LIBRARY
THAILAND 国・地域情報 会計・税務 社会保険
【THAILAND】The Employee Welfare Fund Will Start on October 1, 2026
Overview
The Employee Welfare Fund (“EWF”), which was postponed for one year, will come into force and start collecting contributions on October 1, 2026. Companies with 10 or more employees are required to join the fund, unless the company has already joined a Provident Fund (PF) provided by a private financial institution. Please note that even if a company participates in a PF, if there are non-participating employees who do not meet the company’s eligibility criteria for the PF, those employees must be enrolled in the EWF.
Last year’s article:
https://www.asahinetworks.com/library/thailand_library/7209
Procedures
- The company completes the registration procedures for the company and eligible employees through the e-Service system of the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, Ministry of Labour, using the personal ID of the designated Thai employee. Although there is no strict deadline for registration, we recommend completing it during September 2026.
- For monthly reporting starting from October 2026, the company will complete and submit the declaration form by either directly entering data into Form Sor Kor Lor 3 on the e-Service system or uploading via Excel. The deadline is the 15th of the following month (for the first submission, since November 15, 2026 falls on a Sunday, the deadline is November 16).
- A Pay Slip will be issued after the declaration form is submitted, so payments should be made at a bank counter or via online banking by the same deadline.
Contribution Rates
The contribution rates are as follows. For example, if an employee’s salary is 30,000 THB, both the employee and the employer will contribute 75 THB (30,000 x 0.25%) per month, making a total payment of 150 THB.
|
Applicable Period |
Employee |
Company |
|
October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2031 |
0.25% |
0.25% |
|
October 1, 2031 onwards |
0.50% |
0.50% |
Important Points to Note
- Unlike Social Security Fund (commonly referred to as “Social Insurance”) contributions which have a cap, EWF contributions are calculated based on the employee’s actual “salary”*, with no minimum or maximum salary limit (ceiling).
- *”Salary” refers to regular and fixed compensation paid to employees on a monthly basis.
- In the case of delayed or incomplete payments, a surcharge of 5% per month will be assessed on the unpaid amount. Furthermore, failure to submit required information or providing false information may result in imprisonment for up to 6 months, a fine of up to 10,000 THB, or both.
Exemption Provisions
A company is exempt from participating in the EWF in the following cases:
- When participating in a Provident Fund (PF) in accordance with applicable laws governing employees, where the contribution rate is 2% or more for both the employee and the company. However, if there are non-participating employees, enrollment in the EWF is mandatory for those specific employees.
- When the company has already established an employee welfare allowance or assistance fund set up under a separate law.
- When the business or activity is exempted by other applicable laws and regulations (e.g., domestic work, coastal and offshore fishing, etc.).
Q&A
Q: Are directors who are not enrolled (or eligible to enroll) in Social Insurance counted toward the 10-employee threshold?
A: They are not counted. However, as a general rule, directors who are enrolled in Social Insurance are considered subject to counting.
Q: Are employees currently in their probation period before becoming full-time staff also covered?
A: Similar to Social Insurance, enrollment is required even during the probation period.
Q: “Salary” is defined as regular and fixed compensation. Does this include actual commuting allowances or meal allowances that fluctuate monthly based on attendance days?
A: Yes, they are considered to be included. To summarize:
• Included: Base salary, commuting allowance, position allowance, language allowance, meal allowance, etc.
• Excluded: Temporary allowances such as full-attendance allowance, overtime allowance, tuition allowance, etc.
Q: Is enrollment required for fixed-term contract workers or daily wage workers?
A: Yes, enrollment is required.
Q: What happens if a company newly joins a Provident Fund after having already enrolled in the EWF?
A: The registered employee information in the EWF will be deregistered starting from the month they join the Provident Fund. Employees who do not join the Provident Fund will remain registered in the EWF.
Declaration Form
We will inform you if there are further important updates.
If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Contact Us
Please fill in this form.
