TL;DR, Hiring in Thailand
- Fully-loaded employer cost: ~5.5% on capped wage (THB 15,000/month), then workers' comp only above
- Social Security Fund contributions cap means high-salary hires have very low employer burden
- Severance scales by tenure: 30 days at 4 months → 400 days at 20+ years
- Provident fund is voluntary but expected at top-tier employers (3–10% match)
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Statutory employer costs in Thailand
In Thailand, employer contributions to the Social Security Fund total 5% of insurable wages plus 0.2–1% workers' compensation, capped at THB 15,000/month (~THB 180,000/year) of insurable wage. Above the cap only workers' comp continues. Provident fund is voluntary but standard in tech and finance (3–10% match). Severance under the Labour Protection Act scales sharply with tenure, reaching 400 days' wages at 20+ years.
| Contribution | Employer rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Social Security Fund (SSO) employer share | 5.0% | Capped at THB 15,000/month insurable wage (~THB 750/month per employee max). Covers health, sickness, maternity, disability, death, pension, unemployment. |
| Workers' Compensation Fund | 0.2–1.0% | Industry-banded. Office work ~0.2%, manufacturing/construction higher. Capped at THB 240,000/year wage for premium calculation. |
| Provident fund (voluntary) | 3–15% (employer match) | Not statutory but expected in white-collar offers. Employer match typically equals employee contribution. |
Mandatory employee benefits
Beyond statutory contributions, Thailand law requires the following benefits the employer must fund.
- Annual leave
- 6 working days per year after 1 year of service (Labour Protection Act minimum). Most employers offer 10–15 days in practice.
- Public holidays
- 13 statutory days plus Songkran (Thai New Year, 3 days) and Labour Day. Employer-discretionary additions common.
- Sick leave
- Up to 30 paid days per year. Medical certificate required for absences of 3+ consecutive days.
- Maternity leave
- 98 days total: 45 days paid by employer at full salary, 45 days paid at 50% via Social Security Fund, 8 days unpaid.
Termination, notice and severance
Probation
Maximum 119 days (under the 120-day severance trigger). Termination during probation requires neither notice nor severance if properly documented.
Notice period
One full pay period (typically 30 days) from either party, OR pay in lieu equal to wages for the notice period.
Severance
Statutory severance under LPA §118 scales with tenure: 30 days at 120 days–1 year; 90 days at 1–3 years; 180 days at 3–6 years; 240 days at 6–10 years; 300 days at 10–20 years; 400 days at 20+ years. Additional 'special severance' under §121 applies for technology-driven termination (no fewer than 30 days, capped at 400). Wrongful dismissal under §49 can add unfair dismissal damages.
Common compliance pitfalls
- Severance escalates dramatically with tenure. A 20-year veteran earning THB 100k/month is owed THB 1.3M+ on no-fault termination. EOR users should model this accrual explicitly per hire.
- SSO contribution cap at THB 15,000/month makes Thailand cheap for senior hires on social-security alone, but Provident Fund expectations push real cost up. Skipping PF makes offers uncompetitive vs MNCs.
- The 119-day probation hack: terminating on day 119 avoids severance entirely under §118. Foreign HR teams sometimes mis-time this and trigger the 30-day severance bracket inadvertently.
- Work Permit and Visa: EOR hires who are foreign nationals require BOI sponsorship or 4 Thai employees per work-permit holder under Foreign Business Act, an EOR cannot solve this for non-Thai citizens.
Frequently asked questions
EOR platform fees for Thailand range from $199–$699 per employee per month across compared providers. On top, SSO contributions are capped at ~THB 750/month per employee, plus workers' comp at ~0.2–1%. Total statutory employer burden is unusually low (under 1% of a senior salary), but Provident Fund matching (3–10%) and severance accruals are the real cost drivers.
The Social Security Fund insurable-wage ceiling is THB 15,000/month, unchanged since 1990. So even on a THB 200,000/month senior salary, employer SSO is only 5% of THB 15k = THB 750/month. Workers' comp adds another ~0.2–1% of capped wages. Thailand effectively shifts the social-burden cost from employers to severance and self-funded benefits.
No, but it is near-universal in white-collar roles at MNCs, banks, and tech. Typical structure: 3–5% employer match for new hires, rising to 10% at 5+ years. Skipping PF makes EOR-mediated offers visibly substandard versus direct hires.
Under Labour Protection Act §118: 30 days' wages at 120 days–1 year tenure, scaling to 400 days at 20+ years. Wrongful-dismissal claims under §49 can add another 6–12 months. Most no-fault terminations in practice settle at the §118 statutory amount, but always model the long-tenure tail.
Yes, with no severance owed, provided the termination is documented and notice (or pay in lieu) is given. Day 120 triggers the 30-day severance bracket, so the standard playbook is structured probation with a clear decision by day 100–110.
Sources
Statutory rates and rules verified against the following authorities. We update this page when rates change.