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 doesnât comply. Also, his schedule tomorrow is a full day of classes, including kindy in the morning. Iâd love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks.
No itâs not cultural, itâs absolute bollocks and theyâre just being dicks. Taiwan law also states that youâre entitled to 8 days paid bereavement leave if a parent dies.
While Iâm at it, if he has labour insurance, and he really should if heâs working for a big chain, heâs also entitled to a one off lump sum payment if a parent dies. Itâs a bit of a pain in the arse to get the paperwork together for it, but itâs a decent amount (around 120,000nt or so, I canât 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 thatâs because this is a rare circumstance. Either way, Iâll 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 heâs going through. Best of luck to him.
And imagine saying that to your Taiwanese co-workers âŠ" 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!!!
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 doesnât 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 isnât time) should be sufficient. If that doesnât 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 theyâre a bunch of, um, insincere people technically doesnât count for anything, but it doesnât count in their favor either. And if theyâve been that insincere already, thereâs no telling how far theyâll go. (What, his father died? When? )
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.
Itâs a job at a cram school⊠like if youâre like the only person qualify to do the job and itâs really important I get it. But there isnât exactly a shortage of English teaching subs in taiwan.
The same situation could occur at a Fortune 500 company. So itâs really up to you about how you want to deal with it. This situation isnât unique to cram schools.
Itâd be a crappy move at a Fortune 500 company too (somehow I donât see them doing that though as theyâd be under more international scrutiny, standardization and unionized in many countries). Iâd still quit, but definitely be a lot more reluctant leaving that than some shitty, low-rent English Village or Fairytale English branch or whatever.