Father Dying, Cram School Still Wants Me to Work

Ok, a buddy of mine works for a notorious buxiban branch. As of right now, his dad has only a few hours left to live back in the States. My friend, however, is here in Taiwan. Understandably, he would like tomorrow off; only problem is the school only has 2 native speakers, one of which is on vacation at the moment. His Taiwanese coworkers literally told him:

" keep your chin up. This is the best way for your dad. You must work harder to let your dad to pass away peacefully"

First of all, is this just a cultural thing? Is it customary to NOT request work off if your loved one passes away in Taiwan? Or is this the school taking advantage of my friend, who is a very genuine, hardworking guy?

He risks losing his job if he doesn’t comply. Also, his schedule tomorrow is a full day of classes, including kindy in the morning. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks.

No it’s not cultural, it’s absolute bollocks and they’re just being dicks. Taiwan law also states that you’re entitled to 8 days paid bereavement leave if a parent dies.

2 Likes

While I’m at it, if he has labour insurance, and he really should if he’s working for a big chain, he’s also entitled to a one off lump sum payment if a parent dies. It’s a bit of a pain in the arse to get the paperwork together for it, but it’s a decent amount (around 120,000nt or so, I can’t remember the exact figure) and can be extremely helpful.

I really doubt he has labour insurance, I used to work there and never heard anything about that. But maybe that’s because this is a rare circumstance. Either way, I’ll relay this info to him. Thanks for the info.

No problem, I went through a similar situation a couple of years back and my school also tried to fuck me around a bit over it so I know what he’s going through. Best of luck to him.

2 Likes

Yes, this “notorious buxiban branch” is bang out of order. They are taking the piss.

And imagine saying that to your Taiwanese co-workers 
" keep your chin up. This is the best way for your dad. You must work harder to let your dad to pass away peacefully". FFS!!!

2 Likes

This thread explains most of what you need to know about labor rights in the event of a family member’s death.

The question right now is, can the employee take time off before the death occurs?

Art. 7 of the Regulations of Leave-Taking of Workers states that you can take up to 14 days of personal leave (shijia) per year, unpaid, when necessary. Art. 20 of the Act of Gender Equality in Employment states that you can use up to 7 of those days to care for a family member.

These are the minimum standards that override anything lower (or missing) in a contract or work rules.

Note that Art. 10 of the ROLTOW recognizes that in an emergency it may not be possible to go through all the formalities immediately. That doesn’t mean the employee loses the right to take leave.

If the employer demands evidence before agreeing to the personal (family care) leave, an email (from the hospital ideally, but from anyone if there isn’t time) should be sufficient. If that doesn’t satisfy the boss, well, I would be inclined to say see you in court.

Applying for mediation through the labor department usually takes a few weeks, but they can give advice immediately.


Btw, I would document absolutely everything. Being able to prove they’re a bunch of, um, insincere people technically doesn’t count for anything, but it doesn’t count in their favor either. And if they’ve been that insincere already, there’s no telling how far they’ll go. (What, his father died? When? :rolling_eyes: )

4 Likes

Press voice recording on your phone for every discussion, every meeting, even every breath when dealing with these cowards

2 Likes

This has probably been resolved. But if anyone is in a similar situation, fucking quit. Missing saying goodbye to a loved one is not worth a dime-a-dozen, shitty cram school job. Especially one that treats its employees this way. Also, report them to the labor board. Bastards.

And do what himalayan suggested before leaving.

2 Likes

It’s a job at a cram school
 like if you’re like the only person qualify to do the job and it’s really important I get it. But there isn’t exactly a shortage of English teaching subs in taiwan.

The same situation could occur at a Fortune 500 company. So it’s really up to you about how you want to deal with it. This situation isn’t unique to cram schools.

yea seriously, what could possibly be worth working for uncaring bastards like that?

1 Like

It’d be a crappy move at a Fortune 500 company too (somehow I don’t see them doing that though as they’d be under more international scrutiny, standardization and unionized in many countries). I’d still quit, but definitely be a lot more reluctant leaving that than some shitty, low-rent English Village or Fairytale English branch or whatever.

Definitely not the money or prestige lol.