We’re all pulling for you housecat. I rocked the boat a little at work the other day (details in legal issues) but it’s nothing compared to this mess.
[quote]My figures were just an estimate based on a salary of NT$60K per month. I don’t really have time to hunt through this long thread for numbers that may or may not be there. [/quote]Two other posters posted numbers before you did. I’m at fault for taking someone else’s word and not taking the time to look it up myself. I looked it up now because I wanted to know who’s right.
Hate to say but Feiren is right and I’m mistaken. There is a fair bit more at stake than a few thousand NT, indeed. Picture me surprised and embarrassed. Apology to housecat for offering inadequate suggestions. 
Here’s Article 17 (severance pay)
[quote]When an employer terminates a labor contract pursuant to the preceding article, he shall pay severance fee to the worker in accordance with the terms prescribed below:
- A worker who has continuously worked for a business entity owned by the same employer shall be entitled to severance payment equal to one month of average wage for each year of service.
- Severance payment shall be paid in proportion to months of service not comprising a full year and not take into consideration under the computation in the preceding paragraph or where the period of service is less than one year. [color=#0080FF]Any fraction of one month shall be deemed to be one month.[/color][/quote]
Housecat worked at the school for over three months so the severance pay should be pro rated based on four months of work. Feiren calculated for only three months based on a 60k salary.
Here’s Article 16 (pay in lieu)
[quote]Where an employer terminates a labor contract pursuant to Article 11 or the exception in Article 13, the stipulations described below shall govern the minimum period of advance notice:
- [color=#0040FF]Where a worker has worked continuously for more than three months but less than one year, the notice shall be given ten days in advance.[/color]
- Where a worker has worked continuously for more than one year but less than three years, the notice shall be given twenty days in advance.
- Where a worker has worked continuously for more than three years, the notice shall be given thirty days in advance.
After receiving the advance notice referred to the proceeding paragraph, a worker may, during hours of work, ask for leave of absence for the purpose of finding a new job. Such leave of absence may not exceed two work days per week. Wages shall be paid during such leave of absence.
[color=#0040FF]Where an employer terminates the contract without serving an advance notice within the time limit prescribed in the first paragraph of this Article, he shall pay the worker wages for the advance notice period.[/color][/quote]
As Feiren pointed out, housecat is owed severance pay, pay in lieu of notice and unpaid sick days if she was wrongfully dismissed. It adds up to a nice chunk of change. It’s definitely worth giving arbitration a try, but I still wouldn’t recommend going to court for it.
[quote]And why are things going to get really ugly if it goes to court? I agree that it might not be worth the time and effort but I don’t think she needs to feel that because she is a single mom living in a foreign country she can’t use the court system.[/quote]It’s not worth the time, the effort, the headache, the stress, the frustration nor the money. But more importantly, it’s not worth the risk. The school is highly likely to sue her in response and the charges laid against her could be criminal in nature. Housecat has the kitten to worry about and she is in a foreign country. I really think she’s best trying to stay out of a courtroom.
Good luck today, housecat!
Thank You!
I think its great the way the forumosan community has come together to help HC out and pool our knowledge about what she has coming and what she can do. Robin has offered very valuable advice on what the labor board can and can’t do and why going to court may not be a good idea.
Good luck HC! I hope you get something out of arbitration and, more importantly, that this leads to a better job.
Thank You![/quote]
I am thinking of you today and I hope everything goes well. You deserve a big stroke of good luck right about now!! 
Really hoping things go your way.
Well, first let me say thank you SOOO much to Tsukindeynatsu for all you did and will do! And for not thinking I’m crazy!
This is how it went:
My school didn’t show up. Apparently Tony called and messaged me to tell me this, but I got a new number on Friday, so I didn’t get that message. He was very insistant that I had until I showed him the new number. There’s really something a little numb about this guy.
Anyway, Tony sat in the meeting because he just had to, I guess. There was a volunteer acting on my behalf, but he had books with labor laws and seemed to have done this before. And he was friendly.
We had the meeting because they’d paid a “fair observer” to attend and make sure everything went fairly. But since the school didn’t show, we will have to do this again later. They are going to try to get the school to provide proof of paid taxes on my salary tomorrow, as I can’t get a new work permit, or new job, until I can prove that my taxes have been paid. I’ve already not earned any income for a month, so they seem sympathetic to the need for this document.
They agreed that I can ask for what’s stipulated in the contract, and agree with some here who say there’s no point in asking for severance.
Tsukindeynatsu was very, very good. She did a wonderful job of not only translating, but calming me and entertaining the Kitten. I owe her so much, especially since she’s agreed to come back for the next go 'round.
Thank you all for your support. I really wish I could say that this is all over now, but at least it went okay today.
I’m glad to hear that it went relatively well.
I strongly disagree about “there being no point to asking for severance.” The Labor Standards Act imposes a duty on almost employers to pay severance based on length of service. It is one month salary for every year of service and is pro-rated if you worked for less than a year even if it was just a few months.
There are literally thousands of cases of this nature and people sue all the time to get severance paid. Even if they don;t pay in the end, the arbitration should award you severance. They owe you this money under the law.
The CLA issues work permits, and it can decide whether or not to cancel them. Whether or not the work permit is valid can also depend on what is written on the work permit. I have had teachers’, management, and now, a managing director’s work permit and they all have different wordings. Each case will be different. For example, my work permit insists that I obtain an ARC, even though I never really wanted one. My work permit is conditional on my having a certain visa status (decided by the MoFA) and a certain company category (decided by the Foreign Investment Commission), but the work permit itself is still issued by the CLA. Although it says I am entitled to work, that entitlement is conditional on other things. Some people’s permission to work and reside in Taiwan is granted by documents issued by other departments. For example, permission to remain and work as an investor is stated (or not) on a letter issued by the Foreign Investment Commission. No Resident Visa, CLA work permit, or ARC necessary. When I first came here in 1642 my entitlement to work (albiet limited) came from my status as a full-time university student. My MoFA Visitor Visa is clearly marked “For the Purposes of Employment by Company X”. This is also the case for visiting artists, who get Visitor Visas for the purposes of employment, so there is great variation in what pieces of paper from various departments actually mean.
I think Housecat is right to pursue this and I wish her well. At some point the school will cave in, and it’s important for her to vindicate herself to the fullest extent possible. This doesn’t really sound like a real “international school”, but if it is, a letter to the CEO of the organisation’s HQ and the press there might be all it takes to get a reasonable settlement.
Taiwanese companies don’t believe in employees being sick, or in holidays. I know of no other place in the world with fewer holidays or more stingy sick leave than Taiwan. China is a workers’ paradise by comparison, in this regard.
It will feel like a war of attrition, and the CLA will find having to abide by its own regulations awfully tiresome. But the alternative might be an everlasting feeling of regret at not having stuck it to the bastards. (Don’t for the Love of God instruct a law firm. Lawyers here don’t actually know any law, and you’ll be billed for the time it takes the lawyer to find out what the applicable law is…)
Good luck, and my sympathies, I’ve been there before.
Housecat: Well, so far, so good. I agree with all of those who say it’s worth fighting (for) this.
I’m hearing alarm bells. You signed a contract annulment agreement and the school didn’t show up for arbitration. What do you make of that? The school is refusing arbitration. Something is telling me that you will have to take this one to court if you want to test your luck.
I’m sorry things didn’t work out today, kitty.
RiT: Hmm…good point.
Fuck it, go to the media, especially Western media. Paint your former employer and the arbitration and workers’ rights system in this country as incredibly backward.
That’s not going to work for all kinds of reasons. First of all, the media, western or otherwise, doesn’t care about English teachers who lose their jobs. There is zero news value in this. Secondly, the public doesn’t care because they think (correctly) that English teachers have a pretty good deal. Third, the public doesn’t care because employees get laid off (illegally) for taking sick leave all the time in Taiwan.
This is an extremely typical labor dispute (wrongful termination) with some contract issues thrown in.
One lesson that everyone can take away from this is that you should never sign any pieces of paper your ex-employer gives you. You will probably waiving any rights you might have in your contract.
Nonetheless, your contract or any waiver cannot take away the basic protections you have under the law:
severance pay
pay in lieu of notice
sick pay
pay for untaken annual leave
Notice was received Friday afternoon for a Monday afternoon meeting. Actually, if I’d known how, I may have asked for a different date, too. There’s another reason that this time was not acceptable to them, but I can’t share it. And to hear the talk in the room, I think the school wants their day to come and speak against me.
We’ll see how it goes.
Hope you are in good spirits, HC. How’s the job hunt? Are you absolutely set on public school jobs? Maybe a good buxiban would be a good fit right now, giving you decent income while still having free time for your kitten or outside projects? A good trick for locating them-- and saving the legwork-- is to google search some familiar brands in Chinese. For example, to search Joy schools in your area, input 佳音英語 高雄 and you should get a listing with a map where these schools are located (and phone numbers). Just call these places one-by-one, asking if they need foreign teachers. If you do this with a few different names, you will have to beat off offers with a stick. Maybe you don’t want cram schools, but don’t run out of money before considering them.
I hope you’re not being sarcastic. I hadn’t even thought of this. I am also being hottly persued by a school much north of here, and they are SOOO friendly, and SOOO willing to do whatever it takes to get met to come and see them–and I’ve had such a rough ride lately that I’ve only felt pretty cynical about it. It didn’t even occur to me that they might think I was going to be a great teacher!
Thanks, Feiren. (If you’re not being sarcastic.)
I’m not being sarcastic. I’m sure there are many schools out there that would love to have you. Think of how great it would be to tell the parents that they have a qualified teacher etc.
BTW, there are a bazillion working single women with children in Taiwan these days. I don’t think you need to worry about too much about being discriminated against. People are also aware that childcare etc will be an issue.
School in Miaoli: bit.ly/dRXT4l
School in Yilan: bit.ly/hiomy5
School in Xindian: bit.ly/f10EFv
School in Jiayi: bit.ly/igpvYw
the problem with buxibans for parents is that the hours you work are the same that housekitten are home. So not only would she not have any time to spend with her son but she would also have to have daycare or have her study in the teacher’s lounge while she was teaching. Now if she was on an APRC that would change and she could legally go the kindy route.