If you have employed people in Malaysia, Singapore or Indonesia and you are now hiring in Thailand, the first thing worth knowing is that the arithmetic is different in kind, not just in degree.
In most of Southeast Asia the statutory employer layer is a percentage that keeps climbing with salary. In Thailand it is a percentage with a low hard ceiling, which means the employer cost of a senior hire is far closer to their salary than you would expect coming from another market in the region.
That is the good news. The less good news is that the ceiling has just moved for the first time in years, and the rules changed on 1 January 2026.
The two statutory employer costs
Thailand keeps it simple. There are two.
Social security
Employer and employee each contribute 5 percent of wages. That rate has not changed and is not changing.
What changed is the wage base it applies to. The ceiling had been frozen at THB 15,000 per month for years, capping each side at THB 750 a month. From 1 January 2026 the ceiling rose to THB 17,500, which takes the maximum monthly contribution to THB 875 per side.
The increase is phased, and the later steps are already set:
| Period | Monthly wage ceiling | Maximum monthly contribution, each side |
|---|---|---|
| Until 2025 | THB 15,000 | THB 750 |
| 2026 to 2028 | THB 17,500 | THB 875 |
| 2029 to 2031 | THB 20,000 | THB 1,000 |
| 2032 onward | THB 23,000 | THB 1,150 |
For a single employee the change is THB 125 a month. For a workforce of a hundred people earning above the ceiling, it is THB 12,500 a month, or THB 150,000 a year, and it started in January. If your Thai payroll budget was set before that and nobody revisited it, that is the gap.
The calculation floor stays at THB 1,650 per month.
Workmen’s Compensation Fund
This one is employer only. The employee contributes nothing.
The rate runs from 0.2 percent to 1.0 percent, set by the risk classification of your business. An office-based services company sits near the bottom of that range; construction and heavy industry sit near the top. It is not a number you choose, and it is worth checking which classification your entity actually carries rather than assuming.
The contribution base is capped at THB 240,000 per employee per year.
What that adds up to
Two illustrative cases, using a mid-range 0.5 percent workmen’s compensation rate.
On a THB 15,000 monthly salary
| Item | Monthly employer cost |
|---|---|
| Salary | THB 15,000 |
| Social security, 5 percent | THB 750 |
| Workmen’s compensation, 0.5 percent | THB 75 |
| Total | THB 15,825 |
The statutory layer adds about 5.5 percent.
On a THB 60,000 monthly salary
| Item | Monthly employer cost |
|---|---|
| Salary | THB 60,000 |
| Social security, capped at THB 17,500 of wages | THB 875 |
| Workmen’s compensation, capped at THB 240,000 a year | THB 100 |
| Total | THB 60,975 |
The statutory layer adds about 1.6 percent.
That second figure is the one that surprises people. A senior hire in Thailand carries almost no statutory employer loading, because both contributions stop rising long before the salary does. If you are used to modelling 14 to 16 percent on top of a Malaysian salary, applying the same assumption to Thailand will make senior hires look considerably more expensive than they are.
The floor, which is not one number
Thailand’s minimum wage is set by province, not nationally. As of 1 July 2025 the range runs from THB 337 to THB 400 per day.
The THB 400 rate applies in Bangkok, Chachoengsao, Chonburi, Phuket, Rayong and Ko Samui. It also applies to hotel and entertainment businesses nationwide, regardless of province. The lowest rate, THB 337, applies in Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.
Two practical consequences. If you operate in more than one province, your wage floor is not a single number and payroll has to know which site each employee belongs to. And if you run hotel or hospitality operations anywhere in the country, you are on the top rate even in a low-rate province.
What is not statutory, but is expected
Provident fund. A provident fund is voluntary in Thailand. It is not a statutory employer obligation and many employers do not run one. It is, however, something candidates at mid and senior level frequently ask about, and its absence can come up in negotiation. Worth deciding your position before it is raised rather than during an offer discussion.
Annual leave and public holidays. Paid time during which no work is produced, and rarely in the offer-stage calculation. Thailand has a generous public holiday calendar with substitution days when a holiday falls at a weekend, so the full-year effect is larger than a quick estimate suggests.
Severance. Thailand’s severance entitlements scale with length of service and are meaningful at the top end. This is a cost that appears only at the end of an engagement, which is exactly why it gets left out of hiring models. Understanding the exposure at the point of hiring is better than discovering it at the point of exit.
Personal income tax. Withheld and remitted monthly, with annual filing obligations. An administrative load rather than an employer cost, but it is the obligation most often outsourced first because the penalty for getting it wrong is real and the staff time for getting it right is not free.
Three things to do
Reset your 2026 payroll budget if it was built on the old THB 15,000 ceiling. The change took effect in January and applies to every employee earning above it.
Check your workmen’s compensation classification. A business misclassified at a higher risk band is overpaying every month, quietly, and it is worth confirming rather than assuming.
Do not carry a regional percentage across borders. The statutory employer loading in Thailand falls sharply as salary rises. Using a Malaysian or Indonesian assumption will distort the comparison, particularly for senior roles.
Where this sits in our work
People Profilers Thailand runs payroll and employer obligations for companies hiring here through People Profilers Bangkok Recruitment Co., Ltd., incorporated in March 2022 with the mandate to provide manpower contracting and payroll services, and licensed by the Department of Employment under Licence น.1830/2565.
If you would rather not carry the calculation, filing and remittance in-house, our payroll outsourcing service in Thailand covers it. If you are hiring in Thailand without a local entity, employer of record is usually the right starting point instead.
Sources
Verified September 2026. Rates and ceilings change, so confirm before relying on them for a specific payroll run.
- Social security wage ceiling rising from THB 15,000 to THB 17,500 effective 1 January 2026, the 5 percent rate each side, maximum contributions of THB 750 and THB 875, the THB 1,650 calculation floor, and the phased ceilings for 2029 to 2031 and 2032 onward: HLB Thailand, cross-checked against RBA Group
- Workmen’s Compensation Fund as an employer-only contribution, the 0.2 to 1.0 percent range set by business risk classification, and the THB 240,000 annual per-employee cap: Chulalongkorn University, Workmen’s Compensation Fund
- Minimum daily wage range of THB 337 to THB 400 effective 1 July 2025, the provinces on the top rate, the nationwide application to hotel and entertainment businesses, and the three provinces on the lowest rate: DLA Piper
