Hiring your first employee in Thailand: social security registration and the monthly routine
How to register as an employer with the Social Security Office, the 30-day deadline, contribution rates, monthly submissions and the payroll tax work that runs alongside.
Zura Labs & Business Hub Co., Ltd.
An employer with even one employee must register as an employer and enrol the employee with the Social Security Office within 30 days of the start date. From then on you deduct the employee contribution, match it as employer, and submit both with the monthly form by the 15th of the following month. Payroll withholding tax and its returns run in parallel.
Reviewed 2026-09-14 by the Zura Labs corporate services team.
- Registration deadline
- Within 30 days of the employee's start date
- Trigger
- One employee or more
- Contribution wage base
- The floor and ceiling set by ministerial regulation — check the current figures on the SSO website
- Monthly submission
- File and remit contributions by the 15th of the following month
- Parallel tax work
- Payroll withholding, monthly PND.1 and the annual PND.1Kor summary
- Salaried directors
- A director paid as an employee is covered too — there is no automatic exemption
How this works in practice
- 01
Prepare employer documents and employee data
You need the company affidavit, director ID, a map of the premises, and for each employee the name, ID number, start date, wage and beneficiary details. Keep a written employment contract for everyone even though no set form is required.
- 02
Register the employer and the insured persons
File at the SSO office covering your premises or through the SSO e-Service system. Once the employer account number is issued you use it for every monthly remittance.
- 03
Build payroll to compute both deductions
Payslips should show the social security contribution and withholding tax on separate lines so employees can check them and the totals match the returns. Payroll tax is computed by annualising income and spreading it monthly, so it must be adjusted for bonuses and raises.
- 04
File and remit every month
Remit contributions by the 15th of the following month and file PND.1 by the Revenue Department's deadline. Report every joiner and leaver, because employee entitlements and contribution amounts depend directly on that data.
Reasons this gets delayed or rejected
Labelling employees as freelancers
Where you control hours, direct daily work and pay regularly, the relationship is employment in substance. Renaming the contract does not remove employer duties, and back contributions plus surcharges follow.
Registering after the 30-day window
This triggers surcharges and affects the employee's medical entitlement — something they notice immediately at a hospital.
Deducting but not remitting
Deducted employee contributions are money you must remit. Using it as working capital is a clear offence with penalties.
Answers to the questions we hear most
Do I register with only one employee?
Yes. The law applies from the first employee; there is no minimum headcount as many people assume.
What about a director taking no salary?
With no wage and no employee status there is no enrolment from that engagement, but once a regular salary starts, the changed facts require registration.
Where do I register if I use your address?
At the SSO office covering the registered premises. If you use our Bangkok or Khon Kaen address, we file with that office on your behalf.
Are part-time staff covered?
If they are employees under an employment contract, yes, with contributions computed on actual wages within the prescribed floor and ceiling.
Anything extra for foreign employees?
A valid work permit must exist before work starts, and social security enrolment applies as for Thai staff when conditions are met. Visa and work permit paperwork is a separate track to plan ahead.
What if I am not ready for permanent staff?
Use genuine independent contractors: defined deliverables, no control of working hours, and service documents with the correct withholding tax type so the paperwork matches reality.
This is general preparation information, not case-specific legal or accounting advice. Government fees, processing times and conditions change with official announcements. We review each guide on a schedule and show the review date on the page.