Employer wants to change contract midterm

Work Teaching English in Taiwan
1

I have one paid sick day per month in my contract and I took one recently. In fact, the only one I have taken in the last 2 years!

Well my boss decided she is not going to pay it and she is going to change my contract, i.e. write a new one with the paid sick day removed, as well as remove the contract completion bonus.

When she told me of her plan I told here there was no way that I was going to sign the new contract and that I would finish my existing one (5 months left) and then she could find another teacher who would sign the new contract:

“$500 per hour, no medical, no paid vacation, no contract completion bonus, no sick days, 20 paid hours per week and 11 unpaid office hours per week”
(good luck :laughing: )

I know this is Taiwan and the law is a fluid thing at best; followed by few and respected by none, but do I have any leg to stand on; or am I, as usual, at the mercy of lying cheating scumbags?

Obviously I refused to sign the new contract but she tried it all: bullying, threatening, crying, calling us a family and then eventually back to threatening.

She is not going to stop and I just wondered if someone had some links or resources on the MOA side of things for me. I want to get my ducks in a row for the big showdown that is bound to come.

Any info welcomed

2

The MOE will honor the Chinese contract. The Chinese and English contracts are usually different, so I guess it would depend what your Chinese one says.

3

It doesn’t sound like you have a leg to stand on. I’d just cut my losses as it seems you plan to do.

4

A lot of misinformation in this thread so far.

First of all, teachers at buxibans and schools are covered by the Labor Standards Law. The Labor Standards Law gives you the right to take sick leave, and its enforcement rules give you the right to take up to 30 days of sick leave per year at half pay. These are rights that your contract cannot supersede. Your employer may be within her rights to ask your for proof (such as a receipt from a doctor’s office) of your illness though. Check Tealit. This is all covered there I think.

Your employer cannot force you to sign a new contract. Of course, you and your employer can agree to sign a new contract, but both parties have to agree. Your problem is that you will have to sue her for breach of contract if she doesn’t pay you for your sick leave or your bonus. You may be able to do this in a cost effective way in small claims court. Ironlady has instructions on how to do this somewhere in these forums. Please do some searches. The Legal Aid Foundation may be able to help you although please keep in mind that their services for foreigners are mainly for migrant workers making less than NT$20K per month.

The Chinese version of a contract does not necessarily govern. An English version can be perfectly valid unless the parties agreed otherwise.

You should also threaten to contact your local labor Bureau. Every county and city has one. This is not the Council of Labor Affairs, but rather the local branch, which will have jurisdiction. They will have a labor dispute department that will attempt to mediate your dispute and can fine your boss. This should be your first step.

Please be careful if you are illegally teaching small children in an Anqinban. If this is the case, you can threaten to report your boss, which is a major threat since the fines against the employer are very high (up to NT$750K). However, you would probably end up getting deported too, so this is mutually assured destruction.

5

If I understand you correctly, these are the terms of your contract now except for the sick days. If that’s the case, I think losing the one sick day per month is the least of your problems.

6

If I understand you correctly, these are the terms of your contract now except for the sick days. If that’s the case, I think losing the one sick day per month is the least of your problems.[/quote]

I think he means that those are the proposed new terms. But they may not be legal–I don’t think you can make a contract where you agree to terms that are inferior to those guaranteed in the Labor Standards ACT. When you do, the LSA overrides and you can ask your local labor bureau for help. They are generally very sympathetic to the employee.

7

[quote=“Feiren”]A lot of misinformation in this thread so far.

First of all, teachers at buxibans and schools are covered by the Labor Standards Law. The Labor Standards Law gives you the right to take sick leave, and its enforcement rules give you the right to take up to 30 days of sick leave per year at half pay. These are rights that your contract cannot supersede. Your employer may be within her rights to ask your for proof (such as a receipt from a doctor’s office) of your illness though. Check Tealit. This is all covered there I think.

Your employer cannot force you to sign a new contract. Of course, you and your employer can agree to sign a new contract, but both parties have to agree. Your problem is that you will have to sue her for breach of contract if she doesn’t pay you for your sick leave or your bonus. You may be able to do this in a cost effective way in small claims court. Ironlady has instructions on how to do this somewhere in these forums. Please do some searches. The Legal Aid Foundation may be able to help you although please keep in mind that their services for foreigners are mainly for migrant workers making less than NT$20K per month.

The Chinese version of a contract does not necessarily govern. An English version can be perfectly valid unless the parties agreed otherwise.

You should also threaten to contact your local labor Bureau. Every county and city has one. This is not the Council of Labor Affairs, but rather the local branch, which will have jurisdiction. They will have a labor dispute department that will attempt to mediate your dispute and can fine your boss. This should be your first step.

Please be careful if you are illegally teaching small children in an Anqinban. If this is the case, you can threaten to report your boss, which is a major threat since the fines against the employer are very high (up to NT$750K). However, you would probably end up getting deported too, so this is mutually assured destruction.[/quote]

thank you so much for the information.

I do not teach young children and have refused to do so for the last two years. She has consistently tried to get me to do so. Even going so far as just staring a new class with out telling me and just handing me a schedule informing me of my new hours. each time I have flat out refused to do so, but she still tries to sneak me into kindie classes all the time.

As for the terms of the contract I listed; these are the new ones she insists I sign not my existing contract. When she showed me the new contract I asked her who would ever sign that?

thanks for all the help guys… much appreciated.

:notworthy:

8

You are correct.

9

Shifty, this sounds like a shite place to work. Why are you still there?

10

Been there three years and love the kids. I have been teaching the same 5 classes through the various grades and have grown to love them and enjoy the time we spend together. Watching them progress to varying degrees of bilingualism is incredibly fulfilling.

The ownership has recently changed hands as the majority shareholder sold her stock. Same company, same name, just different management. The new owner is all about the cash and not so much about the kids.

11

Been there three years and love the kids. I have been teaching the same 5 classes through the various grades and have grown to love them and enjoy the time we spend together. Watching them progress to varying degrees of bilingualism is incredibly fulfilling.

The ownership has recently changed hands as the majority shareholder sold her stock. Same company, same name, just different management. The new owner is all about the cash and not so much about the kids.[/quote]

That’s a shame. Sounds like the end of an era. IMHO, it’s time for you to move on at the end of this contract.

12

I agree, those conditions are ancient, most school spay more than 500 per hour especially afetr 3 years, you should be looking for at least 600 an hour. Make sure you write a letter stating your position in Chinese, and start looking for a place to move on.

13

A great post over on the Korea Law Blog entitled English Teachers in Korea: Where To Go For Legal Help. Almost every word of this applies to English teachers in Taiwan and its system for resolving labor disputes outside the courts in the administrative system. Hell Korean even has a Labor Standards Act! The two former Japanese colonies much in common.

The only difference I can see is that Taiwan does not have namsos–these appear to be non-lawyer advocates who can represent employees with grievances before local labor boards. Although now that I think of it, I wonder if labor specialists licensed by the National Immigration Agency can do this. Hmm, might be a business idea…

14

Wow, that’s a pretty efficient operation they’ve got there.

15

We had a meeting on Friday about the new contract. My boss gathered us all together and gave us a copy of the new contract to read over and sign.
I looked at her smiled and handed her a copy of the labor regulations law printed out in Chinese, smiled got up said I had some stuff do do and left.

Can’t wait to see what happens today at work.

16

Make sure to keep us posted … :smiley:

17

Good move on showing the guy the law.

Perhaps you should look into setting yourself up as the boss of a new school and take all your students with you. That’s not ethical, and I’d usually consider anyone who tried that to be morally bankrupt, but then what the new boss is doing is pretty much the same. I expect he’ll attempt to coerce you or find an excuse to fire you and bring in someone else that will work for peanuts. And if he tries and pull something like that, make him pay.