Employment Contract Shenanigans (altering a contract after it has been signed)

Legal Legal - Work
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Hey everyone,

I’ve been lurking here for a bit, trying to find something that matches my situation, but I didn’t quite find what I needed, so I figured I’d ask directly. I’m really hoping for some advice on a few things, especially since I’m a bit lost right now.

So, I’m originally from Canada and my husband and I moved to Taiwan a few years ago to work as teachers. I started out in Taipei but eventually ended up in Kaohsiung. The school I work at is a decently known private institution with around 50 staff members (give or take), though I don’t know the exact number.

The biggest issue I’m dealing with is this: I’ve continually held a contract there for several years, which has been for teaching and some admin duties like checking other teachers’ grades, making phone calls to parents, handling discipline issues, and stuff like that. So, as I understand it only the LSA applies to me. If the admin duties aren’t laid out in the contract. is it more beneficial to claim my position is teaching only if it comes to that? I’ve always been sent the contract via email which I would then esign and send back. Each year I signed a new one year contract that was more or less the same, just updating a few things here and there, nothing major. I signed the most recent contract back in February and was supposed to start the following month. This contract format, font, layout, were all a bit different this year than the previous ones which I noticed right away, but I didn’t have any reason to think there was anything to worry about.

Here’s where things took a turn: when I got the printed version of the contract back, it wasn’t the same one I had agreed to and signed. They’d made some sneaky changes to a couple conditions, changed a number here and there, and even removed some conditions altogether! The changes are super subtle, so if you weren’t really paying attention, you might miss them, but they actually have a big impact on my work requirements and salary. Unfortunately, I don’t have the original file I sent them because I went on an inbox cleaning spree and must have accidentally deleted any trace of it. I’ve asked them about it a few times, and they said I had agreed orally to some of the changes during a meeting, so they just updated the contract to reflect what was supposedly said, well after it had already been signed. The contract also says they need any changes in writing and signed to be valid. So, they’re actually admitting they changed it based only on an oral agreement, with nothing written or signed from me.

I’m thinking about looking into labor mediation to see what my options are, but I’ve never done anything like this before and have no idea where to start or what I need to prepare. I was thinking about just compiling all the relevant evidence/documents/emails into a document that has a summary of the situation that links to the provided documents. I’m also wondering if this situation might require something more serious than mediation, especially since there are other issues cropping up too. Or what to do if they try to settle? What should I watch out for or be aware of? Could they require me to sign an NDA?

If anyone here has experience with this kind of situation or knows the legal ins and outs, I’d really appreciate any advice you can offer! There’s a few other specific issues about the contract I would like to ask about , but I think this one is a good starting point for now. And just to clarify, I’m guessing my contract is considered admin/teaching rather than just teaching, but either way, the minimums in the LSA should apply, right? Thank you so much for your help!

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Perhaps a long shot, but have you made sure there isn’t a copy in your sent mail folder? If you responded to the e-mail, that is.

It doesn’t help this time of course, but probably a good idea in future to ensure you have copies/photos of any contracts you sign…

How did they change the contract while keeping your signature? Does that mean that they replaced some of the earlier pages, or copied over your signature from the previous version, or what?

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Yes, unfortunately, I’m sure. I cleared out the sent emails and even emptied the trash. I’ll keep searching, but I’m pretty sure it’s gone. It honestly never occurred to me to keep a copy since I didn’t think something like this would happen.

From what I can recall and comparing it to previous contracts, the signature page seems untouched, but it looks like some of the earlier pages were swapped out with similar ones but with subtle changes. I didn’t notice this at first, but the format of the contract seemed off. The signature section was pushed to the next page by adding a few lines of legal text that weren’t there before. In previous contracts, that bit was missing.

As for the changes, based on what I remember and can compare to my older contracts, there are a few that stand out and could significantly affect me. For instance, my job title originally said both “Senior High Admin Specialist” and “History Teacher,” but now it says “History Teacher.” Another example is the change in working hours. It originally specified up to a set number of hours for each position and then additional hours for admin meetings, office hours, etc. In the new version, all of the admin hours were lumped into the teaching hours. So if you just look at the total “work hours” per week, it seems like nothing has changed, but one hour of teaching a new class (and its related responsibilities) is not the same as one hour of sitting at a desk.

There are a few other examples, but I don’t want to give out too many details and end up causing more issues.

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That’s not going to fly anywhere. lol
Are they that stupid.

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If you have to argue that the Labor Standards Act applies to your employment, it is far easier to establish if you have duties that go beyond teaching (and can provide clear evidence of this, not in the wording of the contract but in your actual employment relationship, which is what the courts use to make a determination.)

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Yeah, the whole thing is pretty strange. I have a feeling that there are a few different things going on, and several other incidents that I think could help support my case. In terms of these changes, I think someone in the middle might have made a mistake and is trying to cover themselves from higher-level management, not thinking I’d push back this hard.

Another issue is that several parts of the contract seem to go against the Labor Standards Act (LSA). I was planning to go the mediation route and see how that goes, but it’s getting pretty confusing and convoluted, and I’ve never done anything like this before. I’m not sure if my case is too much or too complicated for mediation, or what the dos and don’ts are. My plan was to make a detailed report with a timeline and link to appendices for all relevant proof, evidence, and other important documents. Would that be acceptable to submit when applying?

If they end up wanting to settle at any point, is there anything I should be on the lookout for? It seems they have a history of taking advantage of foreigners and being very clever with their wording, so I’d like to be prepared for any possible curve balls.

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Thank you. I’ve gathered some evidence that shows the roles and duties I was responsible for, along with emails and other records, so I think it should be doable if they want to look at the actual employment relationship. From what I can gather, I want to claim that the LSA applies because that would allow me to handle all the legal stuff without having to go through the MOE, and the legal process seems to be more clearcut, is that correct?

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There is no need for anything to go through the MOE. Within 30 days of the dispute you go to the city hall of wherever you live, file a complaint and ask for mediation. This is free.

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