Does anyone know what the responsibility of an employer (school) is, in case of the death of one of their employees (foreign teacher).
The Employment Services Act, Chapter 5, Article 55 states that
“The funeral service and expenses of a foreign worker who dies during the period of employment in the Republic of China shall be the responsibility of the employer.”
Does this apply to foreign teachers?
Does this include the cost of transporting the body back to the teachers home country?
Or can a school refuse to not be involved in this matter, or at the most pay for a cremation in Taiwan?
My colleagues and I are currently having to deal with this difficult issue.
We would appreciate any help from people who may have dealt with this before, or those who have an in-depth knowledge of how the law is applied in this case.
First, I suggest that you contact the Bureau of Education in your local city/county government.
Next, I suggest you contact the consular officials of the nationality of the deceased. Sometimes there are emergency funds for such issues as well as being in the public interest of their government to repatriate the body.
I may be wrong here, but I believe that the category ‘foreign worker’ applies to labourers from a certain number of SE-Asian countries, so proabbly wouldn’t cover English teachers.
If the person mentioned is a U.S. citizen and AIT has not yet been notified, please do so as quickly as possible (2709-2013, tell the person you need to report the death of an American citizen). AIT is not able to provide money for the repatriation of remains back to the States. However, AIT will make every effort to contact relatives who will need to decide how to proceed.
This matter was resolved thanks to the quick assistance of a mediator from the Local Labour Department, The Employment Services Act, Chapter 5, Article 55, does apply in this situation.