Thailand Labour Law 2026 for Foreign Employers: Minimum Wage, Working Hours, Leave, Severance, Social Security and Work Rules Explained

Key takeaways

• The core statute is the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998), amended nine times; the latest, Amendment No. 9, took effect on 7 December 2025. It applies to every employee in Thailand regardless of nationality, expatriates included.
• The minimum wage is a daily rate with 17 regional tiers. Bangkok, Phuket, Chonburi, Rayong, Chachoengsao and Koh Samui are at THB 400; the lowest tier is THB 337 in the three southern border provinces. A monthly salary is tested on 30 days: the Bangkok floor is THB 12,000, not the THB 10,400 you get from 26 working days.
• Hours are capped at 8 a day and 48 a week. Overtime is 1.5 times on a working day and 3 times on a holiday; overtime and holiday work together may not exceed 36 hours a week.
• Amendment No. 9: maternity leave went from 98 to 120 days (60 paid by the employer), and a new 15-day paid leave for an employee whose spouse gives birth was added.
• Severance has six brackets, from 30 days' wages after 120 days of service to 400 days after 20 years. Section 119 lists the exceptions, but if the dismissal letter does not state the ground, you cannot rely on it later.
• Social security: from January 2026 the wage ceiling rose from THB 15,000 to 17,500, so the maximum monthly contribution per side rose from THB 750 to 875.
• Ten or more employees means Thai-language work rules must be adopted and posted, and an annual labour report filed every January.
• Foreign staff in a non-BOI company need, as a rule, four Thai employees each and THB 2 million of paid-up capital, and Immigration applies nationality-based minimum salaries when extending their stay.

For a foreign company with a plant or an office in Thailand, the densest legal risk is not incorporation and not BOI. It is every day after the first employee starts.

The reason is simple. Incorporation happens once; labour law happens daily, in every payslip, every hour of overtime and every dismissal decision, all under the Labour Protection Act. And Thailand's labour courts are protective of employees: the burden of proof usually sits with the employer.

This guide sets out, under the rules in force in 2026, what a foreign employer in Thailand has to do from hiring to termination, and the mistakes we see most often in our Bangkok practice.

1. Sources of law and scope

The Labour Protection Act applies to every employee in Thailand, whatever their nationality. An expatriate manager and a Thai line worker have the same statutory minimum protection.

The Act's rules are minimum standards that the courts treat as matters of public order. A contract term below the statutory standard is void and replaced by the statute.

2. Wages

Minimum wage: a daily rate, 17 tiers

Thailand's minimum wage is a daily rate set by region by the Wage Committee. The current rates, under Notification No. 14, have applied since 1 July 2025, when Bangkok joined the top tier:

The industrial locations foreign manufacturers use most, Chonburi (Amata and WHA estates), Rayong (the EEC core) and Chachoengsao, are all in the top tier at THB 400; the provinces around Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi, are at THB 372.

As at October 2026 no new adjustment has been announced; Notification No. 14 remains the rate in force.

The 30-day rule for monthly salaries

This is where foreign employers go wrong most often.

A monthly-paid employee's weekly rest days are paid (section 56), and when the law calculates a monthly employee's hourly wage it divides the salary by 30 (section 68). So the monthly salary divided by 30 must not fall below the local daily minimum.

Set every monthly salary floor on a 30-day basis, especially for the Thai employees you count towards the 4-to-1 ratio for foreign staff.

Payment rules

• Pay at least once a month.
• Pay in Thai baht unless the employee agrees to another currency.
• No deductions except those the law allows (tax, union dues, specific items with the employee's written consent), and within statutory limits.
• Late payment carries interest at 15% a year; a deliberate refusal without good reason adds a further 15% of the unpaid amount every seven days after the first seven.

3. Working hours and overtime

Statutory hours

No more than five consecutive hours of work without a break of at least one hour.

Overtime pay

Under sections 61 to 63 of the Labour Protection Act:

A monthly employee's hourly wage is the monthly salary divided by 30, divided by the normal daily hours (usually 8).

Overtime needs the employee's consent

As a rule the employer cannot require overtime; each occasion needs the employee's prior consent. The exceptions are work that by its nature must be continuous and would be damaged by interruption, and emergencies. Holiday work also needs consent, except in sectors the law lists such as hotels, restaurants and transport.

Get the consent in writing and keep it. In a dispute the employer has to prove that overtime was consented to and paid; without records, that is hard.

The overtime cap

Overtime and holiday work together may not exceed 36 hours a week.

4. Leave

Statutory leave at a glance

Amendment No. 9 (2025): maternity and family leave

Amendment No. 9 was published in the Government Gazette on 7 November 2025 and took effect on 7 December 2025. Four points matter:

Maternity leave rose from 98 to 120 days. The employer pays 60 days in full (previously 45). The Social Security Fund separately pays a maternity benefit of 50% of wages for 90 days, calculated on the contribution ceiling; that part is unchanged.

A new 15-day paid leave for an employee whose spouse gives birth. The wording is "an employee assisting a spouse who has given birth"; it is not limited to men, and it is taken within 90 days before or after the birth. It is the first leave of its kind in the Thai private sector.

A new infant-care leave. A female employee who has taken maternity leave and whose newborn is ill with a risk of complications, an abnormality or a disability may, on a doctor's certificate, take a further 15 consecutive days at half pay.

Government contract staff are brought within the Act, with details to follow in ministerial regulations.

For a foreign employer the consequence is a recalculation of headcount planning and personnel cost, especially in industries with a high proportion of female staff, and an update of the leave provisions in the work rules.

Annual leave in practice

• The right to annual leave arises after one year of service; whether to grant pro-rata leave in the first year is the employer's choice.
• The employer may agree the scheduling of leave with the employee; failing agreement, the employer schedules it.
• The parties may agree to carry unused leave into the next year.
• An employee dismissed on grounds other than section 119 must be paid for the current year's leave pro rata; accumulated leave must be paid out whatever the reason for leaving.

Public holidays in practice

The employer announces at least 13 days a year, and Labour Day (1 May) must be one of them. A public holiday that falls on a rest day is taken on the next working day.

5. Work rules and the annual report

Ten or more employees: work rules are compulsory

Under section 108 of the Labour Protection Act, an employer with ten or more employees must adopt work rules in Thai, post them within 15 days of reaching ten employees, and keep a copy at the workplace.

The work rules must cover at least:

• Working days, normal working hours and rest periods.
• Holidays and the rules for taking them.
• Rules on overtime and holiday work.
• The date and place of payment of wages, overtime pay and holiday pay.
• Leave and the rules for taking it.
• Discipline and disciplinary measures.
• The grievance procedure.
• Termination, severance pay and special severance pay.

The work rules are one of the most important documents in any labour dispute. Without them, or where they do not cover the point in dispute, an employer struggles to justify discipline or dismissal.

The annual labour report

An employer with ten or more employees must file a report on employment and working conditions with the authorities every January, and notify changes in the following month (section 115/1).

6. Social security and the funds

Social Security Fund: the 2026 ceiling increase

The ceiling rises in three stages: THB 17,500 for 2026 to 2028, THB 20,000 for 2029 to 2031, and THB 23,000 from 2032.

Social security covers sickness, maternity, disability, death, child allowance, old-age pension and unemployment. Foreign employees holding a valid work permit must be enrolled.

Employee Welfare Fund: postponed again, now 1 January 2027

Under sections 126 and following of the Labour Protection Act, an employer with ten or more employees who has not set up a provident fund for them must contribute to the Employee Welfare Fund, initially at 0.25% of wages from each of employer and employee. The scheme has now been postponed three times. The statutory start date had been 1 October 2026; on 14 October 2026 the Cabinet approved a further three-month postponement, and the Royal Decree published in the Government Gazette on 22 October 2026 moved the start of contributions to 1 January 2027. The rates are unchanged: 0.25% from each side from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2031, and 0.5% from 1 January 2032, with no wage ceiling. An employer that already deducted contributions in its October 2026 payroll should refund them through a later payroll run.

Workmen's Compensation Fund

Funded by the employer alone, at 0.2% to 1% of wages depending on the industry's risk class; employees contribute nothing.

7. Termination of employment

This is where foreign employers lose most labour cases in Thailand. Thai law gives three independent layers of protection on dismissal: notice, severance, and protection against unfair dismissal.

Layer one: notice

For a contract of indefinite duration (which includes a contract during probation), the employer must give written notice on or before a payday, taking effect on the following payday, and the notice period need not exceed three months (section 17). Without notice, the employer pays wages in lieu for the notice period.

Notice and severance are separate obligations. Giving notice does not remove the duty to pay severance.

Layer two: six severance brackets

Under section 118:

The sixth bracket (400 days) was added by Amendment No. 7 in 2019 and matters to any employer with long-serving staff.

Severance is calculated on the last wage rate, including fixed allowances.

Section 119: when severance is not payable

The employer may withhold severance only in these six cases:

• Dishonesty in the performance of duties, or a deliberate criminal act against the employer.
• Deliberately causing damage to the employer.
• Negligence causing serious damage to the employer.
• Breach of lawful and fair work rules or orders after a written warning (no warning is needed in serious cases); a warning is valid for one year from the breach.
• Absence without good reason for three consecutive working days, whether or not a holiday falls in between.
• A final prison sentence (for negligence or petty offences, only where the employer suffers damage).

Two practical points:

State the ground in the dismissal. Under the last paragraph of section 119, an employer that did not state the facts relied on in the dismissal letter, or tell the employee at the time, cannot raise them later. This is the procedural step foreign employers miss most often.

Make the written warning real. A dismissal for breach of work rules usually needs a prior written warning that identifies the rule breached, requires correction and is acknowledged by the employee. Verbal warnings and chat messages are rarely accepted by the labour court.

Layer three: unfair dismissal

Even with notice and severance paid, a dismissal can still be found "unfair".

Under section 49 of the Act on the Establishment of the Labour Court, a labour court that considers a dismissal unfair may order reinstatement on the same wages or, where the parties can no longer work together, damages. The court sets the amount with regard to the employee's age, length of service, hardship, the reason for dismissal and the severance already paid; in practice it can run from several months' to more than a year's salary.

What counts as a fair reason? Courts accept genuine financial difficulty, a restructuring with a concrete plan, and serious misconduct. "Poor performance" without objective criteria and a record of improvement efforts usually does not.

Special severance

Two situations have their own rules:

The fixed-term exception

A fixed-term contract that ends on expiry does not attract severance, but only for work of a specific nature (a project outside the employer's normal business, or temporary or seasonal work), completed within two years, and documented in writing at the start. A fixed-term contract used to avoid severance is treated by the courts as a contract of indefinite duration.

8. Foreign employees

Ratio and capital

The requirement comes from the Immigration Bureau's order on extensions of stay (currently Order No. 12/2568 of 2025); in practice the Department of Employment also tests work permits on THB 2 million of paid-up capital per foreign employee. The Thai employees counted towards the ratio must be paid at least the minimum wage, be on the payroll and be enrolled in social security.

Minimum salary for foreign employees

When extending a foreign employee's stay, Immigration requires a monthly salary at or above a benchmark that varies by nationality. For nationals of the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and most of Europe the long-standing benchmark is THB 50,000 a month; lower bands apply to other nationalities. BOI-promoted companies follow a separate scale announced in 2025, with executives at THB 150,000 and managers, engineers, IT specialists and researchers at THB 75,000, or THB 50,000 with a relevant degree. These are immigration and BOI practice, not Labour Protection Act requirements, and the Immigration Bureau's current order should be checked before each application.

The assignee's side of the same process, from the Non-B visa and the e-Work Permit to 90-day reporting, re-entry permits and Thai income tax on salary paid from abroad, is in Working in Thailand as an Expat 2026: Non-B Visa, Work Permit, 90-Day Reporting, Personal Income Tax and Social Security Explained .

Labour protection for foreign employees

Expatriate staff and Thai staff are covered by the same Labour Protection Act. Dismissing an expatriate manager requires the same notice, severance and fair reason. Foreign head offices often assume that staff seconded from home are outside Thai labour law; they are not.

9. The seven mistakes foreign employers make most often

10. Compliance checklist for 2026

Wages and hours

• Every monthly salary is at least the local daily minimum multiplied by 30.
• Overtime has written consent and is paid at 1.5, 2 or 3 times.
• Overtime and holiday work do not exceed 36 hours a week.
• Wages are paid at least monthly with no unlawful deductions.

Leave

• At least 13 public holidays announced each year, including Labour Day.
• Annual, sick and personal leave at or above the statutory minimum.
• Work rules updated for 120 days' maternity leave, 15 days' spousal leave and infant-care leave.

Documents

• Thai-language work rules in place and posted where there are ten or more employees.
• Annual labour report filed every January.
• Employment contracts in Thai or bilingual Thai and English.

Social security and funds

• Contributions calculated on the THB 17,500 ceiling.
• Employee Welfare Fund scope confirmed for ten or more employees, payroll set to the 1 January 2027 start date.
• Workmen's Compensation Fund contributions at the industry rate.

Foreign employees

• Foreign and Thai staff within the 4-to-1 ratio and paid-up capital at the required level (non-BOI).
• Thai employees counted towards the ratio enrolled in social security and paid lawfully.

Dismissal procedure

• Fair reason assessed and evidence kept before any dismissal.
• Written warning issued before dismissal for breach of rules.
• Dismissal letter states the ground and the provision.
• Notice period and severance calculated by length of service.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What is the minimum wage in Thailand in 2026, and how do I convert it to a monthly salary?

There are 17 regional tiers from THB 337 to 400 a day. Bangkok, Phuket, Chonburi, Rayong, Chachoengsao and Koh Samui are at THB 400 (Bangkok since 1 July 2025); classes 2 to 4 hotels and entertainment venues nationwide are also at 400; Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakhon are at 372; the lowest, 337, applies in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. Convert on 30 days: THB 12,000 in Bangkok. Monthly employees are paid for rest days and the law divides the salary by 30 for the hourly rate, so THB 10,400 from 26 working days falls below the minimum. No new adjustment had been announced as at October 2026.

How is overtime paid, and can I require it?

Under sections 61 to 63: 1.5 times the hourly wage on a working day; on a holiday, 2 times the daily wage for daily-paid staff and an additional 1 times for monthly staff; overtime on a holiday beyond normal hours, 3 times. The hourly wage of a monthly employee is salary divided by 30, divided by normal daily hours. Overtime cannot be required; each occasion needs prior consent, except for work that must be continuous or in an emergency. Overtime and holiday work together may not exceed 36 hours a week. Keep written consent and records; the employer bears the burden of proof.

How long is maternity leave in Thailand, and is the spousal leave new?

Maternity leave is 120 days per pregnancy, including antenatal visits, with the employer paying 60 days in full; the Social Security Fund separately pays 50% of wages for 90 days. The 15-day paid leave for an employee whose spouse gives birth is new, added by Amendment No. 9 in force since 7 December 2025, and not limited to men; it is taken within 90 days before or after the birth. The same amendment added a 15-day half-pay infant-care leave where the newborn is at risk of complications or has a disability, and raised maternity leave from 98 to 120 days with the employer's share rising from 45 to 60 days. Update the work rules and recalculate personnel cost.

How is severance calculated, and when is it not payable?

Section 118 sets six brackets: 30 days' wages from 120 days to under one year; 90 days from one to under three years; 180 days from three to under six; 240 from six to under ten; 300 from ten to under twenty; 400 from twenty years (added in 2019). The base is the last wage rate including fixed allowances. Severance is not payable only in the six section 119 cases: dishonesty or a deliberate crime against the employer, deliberate damage, negligence causing serious damage, breach of work rules after a written warning valid for one year, three consecutive working days' absence without good reason, or a final prison sentence. The ground must be stated at the time of dismissal, or it cannot be raised later. Even with severance paid, a dismissal without a fair reason can still be found unfair and attract damages.

At what headcount are work rules compulsory?

Ten employees. Under section 108 the rules must be in Thai, adopted and posted within 15 days of reaching ten, and cover at least working days and hours, holidays, overtime, pay dates and place, leave, discipline, grievances, and termination and severance. They are among the most important documents in a labour dispute; without them, discipline and dismissal are hard to justify. Employers with ten or more employees must also file the annual labour report every January.

What changed in Thai social security in 2026?

The wage ceiling for contributions rose from THB 15,000 to 17,500 from January 2026. The rate stays at 5% each side, so the maximum monthly contribution rose from THB 750 to 875. Two further steps follow: THB 20,000 from 2029 and 23,000 from 2032. Social security covers sickness, maternity, disability, death, child allowance, old-age pension and unemployment; foreign employees with a valid work permit must be enrolled. The employer alone also funds the Workmen's Compensation Fund at 0.2% to 1% by industry risk. The Employee Welfare Fund, separately, now starts on 1 January 2027 after a further postponement gazetted on 22 October 2026.

Are expatriates sent from head office protected by Thai labour law?

Yes. The Labour Protection Act applies to every employee in Thailand regardless of nationality. An expatriate manager has the same minimum standards as Thai staff: hours, overtime, leave, notice, severance and protection against unfair dismissal. Dismissing an expatriate needs notice, severance and a fair reason. A non-BOI company also needs four Thai employees and THB 2 million of paid-up capital for each foreign employee, and the Thai employees counted must be lawfully paid and enrolled in social security. Immigration applies nationality-based minimum salaries on extension of stay, with THB 50,000 a month the long-standing benchmark for US, Canadian, Japanese, Australian and most European nationals.

If I use one-year fixed-term contracts, do I avoid severance?

Usually not. A fixed-term contract that ends on expiry without severance is allowed only for work of a specific nature, a project outside the normal business or temporary or seasonal work, completed within two years and documented in writing at the start. A regular position on a fixed-term contract that is renewed or continued is treated by the labour court as a contract of indefinite duration, and severance is due by length of service. This is the most common, and the most commonly unsuccessful, way foreign employers try to avoid severance.

How Louis Group can help

The rules of Thai labour law are not hard to understand. What is hard is that they cut across the management habits many foreign employers bring with them: verbal warnings, flexible overtime, dismissal for underperformance, fixed-term contracts to avoid severance. Those may work at home; in a Thai labour court they rarely stand.

And the cost of a labour dispute is not only the award. An unfair dismissal case takes years to run through the labour court, and the management attention and team morale lost on the way usually exceed the damages.

Louis Group has offices in Taipei and Bangkok, with Thai-qualified lawyers working alongside Taiwanese colleagues. We help foreign employers with drafting and translating work rules and employment contracts into Thai, reviewing pay and overtime systems for compliance, assessing and documenting dismissals before they happen, negotiating and litigating labour disputes, planning work permit ratios for foreign staff, and implementing the 2026 changes. If your Thai work rules have not been updated since incorporation, now, after the maternity leave and social security changes, is the time for a full review. Where a dispute is already heading to court, our guide to debt recovery in Thailand explains how the Thai courts and enforcement work; and the director's own exposure when the company breaches labour law is covered in our guide to director liability in Thailand . The capital and headcount you need before the first foreign work permit is issued is in our guide to setting up a company in Thailand .

Author: Ekkapong Yamkran , Partner, Louis & Partners Thailand (Bangkok).

*This article is general legal information, not advice on a specific case. Minimum wage rates, social security ceilings and fund start dates change by official announcement; rely on the latest notices of the Ministry of Labour, the Social Security Office and the provincial authorities, and consult a Thai-qualified lawyer.*

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• Setting Up a Company in Thailand 2026 for Foreign Investors: The 49% Rule, Nominee Shareholder Risk, Capital and Work Permit Ratios, BOI and the New DBD Checks
• Director Liability in Thailand 2026 for Foreign Directors: Civil Exposure, Criminal Risk, Signing Authority and the Work Permit Trap
• Debt Recovery in Thailand 2026: Prescription, Court Fees, Enforcement and Contract Design