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A Thai company that hires staff generally registers them with the Social Security Office (SSO) and pays a monthly contribution, matched by the employee's own share, under the Social Security Act — but we could not confirm from an official source whether this applies to a given foreign employee on a work permit on the same terms as a Thai employee, or what either side's rate would then be, so check both points with the SSO before you rely on them. What is settled is narrower but still useful: a company's SSO filings are also the evidence that gets checked against the Thai-staff ratio a work permit depends on, so getting registration right matters even before you ask what an employee gets back for the contribution.
In short
- Employers generally register staff with the Social Security Office and pay a monthly contribution matched by the employee's own share, under the Social Security Act.
- Whether a given foreign employee on a work permit must be enrolled, and on what terms, is not confirmed by an official source we could verify — check with the SSO before you run payroll.
- SSO filings double as proof of the four-Thai-employees-per-foreigner ratio that work permit applications and renewals rely on, under the Foreign Workers Management Emergency Decree B.E. 2560 (2017).
- From 1 January 2026 the wage ceiling used to calculate contributions is widely reported to have risen from THB 15,000 to THB 17,500 a month, putting the maximum monthly contribution at THB 875 per side — we treat this as reported, not yet officially confirmed.
- Whether Thai law has a separate scheme for workplace injuries, sometimes called the Workmen's Compensation Fund, and what it would cover for a foreign employee, is not confirmed from an official source we could verify.
Which foreign employees are covered
Thai employers register their workforce with the Social Security Office under the Social Security Act. Whether a foreign employee holding a work permit must join the scheme on the same footing as a Thai employee is a question we could not answer from an official source: the Social Security Office has not published guidance on this point that we could verify, so this guide does not state a rule here.
What is better supported is the connection between social security and the work permit itself. Under the Foreign Workers Management Emergency Decree B.E. 2560 (2017), a standard work permit sponsor needs THB 2 million of paid-up capital and four Thai employees for every foreign employee it sponsors, and that ratio is checked against the company's own Social Security filings, both when the permit is first issued and at every renewal. Companies promoted by the Board of Investment and holders of the Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa are exempt from this ratio. The ratio is also sometimes described as dropping to 1:1 for representative and regional offices, branch offices of multinationals, certified startups in a set of targeted industries, and where the foreign employee earns at least THB 50,000 a month and the company holds at least THB 1 million in registered capital — treat this as a pattern we found, not a guaranteed rule for every case.
Registering an employee: deadlines and documents
The employer, not the employee, registers each new hire with the Social Security Office. We could not confirm an exact registration deadline, the documents the office asks for, or any late-registration penalty from a source we trust enough to put in front of you, so this guide does not quote figures that circulate online without an official announcement behind them.
What we can say with more confidence sits one step over, on the work permit side: Thai sources report that work permit applications, renewals, notifications and cancellations now go through the e-Work Permit system; we recommend confirming the current scope and channel with the Department of Employment before relying on it. A company's work permit paperwork and its Social Security registration run on two separate tracks that still feed into each other, so keeping both current can reduce the risk of delays caused by mismatched records, though it does not rule them out.
We recommend registering a new employee with the SSO as one of the first administrative steps after hiring, before it has to compete with other deadlines for attention. If your company employs a mix of Thai and foreign staff, our team can review who is registered and flag any gap before it affects a work permit renewal.
Employer and employee contributions
The contribution is calculated on monthly wages up to a ceiling, not on the full salary, so once pay passes that ceiling the contribution stops growing with it.
| Before 1 Jan 2026 | From 1 Jan 2026 (reported) | |
|---|---|---|
| Wage ceiling used for contributions | THB 15,000/month | THB 17,500/month |
| Maximum monthly contribution, per side | lower, tied to the old ceiling | THB 875 |
Take a conditional example: a company pays a foreign manager THB 50,000 a month. If the reported THB 17,500 ceiling and THB 875 maximum are correct, that cap is the most either side pays that month, however much higher the salary runs above it.
The Workmen's Compensation Fund
Some sources describe a separate scheme for workplace injury and illness, apart from the social security scheme above, sometimes called the Workmen's Compensation Fund. We could not confirm its existence, current contribution rate, coverage of foreign employees, or the benefits it pays from an official source, so this guide does not list figures that might be outdated or specific to Thai employees only.
If your company needs to know where it stands, we suggest asking the Social Security Office directly about any separate obligations for workplace injury. Send us your company's situation and we will tell you what we can verify today and where you still need the office's own confirmation before you rely on it.
What it gives you: healthcare and benefits
We have not been able to confirm from an official source what specific benefits a registered employee receives under Thai social security, or whether a foreign employee on a work permit gets the same benefits on the same terms as a Thai employee. Rather than list coverage we cannot back up, we suggest confirming the current terms directly with the Social Security Office.
If healthcare access is the real reason you are asking about social security, we suggest checking directly with the Social Security Office, and considering separate health insurance for your foreign staff in the meantime. Our team can help you think that through alongside the company's other compliance needs.
What to do next
If you are opening a company, or you already employ a mix of Thai and foreign staff, send us the details of your workforce and we will tell you, within 24 hours, what to check and what it would cost to have it checked properly. Our lawyers compare a company's Social Security filings against the ratio its work permits depend on, well before a renewal date puts the company under pressure. Our team also prepares the company's documents on two languages where that is useful for Thai staff and foreign owners alike.
We work alongside two other steps most companies in this position need: registering a Thai company and work permit support for the people who will work in it, including how to get a work permit once the company exists. For a sense of how registration and a work permit come together on a real timeline, see a company and work permit in six weeks — a typical situation assembled from our practice, as the page itself says.
