ARC's and Leaves of Absence

Hi Everyone,
I’d like to get an ARC and work, but I’ll also be on holiday during February of next year. I’m not asking to be paid for the time off, I just don’t want to get locked into a contract that doesn’t permit me to go- 'cause I’m going!!

       If anyone has experience about how schools here in Taiwan handle such situations, I'd really appreciate hearing from you!  [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] [b]Thank You!![/b]

Have you got a multiple re-entry visa in your pasport?? A big white sticker!
If you do then there is no problem, enjoy your holiday for as long as you want, as long as your school agrees to you taking it.

If you don’t have one - go to the foreign affairs police and get one - it should have been given to you automatically when you picked up your ARC. This Multiple re-entry visa expires when your ARC expires.

The law says that :

"Chapter 5
The Recruitment and Supervision of Foreign Persons

Article 52

An employer shall give written notice to the competent local authorities, the competent authorities for enterprises, or the local police in case any of the following events occur:

An employee has been continuously absent from work without leave for three days and has lost contact,"

Obviously if your school agrees on you taking a holiday for x amount of time then you have NOT lost contact - so no problems.

If your school is reluctant about you taking a holiday (especially when they still have classes), they could replace you while you are gone, and you could come home to a messy situation. SO make sure that everyone is happy about when and for how long you are going. Aranging a substitute like someone in the tealit forum suggested could help you.

What does your contract say? My contract actually states that I can take up to 3 weeks of unpaid vacation time off per year, on top of the school holidays (cinese new year, spring and summer break etc).

Also if you want to go on holiday during Chinese New Year, make sure you book your flights (especially return flights) at least 3 or 4 months in advance.