Source: https://www.replicon.com/regulation/Taiwan/
Timestamp: 2020-01-29 21:17:39
Document Index: 358915951

Matched Legal Cases: ['§30', '§24', '§30', '§34', '§24', '§39', '§39', '§9', 'Art 15', 'art. 20', 'art. 19']

Taiwan - Replicon
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The Labor Standards Act[LSA] is the fundamental labor law in Taiwan. The LSA regulates the minimum conditions of employment. The LSA applies to all industries (with a few exceptions) and covers the majority of employees.
Regular work hours may not exceed eight per day or 40 per week. With the approval of a labor union or labor-management committee, hours may be increased, provided that the total regular working time does not exceed 48 hours in any one week. Labor Standards Act, §30, 35-36; Labor Standards Amendment Act, 2018.
For overtime under two hours, employees must be paid 1.33 times their regular hourly wage. When the overtime work is over two hours but does not exceed four hours, employees are entitled to 1.66 times their regular hourly wage.
Overtime must be paid based on the actual number of hours worked. The total of regular work hours plus overtime cannot exceed 12 hours per day. Overtime cannot exceed 54 hours per month and 138 hours over a three-month period.
Employees must be given the option to convert their overtime into compensatory leave, but if they are unable to use the compensatory in an agreed period of time or before their contract expires, the employer must convert it back into an overtime payment. Labor Standards Act, §24(1) &(2).
Women are generally not permitted to work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless the labor union or the labor-management committee consents. If such consent is given, the employer must provide transportation or overnight housing for female workers, as well as safety and health facilities.
Pregnant women or mothers who are breastfeeding are barred from night work. Labor Standards Act, §30.
A worker is entitled to a break of at least 30 minutes after working four continuous hours. The break can be rescheduled if work cannot be interrupted.
A worker is entitled to at least two days off in a week for weekly rest. One day is regular leave and the other is a rest day. In certain industries, employers may determine the regular day off.
Employees must have a daily rest period of at least 11 hours between shifts. Employees can be asked to work 12 days in a row and work shifts with only eight hours of rest in between with approval from the appropriate federal agencies and their employees. Labor Standards Act, §34, 35.
Overtime on a Rest Day
An employee is entitled to overtime wages when required to work on the rest days. When the overtime work does not exceed two hours, employees are entitled to 2.33 times their regular hourly wage. When the overtime work is over two hours, employees are entitled to 2.66 times their regular hourly wage. Labor Standards Act, 2002, §24(3).
Employees are entitled to the following 12 national holidays in Taiwan:
Jan. 1: Founding Day of the Republic of China
Spring Festival (three days)
New Year’s Eve (lunar calendar)
Tomb Sweeping Day: Qingming Festival of the Lunar calendar
If the employees consent to work on a weekday which is a statutory holiday, they must be paid an additional one day’s regular pay along with the regular rate of pay.
If a public holiday falls on a weekend, a day in lieu is granted by the government. If a holiday falls on a Saturday, the deferred day off is on the preceding workday; if a holiday falls on a Sunday, the deferred day off is on the following workday. The deferred days off for Chinese New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year, however, are always on the following workdays. Labor Standards Act, §39.
Work on Regular Leave Day
The day designated for the regular leave shall be adjusted with the consent of a labor union or with the approval of a labor-management conference. Employees required to work on the regular leave due to extraordinary circumstances shall be paid at double the regular rate for such work. Labor Standards Act, §39.
Employees who have worked for the same employer for at least a year are entitled to paid annual leave based on their years of service:
At least 6 months but less than 1 year: 3 days’ leave
More than 12 months: 7 days’ leave
More than two years: 10 days’ leave
More than three years: 14 days’ leave
More than five years; 15 days’ leave
One additional day of leave for each year of service over 10 years up to a maximum of 30 days’ leave.
Although employees have the right to determine when to take their annual leave, employers may negotiate the timing with employees if they have urgent operational demands. The period within which annual leave must be used can be based on:
Service years;
Fiscal years; or
Any other annual leave system agreed to by the employer and employee.
Unused annual leave may be carried forward to the following year. The carried-forward leave must be paid out to employees if it is not used by the end of that year. In an emergency, an employer can suspend a worker’s planned leave but must compensate the employee at 2.0 times the regular wage rate for work during that time and grant leave after the emergency has ended. Labor Standards Act, 2001, arts. 38-40.
If an unexpected event or emergency leads an employer to suspend an employee’s regular weekly day off or annual or holiday leave, the worker must be paid twice his or her usual wage for the canceled leave and provided with compensatory time off. The employer must file a report with local authorities within 24 hours of the leave suspension explaining the reasons for it. Labor Standards Act, A 39.
Effective 2019, the minimum wage is NT150 per hour.
Regular sick leave may not exceed 30 days in one year. If the employee is hospitalized, he or she is entitled to unpaid sick leave of up to one year in any two years. The employee is paid half his or her regular salary during the 30 days’ leave, either from the government’s labor insurance fund alone or in part from the fund and in part by the employer. If the employer does not pay for sick leave, payment from the government’s labor insurance fund begins on the fourth day of sickness. Labor Standards Act, §9, 20, 35.
Eight weeks’ maternity leave is mandatory for full and part-time employees. In the event of a miscarriage, a woman is entitled to four weeks’ leave if the miscarriage occurs after three months of pregnancy, one week if it occurs two to three months into the pregnancy and five days if it occurs less than two months into the pregnancy.
A woman who has been employed for more than six months is paid her regular wage during maternity leave. If she has been employed for less than six months, she is paid at half her regular wage. Pregnant employees must be granted five days of leave for pregnancy check-ups, during which regular wages must be paid. An employee with a child under the age of 1 is entitled to two 30-minute rest periods with pay to breastfeed her baby. Employees with children under the age of 3 and with more than one year of service may take unpaid parental leave for up to two years.
An employee with children under 3 years old whose employer has more than 30 workers may request to reduce working time by one hour per day without pay or to adjust working hours. Pregnant or breastfeeding employees must not work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. An employer with more than 100 employees must provide child care either directly or by contracting with an existing, legally registered independent provider. Employers are prohibited from terminating an employment contract during maternity leave. Gender Equality Act, A 15, 18, 19; Labor Insurance Act, 2015,A. 19-2.
An employee whose spouse is in labor is entitled to five days off as paternity leave. Gender Equality Act, Art 15, 18, 19.
Employees with children under the age of 3 and with more than one year of service may take unpaid parental leave, which may not exceed two years. Employees who have paid into the labor insurance program for at least a year are entitled to 60 percent of their regular wages for up to six months (per child) while taking parental leave. If there are two or more children requiring care at the same time, the allowance is paid for only one child. If both parents are covered by employment insurance and both take parental leave, they can apply for the allowance only for one child and must submit separate applications. Gender Equality Act, arts. 15, 18, 19.
Funeral leave with pay is given as follows:
Eight days on the death of a parent, foster parent, stepparent or spouse;
Six days on the death of a grandparent, child, spouse’s parent, foster parent or stepparent; and
Three days on the death of a sibling, great-grandparent or spouse’s grandparent.
Employees may take up to 14 days per year of unpaid personal leave.
Public Leave
Employees are entitled to paid leave to fulfill legal obligations.
Female employees having difficulties performing their work during menstruation may request one-day menstruation leave each month. If the cumulative menstrual leaves do not exceed three days in a year, they must not be counted toward days off for sick leave. All additional menstrual leaves must be counted toward days off for sick leave. Employees on menstruation leave are entitled to half their regular wage.
A worker is entitled to eight days of paid wedding leave.
Gender Equality Act, art. 20; Rules on Leave-Taking by Workers, arts. 3, 7-8; Employment Insurance Act, art. 19-2