New Thai labour-law amendments coming into effect in 2026

If you employ staff in Thailand — Thai or foreign — the rules have genuinely moved this year. A major amendment to the Labour Protection Act (Thailand's main employment statute) took effect on 7 December 2025, the social-security contribution ceiling rose on 1 January 2026, and a new overtime rule for security personnel arrived in April 2026.

At the same time, much of what circulates online is not law. A 40-hour workweek, two guaranteed rest days, ten days of annual leave — these are still draft bills in a parliamentary committee. This guide separates what is in force from what is only proposed, as of 10 June 2026, and ends with a practical checklist.

What is actually in force in 2026 — at a glance

• Labour Protection Act (No. 9) — in force since 7 December 2025: 120-day maternity leave, new 15-day paternity leave, childcare leave, and an annual disclosure filing for employers with 10+ staff.
• Higher social-security ceiling — in force since 1 January 2026: wage ceiling now THB 17,500/month, maximum contribution THB 875 each for employer and employee.
• Minimum wage — current rates (THB 337–400/day by province and business type) date from 1 July 2025; no new round announced as of June 2026.
• Overtime for security staff — in force since 24 April 2026: at least 1.25x on workdays, 2.5x on holidays.
• Proposed only, not law: the 40-hour workweek, mandatory two rest days per week, and 10 days' annual leave after 120 days of service.

Labour Protection Act No. 9: the big change for your HR policies

The Labour Protection Act (No. 9) B.E. 2568 (2025) was published in the Royal Gazette on 7 November 2025 and has applied since 7 December 2025. Contracts and leave policies drafted before that date are now out of step with the law in at least three places.

Maternity leave is now 120 days — and you pay for 60 of them

Maternity leave increased from 98 to 120 days per pregnancy, and the portion the employer must pay at full wages rose from 45 to 60 days. If a staff member tells you she is pregnant today, budget for up to 60 days of salary and update your policy to state the 120-day entitlement.

New: 15 days of paid leave for the other parent

An employee whose spouse has given birth is now entitled to up to 15 days of leave at full wages, taken before the birth, on the day, or within 90 days after it. Handbooks written before December 2025 rarely contain a paternity clause.

New: childcare leave where a newborn has medical complications

Where a newborn has a serious illness, abnormality or disability, the employee may take up to 15 additional days of leave after maternity leave, paid at 50% of wages and supported by a medical certificate.

New: a filing every January if you have 10 or more employees

This is the change most likely to catch smaller foreign-owned companies. Employers with 10 or more employees must now submit an Employment Terms and Working Conditions Disclosure Form to the Director-General of the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare within January each year.

It is a brand-new annual compliance date, separate from your work rules and from any tax or social-security filing — diarise it now. Our HR administration team handles this filing for clients as part of routine compliance.

Workers on government service contracts are now protected

A new Section 4/1 extends labour-law protections to people engaged under service contracts by state agencies — central, provincial and local government, and public organizations. Relevant if your business supplies personnel to government bodies.

Social security: the THB 750 cap is gone

For years, contributions were capped at 5% of THB 15,000 — a maximum of THB 750 per month each side. That ceiling is no longer “under review”: a ministerial regulation published in the Royal Gazette on 12 December 2025 raised it, in force from 1 January 2026.

• 2026–2028: contributions calculated on wages up to THB 17,500/month — maximum THB 875 each side.
• 2029–2031: ceiling rises to THB 20,000/month.
• 2032 onwards: ceiling rises to THB 23,000/month.

The rate stays 5% for both sides, and the minimum monthly wage base is THB 1,650. For anyone earning THB 17,500 or more, the change costs you an extra THB 125 per month per person, with the same coming out of the employee's pay. If your 2026 payroll runs still show a THB 750 deduction, they are wrong — exactly the kind of silent change a payroll outsourcing arrangement absorbs for you.

Minimum wage: THB 400 — but only in some places and some sectors

The current rates date from 1 July 2025 (Wage Committee Notification No. 14). The headline THB 400/day is not nationwide. It applies to:

• All businesses in Bangkok;
• All businesses in Phuket, Chonburi, Rayong, Chachoengsao and Koh Samui (Surat Thani); and
• Type 2, 3 and 4 hotels and entertainment venues serving food and alcohol — in every province.

Everywhere else, rates range from THB 337 to THB 380 per day — and the top of that band is narrower than most summaries suggest: THB 380 applies only in two districts, Mueang Chiang Mai and Hat Yai (Songkhla). Chiang Mai province outside Mueang district is THB 357, Songkhla outside Hat Yai is THB 352, and Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala sit at THB 337. Note the sector rule: a qualifying hotel in a lower-rate province still owes THB 400. No new wage round has been announced as of June 2026.

New overtime rule for security personnel (from 24 April 2026)

A ministerial regulation in force since 24 April 2026 requires overtime pay for employees whose duties involve guarding or supervising premises or property: at least 1.25x the hourly rate on working days and 2.5x on holidays. If you employ in-house security guards or caretakers, review their rosters and pay structure now.

What is only a proposal — do not implement it yet

Two draft amendments to the Labour Protection Act passed their first reading in the House of Representatives on 24 September 2025 — approval “in principle” only. As of June 2026 the bills sit with an ad hoc committee and are not law — parliamentary timetables move, so confirm the current position with us before acting on them. They would:

• Cut the standard maximum workweek from 48 to 40 hours (35 hours for hazardous work);
• Require at least two weekly rest days, with no more than five consecutive working days; and
• Grant 10 days of paid annual leave after 120 days of service (up from the current 6 days after one year).

Do not restructure rosters or contracts yet. But model the cost now: if your operation runs six-day weeks at 48 hours, work out what a 40-hour, five-day ceiling would do to your staffing budget.

Older rules employers still get wrong

Severance: the 400-day top tier is from 2019, and it still applies

Statutory severance (the lump sum owed when you dismiss an employee without statutory cause) has not changed for 2026, but accruals are so often outdated the tiers are worth restating:

• 120 days to under 1 year of service: 30 days' wages
• 1 to under 3 years: 90 days
• 3 to under 6 years: 180 days
• 6 to under 10 years: 240 days
• 10 to under 20 years: 300 days
• 20 years or more: 400 days

The 400-day bracket came in with the 2019 amendment. If your accounts still accrue a 300-day maximum for long-serving staff, your audited liabilities are understated.

Work-from-home: a 2023 rule, not a 2026 one

Some 2026 round-ups present remote-work rules as new. They are not: Section 23/1 has been in force since 18 April 2023. It requires a written agreement (paper or electronic) covering the remote arrangement, and gives employees a “right to disconnect” after working hours unless they gave prior written consent. If your remote staff have nothing in writing, fix that — but it is a three-year-old obligation, not a new one.

Work rules: prepared and posted, not “registered”

With 10 or more employees you must have written work rules (internal regulations covering hours, leave, discipline and termination). But the old advice that these must be “registered” with the Labour Department has been wrong since the 2017 amendment: today you prepare the rules, announce them, and keep them at the workplace for inspection — nothing is filed for approval. Do not confuse this with the new January disclosure form above, which is a filing.

Foreign staff in 2026: permits and notifications

e-Work Permit goes mandatory. The Department of Employment's online work-permit platform launched on 13 October 2025. Manual paper filing now survives only as a fallback where the online system has technical problems, and that window has been extended several times — most recently to 28 July 2026. Once the transition completes, all applications — including those of BOI-promoted companies — must go through the online system, with identity verified via ThaiID. If your renewals are still paper-based, migrate before the deadline, not during it. See our comparison of the work permit and Non-B visa if you are hiring your first foreign employee.

90-day reports continue unchanged. Foreign employees staying long-term must still report their address every 90 days under Section 37 of the Immigration Act (the TM47 report, available online). Separately, since May 2025 arriving travellers complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) before entry — an immigration formality replacing the old TM6 paper card, not a labour-law duty.

Your 15-day notification duty. The 90-day report is the employee's duty, but you must notify the Department of Employment within 15 days when a foreign employee is hired or stops working for you. Missing this is one of the most common compliance gaps we find in foreign-owned companies.

Your 2026 employer checklist

• Payroll: confirm every run since January 2026 applies the THB 875 social-security cap (5% of wages up to THB 17,500).
• January filing: if you have 10+ employees, diarise the annual Employment Terms and Working Conditions Disclosure Form — due within January each year.
• Leave policies: update contracts and work rules for 120-day maternity leave (60 days employer-paid), 15-day paternity leave, and the new childcare leave.
• Severance accruals: re-run them against the full tier table, including 400 days for 20+ years of service.
• Minimum wage: verify rates by province and business type — qualifying hotels and entertainment venues owe THB 400 nationwide.
• Security staff: apply the new 1.25x / 2.5x overtime rates from 24 April 2026.
• Foreign staff: move onto the e-Work Permit platform before 28 July 2026; keep 90-day report and 15-day Department of Employment notification routines running.
• Watch, don't act: track the 40-hour-week and annual-leave bills, but make no contractual changes until they become law.

If you would rather hand this list to someone, our HR administration and payroll teams run these checks as a standing service.

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This article is general guidance — not legal or tax advice. If you'd like a scoped opinion on how it applies to your specific situation, contact our team.