The independent EOR directory
No paid placements
EOR OverviewBrowse providers
Home/Hiring guides/Thailand
🇹🇭Complete Thailand hiring guide

Hiring in Thailand through an EOR (2026)

Here's what you need to know before you hire in Thailand: what it really costs an employer, the employment laws that shape the contract, and how an Employer of Record lets you hire compliantly without opening a local entity. Every figure below is sourced and dated.

5.2%Employer cost on top
THB 8,963Minimum wage / mo
10 daysPaid annual leave
Days, not monthsTime to hire via EOR
Robbin Schuchmann
Written by:
Robbin Schuchmann
Co-Founder at EOR Overview
Last updated: February 2, 2026

Referral-funded: we may earn a fee if you sign up with a provider through our links, at no cost to you. It never affects our recommendations. How we’re funded

Getting someone onto payroll in Thailand splits into two speeds: finding the right person is often quick, given a labour force of over 40.8 million and an unemployment rate below 1%, but setting up the legal structure to employ them takes real time if you go the entity route. An Employer of Record (EOR) skips that setup entirely, so your hire can start without waiting months for a registered company.

The numbers that shape your cost most directly are the employer social security contribution of 5.2% of gross and the employee-side contribution of 5%. The statutory work week runs up to 48 hours, and the retirement age sits at 55, both of which feed into how contracts and benefits are typically structured here.

Thailand at a glance

The statutory facts that drive a hire in Thailand. Each row shows where the figure comes from and how current it is, so you can trust the number and check it yourself.

Pay & working time

Minimum wageper monthTHB 8,963DatedILOSTAT · 2024
Statutory work week48 hours/weekCurrentStatutory working time (national labour law) · 2024
Payroll cyclemonthlyCurrentPerplexity (AI gap-fill) · 2026
13th-month salarynoneCurrentPerplexity (AI gap-fill) · 2026

Employer cost & tax

Employer social securityof gross salary5.2%DatedISSA Country Profiles · 2024
Employee social securitywithheld from pay5%DatedISSA Country Profiles · 2024
Corporate tax rate20%AgingOECD · 2025

Termination

Notice period4.3 weeksCurrentWorld Bank Employing Workers / B-READY · 2019
Severance pay27.4 weeksDatedNational government · 2019

Leave & time off

Paid annual leave10 daysCurrentPerplexity (AI gap-fill) · 2026
Public holidays13 daysCurrentPerplexity (AI gap-fill) · 2026
Maternity leave13 weeksCurrentPerplexity (AI gap-fill) · 2026
Paternity leave0 weeksCurrentPerplexity (AI gap-fill) · 2026

Labour market

Retirement age55CurrentSSA Social Security Programs Throughout the World · 2026
Unemployment rate0.8%AgingWorld Bank Open Data · 2025
GDP per capita$8,057AgingWorld Bank Open Data · 2025
Union density3.3%DatedILOSTAT · 2019
Collective bargaining coverage1.1%DatedILOSTAT · 2020

What it costs to hire in Thailand

Salary is only part of the bill. On top of gross pay you owe employer social security and statutory contributions. Here's what an example salary of $8,000 a year actually costs you as the employer.

Gross annual salary$8,000
Employer contributions≈ 5.2% of gross+ $416
Total employment cost$8,416
Your EOR handles the filings

Illustrative, based on the employer social-security rate above. An EOR adds its own service fee on top of this total and runs the income-tax withholding and statutory filings, which are withheld from the employee's pay, not paid by you.

The main addition on top of gross salary in Thailand is the employer social security contribution of 5.2%. There are no further itemised statutory employer costs in the data record beyond that, which makes Thailand's employer cost structure relatively straightforward to model compared to markets with multiple layered contributions. The employee also contributes 5% on their side, which does not affect your direct cost but does affect take-home pay and is worth explaining to new hires.

Income tax in Thailand

Income taxPaid by employee · progressive
$0 – $150,0000%
$150,000 – $300,0005%
$300,000 – $500,00010%
$500,000 – $750,00015%
$750,000 – $1,000,00020%
$1,000,000 – $2,000,00025%
$2,000,000 – $5,000,00030%
$5,000,000 +35%
Employer contributions
Social security5.2%
Employee contributions
Social security5%

Employment-law essentials

The rules an EOR enforces in your contracts, and the ones most likely to trip you up if you tried to hire in Thailand on your own.

Working time
Statutory work week48 hours/week
Pay & 13th salary
Minimum wageTHB 8,963
Payroll cyclemonthly
13th-month salarynone
Leave
Paid annual leave10 days
Public holidays13 days
Maternity leave13 weeks
Paternity leave0 weeks
Termination
Notice period4.3 weeks
Severance pay27.4 weeks

Statutory minimums shown. Collective agreements or contracts can be more generous; an EOR applies whichever is correct for the role.

Things to watch in Thailand

A few things about Thai employment rules catch foreign employers off guard.

  • Severance can be significant. Thailand's severance entitlement reaches the equivalent of roughly 31.7 weeks of pay depending on tenure, which is on the higher end globally. Factor this into your total cost of employment from day one.
  • Notice periods are set by law. The statutory notice period averages around 4.3 weeks. You cannot simply agree a shorter period informally and expect it to hold.
  • Social security applies to both sides. The employer contributes 5.2% of gross and the employee contributes 5%. Both amounts are capped based on the applicable salary ceiling, so the actual THB figure levels off at higher salaries.
  • The minimum wage is a floor, not a benchmark. At 8,963 THB per month, the minimum wage is well below what most professional roles pay. Competitive salaries in Bangkok especially can sit considerably higher, so local market rates matter more than the statutory floor for most EOR hires.

EOR vs. opening your own entity in Thailand

Use an EOR when…
You're hiring one to a handful of people in Thailand.
You want someone working in weeks, not months.
You'd rather not own local payroll, tax and compliance.
You're testing the market before committing.
Open your own entity when…
You're scaling to a large local team long-term.
Per-employee EOR fees outweigh the cost of an entity.
You need full control of local employment and IP.

Choosing an EOR for Thailand

Providers with strong Thailand coverage onboard faster and carry less risk. A shortlist to start from:

Compare all EOR providers in Thailand

See our ranked best EOR providers in Thailand

Common questions about hiring in Thailand

Common questions about hiring in Thailand through an EOR.

Do I need a legal entity to hire someone in Thailand? +
No. An Employer of Record (EOR) already has a legal entity in Thailand and employs the person on your behalf, so you can hire compliantly without opening your own entity. You manage the day-to-day work; the EOR handles the local contract, payroll, taxes and statutory benefits.
How much does it cost to employ someone in Thailand? +
On top of gross salary, employers in Thailand contribute roughly 5.2% in social security and statutory costs. An EOR adds its own service fee on top of that total employment cost.
What is the minimum wage in Thailand? +
The statutory minimum wage in Thailand is THB 8,963. Pay below this is not permitted, and an EOR will hold contracts to at least this floor.
How hard is it to terminate an employee in Thailand? +
Ending employment in Thailand generally requires a notice period of around 4.3 weeks and severance of about 27.4 weeks, subject to the reason for termination and the employee's tenure. An EOR runs the offboarding in line with local law to limit your risk.
How much paid leave do employees get in Thailand? +
Employees in Thailand are entitled to 10 days of paid annual leave, in addition to public holidays. Statutory leave is one of the entitlements your EOR administers automatically.
About the author
Robbin Schuchmann
Robbin Schuchmann
Co-Founder at EOR Overview
Robbin is the co-founder of EOR Overview, an independent research site for Employer of Record services. He has been in the international hiring space for over a decade.
View profile