Due to the effect from the outbreak of COVID-19, the Ministry of Labour then had proposed a Draft Ministerial Regulation on the Social Security Fund Contribution Rates (No. ..) B.E. …. (the “Draft Ministerial Regulation”) to the Cabinet in order to alleviate the suffering of insured employees affected by such outbreak of COVID-19.

Summaries of the Draft Ministerial Regulation are as follows:

1. The rates of contribution schedule attached to the Ministerial Regulation on the Social Security Fund Contribution Rates B.E. 2563 will be revised to the new rates.
2. Such new rates will be valid for 2 months starting from 1 February 2021 to 31 March 2021.
3. The insured employees under Section 33 of the Social Security Act B.E. 2533 will be entitled to a reduction of social security fund contribution to be at the rate of 0.5% of their wage’s rates. For the employers and the government, the rates of contribution are still the same, i.e. 3% and 2.75% of the insured employees’ wage rates, respectively.
4. The contribution for benefits related to injury, sickness, incapability, death and parturition will be at the rate of 0.2% of the insured employees’ wage rates applied to all insured employees, employers and government.
5. In regard to the contribution for benefits related to child and old age, the government’s contribution rate will be reduced as 2.3% of the insured employee’s wage rates whereas the employers’ contribution rate will be reduced as 2.7% of the insured employees’ wage rates and the employees’ contribution rate will be reduced as 0.2% of their wage rates.
6. In addition, the contribution for benefits related to unemployment will be reduced as 0.25% of the insured employee’s wage rates for the government and as 0.1% of the insured employee’s wage rates for the employers and the insured employees.

This Draft Ministerial Regulation was approved by the Cabinet on 26 January 2021 and is expected to be enacted and become enforced shortly.