So, do you think this is B.S.? Do you know of any foreigners working any jobs outside of teaching that do get a CNY bonus?
“But I was told it’s because their salary is divided by 13 whereas mine is divided by 12. Not sure whether this is true or not. If it’s true, then it means my salary is even less, technically.”
I’m also not the only foreigner in my company. And I’ve already heard before that there can’t be any exceptions made for 1 person, so it would need to change for all foreigners (‘all’ sounds like a lot; there’s only maybe 5 other foreigners at most).
Have you thought about trying to find a freelance client or two outside of Taiwan to supplement your income?
Based on what my local friends tell me, with fairly limited exceptions, salaries in Taiwan aren’t great (read: they kind of suck). But if you can find a way to earn money outside of Taiwan while living in Taiwan, it’s a different world.
You should be able to get the bonus. I’ll guess they’ve already added it to your current compensation.
I’ve received CNY bonuses at two different companies in Taiwan.
70,000 is high for a copywriter. They probably won’t give you a raise as you make more than a Taiwanese would in your position.
If you find another offer which pays more you can bring it to them and ask them to match it.
That’s right OP. The minimum companies can pay a foreign hire is about 50k due to government criteria. So, you were getting paid about 20k more for an entry-level position. Consider yourself lucky. Especially because you had zero relevant experience. Your only “qualification”, it seems, is that you’re white or black.
An annual raise based on yearly performance was specifically written into my contract, so I’m contractually “guaranteed” some type of raise each year depending on how well I do. You might look for that type of language in the contract in future job searches.
Yes. All the foreigners at Asus, Acer, Gigabyte, MSI, etc would be a part of the bonus scheme. It’s based on years served, not nationality.
For the record, Asus/Gigabyte would start you around 70-75k, but have 1-2 months CNY bonus depending on the company performance and also a bonus in the fall between 0.5-4 months salary depending on time served and company performance.
I like the name “bonus scheme” because that is exactly what it is. People think they are getting something extra but the companies have figured this into the yearly compensation and use it to make people stay for it. It should be called “bonus scam”.
People who’ve been in Taiwan for longer than I was there can confirm this, but I don’t think inflation is such a big thing in Taiwan anyway. Prices for commodities and services don’t go up every year like they do in the UK. So your $70K salary could be perfectly fine in Taiwan for five years, but it amounts to less and less if you’re planning on saving money to go back home with.
It’s not true but local companies lie like this all the time. Actually the bonus is extra months on top of the 13 months. 13 months is the standard salary they just pay double in January . They did this to me in my first few years in Taiwan (well more like almost ten years ) , greedy muthertruckers.
It’s incredible how they do this , open discrimination , but unfortunately it’s the local rip off culture. Taiwan is great until you have to work here.
Thanks. It at least makes me feel better to know that my salary is fair (or maybe even higher) for my experience. Though I just can’t help but crave more to do better for my US savings account or for traveling outside of here. The money just evaporates into thin air.
That’s a good idea that I’ve thought about, but haven’t truly spent enough time trying to do. To be honest, I’m not exactly sure where and how to start finding clients. I should consider this again.
