Thailand Increases Worker’s Compensation Benefits 

Employees’ health benefits have been expanded under changes to Thailand's worker's compensation law (Thai) effective 11 Dec 2018. Highlights of the revisions include the following:

• Medical or rehabilitation expenses payable to private-sector employees who suffer a work-related injury or illness, death or disappearance are no longer capped. (Medical benefits had been capped at THB 2 million.) Employers also must pay funeral expenses to an employee's heirs.

• Employer-paid indemnification has increased to 70% of the employee's wages, capped at 10 years (up from 60% and eight years). Indemnities are payable when:

─     The employee loses a limb or an organ.

─     The employee is no longer able to work due to work-related reasons.

• In the case of employee disability, the indemnity is calculated over a minimum reference period of 15 years. (The period previously had been capped at 15 years.)
• The heirs of an employee who goes missing or dies as a result of his or her work receive an indemnity payment of 70% of monthly pay, capped at 10 years.
• The sanctions for employers that don’t pay the required amount of employee contributions have dropped to 2%, down from 3% per month calculated over the total period for which the employer should have paid contributions. The employer surcharge in these circumstances will change.

Related Resources

• Revised Worker's Compensation Law (Thai) (Thailand Government, 10 Oct 2018)