Implementation of the Employee Welfare Fund: Contribution collection, membership conditions, and compliance requirements

These new regulations aim to facilitate the collection of contributions and supplementary contributions from employees and employers to provide financial assistance to employees in the event of termination of employment or death. The collection of contributions and supplementary contributions to the Employee Welfare Fund (“the Fund”) will commence on 1 October 2025. The key provisions are as follows:  

Membership conditions for the Employee Welfare Fund 

All employees of businesses with 10 or more employees shall be members of the Fund.  

Exceptions: Employers are exempt from contributing to the Fund if they: 

• Provide a provident fund under the law, or 
• Provide assistance to employees in the event of termination of employment or death according to the rules and procedures prescribed in the Ministerial Regulations.  

Note: If an employer has established a provident fund or provides assistance for termination or death, but certain employees voluntarily decide not to be enrolled in such a fund, the employer must still contribute to the Fund for those employees.  

Contribution rates  

From 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2030: Both employees and employers shall contribute 0.25% of the employee’s wages to the Fund.  

From 1 October 2030 onwards: The contribution rate increases to 0.5% of the employee’s wages for employees and employers.  

The employer is responsible for remitting the specified amount to the Fund by the 15^th of the month following that month in which the contributions were deducted.  

Submission and update of employee information  

An employer whose employees are members of the Fund shall submit Form SorKorLor.3 listing the employees’ names and other particulars. After the employer has submitted this form, the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare shall issue a certificate of registration (Form SorKorLor.4 or 4/1) to the employer.  

If any particulars in the form listing the employees’ names change, the employer must notify the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare in writing (using For SorKorLor.3/2) to revise or amend the list within the first 15 days of the month following that in which the change occurred. 

Note: If the employer has already submitted the required forms or requested amendments under Social Security law, it is not required to submit the notification stated above.  

Penalties for non-compliance  

If the employer fails to pay the contributions or supplementary contributions or fails to pay them in full within the specified period, the employer must make additional payments to the Fund of 5% a month of the contributions or supplementary contributions which have not been paid in full from the date that such contributions became outstanding. 

Payment of Employee Welfare Fund benefits upon termination or death 

In the event of termination of employment, the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare shall pay the employee the accumulated contributions, supplementary contributions, and any accrued interest from the Fund. 

In the event of an employee’s death, if the employee did not designate a beneficiary in writing using Form SorKorLor.5, as prescribed by the Director-General, or if the designated beneficiary has also passed away, the funds shall be distributed equally among the employee’s surviving children, spouse, and parents. 

Department of labour protection and welfare’s right of recourse 

Where the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare has paid money from the Fund, either in whole or in part, to an employee, the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare shall have the right of recourse against a person liable to pay such money to the employee, including interest of 15% a year from the date that the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare has paid money from the Employee Welfare Fund to the employee, regardless of whether the liable person already paid such money to the employee or not.  

References (in Thai): 

• Royal Decree Prescribing the Commencement Period for the Collection of Contributions to the Employee Welfare Fund, B.E. 2567 (2024). Retrieved from The Royal Thai Government Gazette.  
• Ministerial Regulations Specifying the Contribution Rates for the Employee Welfare Fund, B.E. 2567 (2024). Retrieved from The Royal Thai Government Gazette.