the right to strike?	Yes	1	§154 of Lao PDR Labour Law 2013; USDOS CRHRP 2023 (LAOS); ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 (LAOS Profile)	No Change
Does the law prohibit imposing excessive sanctions against striking workers, including replacement of such workers?	No	0	§87 of Lao PDR Labour Law 2013; USDOS CRHRP 2022 (LAOS)	No Change

*In order to measure the trend in country’s legislative performance over the last edition of the Labour Rights Index (2022), the following legend is used.

Score increase

Score decrease

Score adjustment

Methodological change

No change

Labour Law Global overview

Minimum Wage Global overview