Did you get a year-end bonus from your school?

Work Teaching English in Taiwan
1

It’s that time of year when most Taiwanese are receiving their year-end bonuses. Meaning, they’re receiving an extra month, and in many cases, 2 months, pay.

It would be interesting to find out whether or not YOUR schools pay their foreign teaching staff this year-end bonus. As it’s required by law for Taiwanese workers, it would also be interesting to find out if this law applies to foreign workers, because if foreign staff are being denied such bonuses, then it is unclear WHY this is the case.

So, what about you? Did you get one?

2

During my 6 years as a teacher in Taiwan, I never received a bonus, or a paid vacation for that matter. Are employees who are paid hourly included in the bonus requirement?

3

That’s what I’d like to know. I suppose 7-11 workers are paid hourly and they get bonuses, don’t they? This is another situation which may be applicable to teacher’s rights issues.

4

I taught at St. Johns and St. Mary’s Institute of Technology (aka Hsinpu Gongchuan) and the Taipei Medical College (now the Taipei Medical University), and got the same year-end bonus as everyone else on staff. We also got mysterious bonuses for Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn Festival, which, while only about NT$3000 each, or a gift certificate or similar, were nice.

I then moved to a certain fairly well-known English language teaching radio show. The first year, nothing; second year, cosmetics (!) and a crystal rock; third year, nothing again. I did not express to this company that I would by far have preferred cash.

So, I’m not sure what the average of all that comes out to…??

5

After having worked as a teacher/manager at a buxiban for a year, and being told along the way to (gullibly) “expect” a bonus, I was more than a little disappointed when the management seemingly forgot… I’d put my heart and soul into the school, as well as a lot of extra unpaid hours to help them do their job (i.e. manage it).

So, somewhat confused, I confided to my Chinese colleagues, who couldn’t understand why I’d been overlooked. They advised me to ask the boss, and said it wouldn’t be a problem, that my bonus must still be coming… It’s a difficult thing to ask about, but I think I did it politely enough. And then the message came through loud and clear, that “foreigners don’t get bonuses”.

Feeling a little hurt and curious, I then asked “Why?” The reply was that since I didn’t work the same number of hours as them (i.e. Chinese staff), I wasn’t entitled to be treated like them. Technically, it was true, as I was contracted for a 30-hour worling week. However, they were fully aware that as the only foreigner in a managerial position, I was actually working the same number of hours as they, but simply not being paid for all of them…

And then, their teapots cracked and my balloon burst! Out of nowhere came the comment that “you foreigners don’t respect the Chinese way of doing things. You ask too many questions and don’t show enough respect”. I replied that as the only foreigner working for them in a managerial position, there were often many things said which were never explained to me (i.e. communication barriers, etc), but that I did care about my job, and about the company. My job came with no supervision or instruction - I was literally thrown into the deep end and told to manage a school. Hence my need to ask questions, in order to do my job.

In hindsight and in honesty, they were inept and way too dishonest. They fed lies to their staff as a way of building false hope. As a result, everyone - local and foreign - bailed out shortly after Chinese New Year.

The moral of the story? Well, there is none. I’m now working for more honest management. By the way, I do now regularly recieve bonuses. I guess if there’s a lesson to be learned, then it’s to ask for something to be written into your contract (if you don’t trust the management). Also, my Chinese colleagues gave me the very sound advice: “Don’t ever quit your job just before Chinese New Year. You never know what you might get”.

I guess as a foreigner, I may never really know.

The Big Babou

6

I receive a bonus at the end of my contract, providing I have not taken more than 20 days of leave in that year.

The bonus is calculated as follows:

anual salary divided by 12 and multiplied by .5

So this works out at about half a months average salary. Which is equal to about 1.5 months of my Taiwanese co-workers salary.

We also recive red envelopes for our birthday ($800:-) and three of the public holidays (between $1000 and $2000).

7

I’ve worked at four different language schools, that is private bushibans for children or adults, and never got more than a token bonus for Chinese New Year (a gift or a few hundred NT). Different schools did have different general bonus/reward systems, based on evaluations, return rates, absences, length of service, whether or not you were friendly with the secretaries… with the bonuses/rewards never surpassing a couple thousand a year.

8

Like fark I got a bonus! That would have really blown me away. I got the management trying to give em a pay cut (after a year and half of no pay rises) instead. love my school - hate the head office.

One of my students’ mothers gave me a PDA though

Bri

9

5 years, no bonus. But then, my boss isn’t Taiwanese. Nor are the teachers…Good excuse.
I got a printer, though, from one student and a lovely tea set from another.
In fact, I always get nice gifts from my students. But nothing from the boss.
Not even a pink slip. Well, maybe I’ll get one for posting this!

10

To my knowledge if you are a bushiban teacher you will not get a bonus, why? I don’t know. Probably because stated on your contract it says you are part-time, thus you are not entitled to a bonus. Some companies even go as far as saying you are not an employee of there school so you don’t get one. (Interesting huh?) But that is another topic.

Jeff
jeff@oriented.org

11

I don’t know why you think most Taiwanese are getting bonuses of two months’ salary this year. We only got one month this year, and we were lucky to get that. Many companies aren’t giving out bonuses at all. I don’t think there is a law that says bonuses have to be issued. If there is, then it’s a law nobody pays any attention to.

Our boss gave us a whole song and dance about decreasing profits. Everyone believed her, since they aren’t privy to our confidential budget reports. I, however, know that we’re making more money this year than last year, when we got two months’ bonuses.

Bosses are really milking the “Global Economic Slowdown” for every penny. Eventually, perhaps, people will wake up and realize what’s really going on, that the economic recovery is already well underway and management will have to grudgingly give a little something to their employees because they won’t have such a convenient excuse not to.

Sorry for ranting. I’m not an English teacher and shouldn’t be posting in here anyway…just thought you might like to know.

12

Poagao,
It’s impossible that bosses would not give bonuses to their employees in Taiwan this year.
I can’t believe there isn’t mass outrage over this! Shame on those companies who’re milking the recession.

I’ve taught courses at hi-tech firms in which employees wait until after New Year to quit their jobs, so they won’t miss out on these bonuses. It was pretty funny one year when before New Year I had about 12 students in my class at a local computer peripherals company, but afterwards, it went down to four. They got their bonuses, free English training, and then quit…

13
quote:
Originally posted by Alien: Poagao, It's impossible that bosses would not give bonuses to their employees in Taiwan this year. I can't believe there isn't mass outrage over this!

Believe me, it’s happening. Ask around. People are so used to the old “Wah! The Economy is Bad!” cry by now that they actually expect it.

I swear, it’s like people rubbernecking a car accident half a mile behind them on the road.

14

Reputable firms in Taiwan pay employees an annual bonus of equal to 1~2 months of salary. This is part of your base compensation, and not in any way a “bonus” for performance. When you negotiate your contract, be sure to get the number of months in writing.

Some foreigners prefer to receive a higher monthly salary rather than defer part of it to the end of the year as an interest-free loan to you boss. In this case you would not get a bonus. Again, get it in writing.

Buxibans are a bit of a grey area. There most employees are paid by the hour and do not work a regular 40 hour week. A Taiwanese may be getting a bonus because her hourly rate is lower. Actually, it’s not lower, she’s just getting part of her pay deferred until the end of the year. Again this is mainly an issue of how your compensation is structured.

At a kindergarten near my house there was a noisy protest recently because some of the Obasangs who take care of toddlers there felt that they were entitled to an extra month of salary at New Year’s. They eventually got it.

15
quote:
Originally posted by Feiren: Reputable firms in Taiwan pay employees an annual bonus of equal to 1~2 months of salary. This is part of your base compensation, and not in any way a "bonus" for performance. When you negotiate your contract, be sure to get the number of months in writing.

I don’t think bonuses, by which I mean “nianzhong jiangjin” (年終獎&#37329 , are part of most contracts. I don’t even think I have a contract, and I’m sure if I do, it doesn’t guarantee a bonus. And yes, my company is quite reputable.

16

Well - I work mainly private - my students or their parents have given me presents, value about 2 classes.

17

Poagao: I stand corrected on the year-end bonuses as this piece makes clear. Only about 50% of college-educated office workers received bonuses this year.

Most foreigners are required to have written contracts with their employers. I still think it would be a good idea to specify the bonus in your contract if you have one.

18

I would be interested to hear a few more Taiwanese comment on the tradition of giving bonuses. Is it considered by Taiwanese to be on the same level as monthly pay – something that is damn well expected unless, maybe, the company is having serious financial problems? Also – from the management side – is the bonus calculated into the salaries at the beginning of each financial year? If it is, then withholding it is a managerial trick to steal money from the employees. If it is not, then the bonus is, in fact, a ‘bonus’.

My guess is that it is done differently by different companies. For example, I think that some companies calculate a 13th month of salary into the yearly pay and give that automatically, and then give additional money based on performance or company profitability or both.

Again, some comments from Taiwanese would be helpful. I think not many Taiwanese use this site, however.

It IS true that many Taiwanese are not getting bonuses this year. As for foreigners, get a contract in writing la! If you don’t have a written contract, what are you thinking, man? Taiwanese/Chinese, for all their love of vagueness and using vagueness to their advantage, stick to written contracts very well, generally – even better than Japanese.

But I have never worked in a BUSHIBAN. Maybe life is different there.

19

Hey at my school nobody got bonuses fair and square. We didn’t have the pesky end of year lunch. Of course we have also been told that they would actually like to do away will all of the current employees and start from scratch.

20

I’m curious… in your countries do you expect bonusses at the end of a fiscal year, calendar year, etc? Why shoud a bonus be such a big matter here? I do my job and I get paid. Sure, more money would be nice but a bonus wasn’t expected (or received).

However, I get a raise every six months and a re-signing bonus every year… but that doesn’t total anything near half my regular monthly pay. I didn’t know about the tradition of bonuses before I came and I never expected one.