Due to the resurgence of COVID-19 in Thailand since March 2021, the Cabinet has approved new reductions in employers’ and employees’ mandatory contributions to the Social Security Fund (SSF). Contribution rates will be calculated as a percentage of each employee’s monthly wages, based on a minimum and maximum monthly wage that will be confirmed in the formal regulation published in the Government Gazette. Effective May 18, 2021, the new contribution rates for mandatory SSF contributions approved by the cabinet are as follows: From June 1 to August 31, 2021 From September 1, 2021, onward The approval of the cabinet will now be considered by the Office of the Council of State. Thereafter, the new regulation will be published in the Government Gazette before formally coming into effect. For more information on this issue, or any other aspect of labor law in Thailand, please contact Chusert Supasitthumrong at +66 2056 5793 or [email protected].

The latest updates to Practical Law’s Life Sciences Global Guide feature contributions from Tilleke & Gibbins attorneys in the firm’s Phnom Penh office, who wrote “Medicinal Product Regulation and Product Liability in Cambodia.” This overview form Practical Law covers a range of regulatory issues related to the marketing and selling of pharmaceutical products, including the following: Regulatory overview, including relevant authorities, scope, definitions, and general procedures for pharmaceuticals, biologicals, and medical devices and health care IT Pricing, government funding, and reimbursement: Structure of the Cambodian health care system, price regulation, and reimbursement Clinical trials Manufacturing and distribution Marketing: Authorization for marketing medicinal products, parallel imports and cross-border trade in medicines Restrictions on dealings with health care professionals Selling restrictions Advertising and promotion Data privacy Packaging, labeling, and tracking Product safety, quality, and liability Local establishment, representation, and residency requirements Reform The full Medicinal Product Regulation and Product Liability in Cambodia chapter can be accessed on the Practical Law website. Practical Law, produced by Thomson Reuters, is the world’s leading legal know-how resource for business lawyers, publishing a huge range of guides covering hundreds of jurisdictions and practice areas.

In an effort to unify and streamline regulations on the management of medical devices in Vietnam, the Ministry of Health (MOH) recently developed the draft of a new decree intended to replace the existing legislation.

On May 15, 2021, Decree No. 21/2021/ND-CP of the Government of Vietnam dated March 19, 2021, guiding the implementation of the Civil Code of 2015 on security for performance of obligations (Decree 21) will come into effect.

As Thailand deals with a new surge in COVID-19 infections, the Thai judiciary has taken additional steps which allow lawyers and witnesses to carry out their duties remotely, and equip courts with the regulatory framework to temporarily enable remote hearings.

The validity and enforceability of asymmetrical dispute resolution clauses has been an open question in Vietnam due to a lack of statutory guidance. An ongoing case related to a distribution contract may shed some light on this matter.

As a result of the decree, provisions relating to personal data protection, data subject rights, complaints, civil liabilities, penalties, and grandfather provisions, will now take effect on June 1, 2022.

Attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins’ offices in Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam have contributed chapters on labor law in these jurisdictions to the Global Employment Law Guide, published by Lex Mundi. The guide provides answers to key employment-related legal questions in 57 jurisdictions around the world, with all entries provided by member firms in the global Lex Mundi legal network. Each chapter contains in-depth information on the jurisdiction’s legal framework governing employment relationships, including coverage of the following topics: Employment categories and contract types Employee rights and protections Employment termination Leave and social benefits Restrictive covenants COVID-19 vaccination mandates and post-pandemic workplace reopening Readers can browse the contributions, generate country-specific reports, and compare attorney-client privilege in multiple jurisdictions. For more information, please visit the Lex Mundi website.