Employers and employees are going to be allowed to reduce their contributions to the Social Security Fund (SSF) between June to August to help those struggling financially because of the pandemic.
Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin said on Tuesday the cabinet approved his ministry's proposal to cut SSF contributions from employers and employees under Section 33 of the Social Security Act to 2.5% of monthly salaries, down from 5%.
In February and March, the contribution rate was cut from 5% to 3% for employers and employees, but the rate has returned to 5% since then.
He said employees under Section 39 of the Social Security Act are also allowed to lower their contributions to 216 baht a month from 432 baht.
The measures take effect from June 1 and run until Aug 31, 2021. However, the government maintains its contribution of 2.75% of employees' monthly wages to the fund.
Many people have either lost their job or have seen their income reduced as a result of the pandemic.
Mr Suchart said the reduction in contributions under Section 33 is expected to help 481,113 employers reduce expenses worth 9.48 billion baht in addition to helping 11.1 million employees to save the same amount.
Meanwhile, the measure under Section 39 is projected to assist around 1.8 million employees to save 1.18 billion baht.
He said employers and employees are required to resume contributing 5% from September, while employees under Section 39 are required to contribute 432 baht a month as usual.