Hiring employees in Thailand (2026)

Getting someone onto a Thai payroll is the fast part. Payroll runs monthly, the employer social contribution is a modest 5.2% of gross, and there is no 13th-month salary to budget for. The slow part is everything around the person: an Employer of Record (EOR) needs to register the new hire with the Social Security Office within 30 days of the start date, and a foreign hire cannot start work until the work permit has been granted. A visa alone does not permit work, and filing through the e-WorkPermit system does not mean you can begin while the application is pending.

Once the hire is running, the numbers that matter most are the minimum wage floor and the exit rules. Thailand sets minimum wages by location and sector, from THB 337 to THB 400 a day, so check where the person will actually work. On the exit side, statutory severance starts at 30 days of final wages after 120 days of service and climbs from there. Your EOR should be able to tell you who the legal employer is, who signs the contract, and how they handle these steps, because that decides what you are really signing up to.

On top of gross salary, the main employer cost is social security at 5.2% of gross, which is capped by a maximum wage base. For example, on THB 50,000 gross a month, standard employer social security is capped at THB 875, giving THB 50,875 before other costs. If the Employee Welfare Fund applies from January 2027, it adds THB 125 on that same wage, giving THB 51,000. Workers' compensation, any bonus or insurance you promise, equipment and the EOR fee all sit on top of those figures.

A few Thai rules catch foreign employers off guard, so it helps to plan around them before the offer goes out.

• Severance grows quickly. Statutory severance is at least 30 days of final wages after 120 days of service, 90 days after 1 year, 180 after 3 years, and up to 400 days after 20 years. Ask your provider to model exit costs for the role, and note that a routine ongoing job on a fixed-term contract should not be assumed exempt.
• Work permits come before work. A foreign national generally needs the right immigration status and a granted work permit before starting. The Destination Thailand Visa is for remote work for overseas employers, so do not assume it lets someone be employed by a Thai EOR.
• New welfare fund contributions are coming. Employee Welfare Fund contributions are collected from 1 January 2027, starting at 0.25% each from employee and employer. Ask your EOR whether your hire is covered and whether advance registration is done.
• Parental and sick leave are paid by the employer. Maternity leave is up to 120 days with normal wages paid for up to 60 days, and spouse leave is up to 15 days at normal wages. Sick leave is paid by the employer for up to 30 working days a year. Build these into your cost thinking rather than assuming social security covers them.