Thailand’s Employee Welfare Fund is now effective: What Employers need to know

The Employee Welfare Fund is a contribution-based financial safety net to aid employees during exigencies including termination of employment or death. It has been a part of Thailand’s Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998) [LPA] for some time, but the collection of contributions had not commenced owing to the absence of implementing regulations. The LPA simply stated the contribution rates would not exceed 5% of the employee’s wages. Ministerial Regulation to determine the rates of savings and contributions to the employee welfare fund, 2025 [1]was issued to commence mandatory contributions to the Fund from both the employer and the employee starting 1 October 2026.

Effective today i.e. 1^st October, 2026, employers and employees in Thailand who are subject to the Fund will be required to make monthly contributions at the following rates:

• Effective 1^st  October 2026 to 30 September 2031, both employers and employees will make matching contributions of 0.25% of the employee’s wages;
• Effective 1^st October 2031, the contribution rate for both employees and employers will increase to 0.50% of the employee’s wages.

Employers will need to deduct the employee’s contribution each time wages are paid and pay the corresponding employer contribution. Employers must also forward a list of their eligible employees and the respective contributions to their relevant Labour Welfare and Protection Office by the 15^th of the month following the month when the contributions were remitted. Employers who fail to make the required contributions will be liable to make an additional contribution at the rate of 5% of an employee’s wages.

Who is subject to the Fund?

Employers with 10 or more employees will be required to register themselves and their employees as members of the Fund. Employers who have established a provident fund for their employees or separate employee support programmes to provide benefits to employees in instances of termination or death are generally exempt from the requirement to participate in the Fund.

Who will be affected?

Employers eligible for the Employee Welfare Fund should assess their existing employee welfare and provident fund arrangements to determine whether they are required to make contributions to the Employee Welfare Fund. Employers who determine they are in fact subject to the Fund must introduce processes and mechanisms to create and forward a list of their eligible employees and their contributions to their relevant Labour Welfare and Protection Office.

What must employers do?

• Employers who presently have an existing provident fund should verify whether all employees are covered and assess whether employees who are not members of the provident fund are required to register with the Fund.
• Register with the Fund through the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare’s e-Service system.
• Implement a monthly contribution deduction process to ensure that the required Fund contributions are deducted from employees’ wages each month.
• Ensure timely remittance of contributions by paying both the employer’s and employees’ contributions to the Fund each time the employees’ wages are paid.
• Have processes in place for maintaining a list of employees and their respective contributions and send them to the relevant Labour Welfare and Protection Office.

Compliance takeaways for Employers

Mandatory contributions to the Employee Welfare Fund from both the employer and the employee are set to commence from 1 October 2026, by virtue of a Ministerial Regulation that itself repealed its preceding Ministerial Regulation and in the process postponed the commencement of the mandatory contributions from 1 October 2025 to 1 October 2026.

Employers should also be mindful of the penalties and enforcement provisions. Failure to submit the required descriptions or notify amendments or submitting or notifying false statements may be punished with imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to THB 10,000 or both. Where contributions are not remitted or paid in full by the due date, a Labour Inspector may issue a written notice to the effect that the contribution is required to be paid within at least 30 days from receipt of the notice. In addition, where a violation by a juristic person results from the order, performance or neglect of a duty by a managing director or other responsible person, the individual may also be subject to the applicable penalty.

How can Komrisk help?

With Thailand’s Employee Welfare Fund contributions becoming mandatory effective 1 October 2026, employers must ensure to register on time, make the necessary contributions and send the list of employees and contributions to the relevant Labour Welfare and Protection Office within prescribed deadlines. This is in addition to the vast ocean of labour obligations to which an employer in Singapore is subject. Manually tracking these requires manpower, time and resources and as a result increases the risk of oversight.

Komrisk, our regulatory compliance management software helps organisations translate evolving regulatory requirements into clear and actionable tasks. It enables companies to assign responsibilities, set automated reminders, monitor compliance status and maintain supporting evidence in one centralised platform. This helps employers focus less on manual tracking and more on compliance oversight and management.

[1] https://teams.public.onecdn.static.microsoft/evergreen-assets/safelinks/2/atp-safelinks.html

Author: Rohini Hazra, Chandrayan Gupta

Co-Author: Antara Dasgupta

This content is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute a legal opinion. Readers are encouraged to seek legal counsel prior to acting upon any of the information provided herein. Despite our efforts to maintain accuracy, we do not make representations, warranties or undertakings regarding the quality, completeness or reliability of the content.  This content, including the design, text, graphics, their selection and arrangement, is Copyright 2026, Lexplosion Solutions Private Limited or its licensors. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, and all moral rights are asserted and reserved.

For any clarifications, please reach out to us at 91-33-40618083 or inquiries@lexplosion.in. Refer to our privacy policy by clicking here.