On June 27, 2025, Thailand issued the new Ministerial Regulation Prescribing the Criteria and Rates for Receiving Unemployment Benefits (No. 2) B.E. 2568 (2025), which amended a similarly named ministerial regulation by boosting the rate of social security benefits to alleviate hardships for employees who are terminated. The new ministerial regulation took effect the following day.

Under this new ministerial regulation, eligible terminated employees are entitled to receive unemployment benefits under the Social Security Fund (SSF) for a maximum of 180 days per year, at the rate of 60% of the employee’s monthly wages at the time of termination, up from 50% previously. However, the maximum wage used as the basis for calculating the benefit remains capped at THB 15,000 per month. Therefore, the maximum unemployment benefit that an employee can receive from the SSF is now THB 9,000 (up from THB 7,500) per month for a period of up to six months.

To qualify for the unemployment benefits from the SSF, employees must be registered with the Social Security Office and must have contributed to the SSF for at least six months within the 15 months prior to the start date of the relevant unemployment period.

This new ministerial regulation was enacted to increase the amount of financial support provided to insured persons in the case of termination, as part of the government’s objective of alleviating economic hardship under current economic and social conditions in Thailand.

For more details on unemployment benefits in Thailand, or on any aspect of employment law in the country, please contact Pimvimol (June) Vipamaneerut at [email protected], Dusita Khanijou at [email protected], Ketnut Pukahuta at [email protected], or Chomanut Arif at [email protected].