# Hiring in Thailand: employment costs, payroll and compliance

> Machine-readable page from EOR Overview (https://eoroverview.com/), an independent research platform for Employer of Record services.
> Canonical page: https://eoroverview.com/hiring-guides/thailand/
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> Statutory data last updated: 2026-01-01. Every figure below carries its own source year.

## Country

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia |
| Currency | THB (Thai Baht) |

## Pay & working time

| Field | Value | Source year |
|---|---|---:|
| Minimum wage | THB 8,963 | 2024 |
| Statutory work week | 48 hours/week | 2024 |
| Payroll cycle | monthly | 2026 |
| 13th-month salary | none | 2026 |

## Employer cost & tax

| Field | Value | Source year |
|---|---|---:|
| Employer social security | 5.2% | 2024 |
| Employee social security | 5% | 2024 |
| Corporate tax rate | 20% | 2025 |

## Termination

| Field | Value | Source year |
|---|---|---:|
| Notice period | 4.3 weeks | 2019 |
| Severance pay | 31.7 weeks | 2019 |

## Leave & time off

| Field | Value | Source year |
|---|---|---:|
| Paid annual leave | 10 days | 2026 |
| Public holidays | 13 days | 2026 |
| Maternity leave | 13 weeks | 2026 |
| Paternity leave | 0 weeks | 2026 |

## Labour market

| Field | Value | Source year |
|---|---|---:|
| Retirement age | 55 | 2026 |
| Unemployment rate | 0.8% | 2025 |
| GDP per capita | $7,347 | 2024 |
| Union density | 3.3% | 2019 |
| Collective bargaining coverage | 1.1% | 2020 |

## Overview

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.

## Cost context

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.

## Things to watch

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.

Providers ranked for Thailand: https://eoroverview.com/best/thailand/