Private School: Teaching-only contracts, what's ok and what's not?

Understanding Labor and Teaching Contracts in Private Schools (Primary and Secondary)

I’ve been researching labor laws and contract structures for private schools in Taiwan, focusing on the differences between teaching-only contracts and labor contracts. My goal is to understand my rights and share insights with others. Please feel free to correct or clarify anything—I’m not a lawyer, just trying to figure this out.

1. Types of Contracts

There are two primary types of contracts for private school employees:

Labor Contracts: Typically apply to roles involving both teaching and administrative duties. These contracts are governed by the Labor Standards Act (LSA) and include fixed working hours (e.g., 9-5).

Teaching-Only Contracts: Focus on teaching periods rather than fixed working hours. These contracts are more flexible but come with distinct rules and limitations.

2. Key Differences

Labor Contracts:

• Include fixed working hours and require a 30-minute unpaid break every 4 hours.

• Overtime rules apply (e.g., compensation for hours over 8 per day or 40 per week).

• Penalties for tardiness must be legal and clearly defined—no arbitrary deductions.

• Leave is calculated hourly. For example, one hour of personal leave results in one hour of salary deduction.

Teaching-Only Contracts:

• Teachers are only required to be on campus during their teaching periods unless additional duties are explicitly stated in the contract. Vague terms like “9-5 for lesson planning” aren’t sufficient.

• Leave is tied to teaching periods. Missing a day with no classes doesn’t impact salary, but missing teaching periods results in deductions for those specific periods.

• Winter and summer breaks are considered pre-planned closures and part of the annual salary package, not leave.

• There’s no requirement for overtime pay unless explicitly stated. Teachers benefit from schedule flexibility, unlike labor contracts.

3. Legal Standards

Regardless of contract type:

• Contracts must meet or exceed the minimums mandated by the LSA. For example, leave entitlements (30 days sick leave, 14 days personal leave, etc.) must comply with LSA standards.

• Workplace rules must be approved by the Ministry of Labor (for employers with over 30 staff). Unapproved or unlawful conditions are void.

• No contract clause can require illegal or unpaid labor.

4. Mixed Contracts: Are They Legal?

A key issue is whether contracts can mix teaching-only and labor elements. For example:

• A contract mandates 30 teaching periods per week but also requires being on campus from 9-6 daily with no breaks, unpaid weekend work, and deductions for missed hours unrelated to teaching periods.

This blurs the line between teaching-only and labor contracts. Employers seem to exploit benefits from both while ignoring employee protections from either.

• If the contract is labeled “teaching-only,” it should provide schedule flexibility and deduct leave based on teaching periods only.

• If the contract is actually a labor contract, overtime pay, exact time tracking, and proper breaks should apply.

Questions for the Community

  1. Have you encountered contracts blending teaching and labor requirements? How were they handled?

  2. If a contract includes fixed working hours but is labeled “teaching-only,” does it default to labor law protections?

  3. How can employees clarify their rights under ambiguous contracts?

I’ve come across more info. However, I still have not found an official source to say this. It seems that teaching-only contracts are actually quite rare and are directly under the control of MOE. They really are just teaching only as the required working time is the exact number of teaching periods per week, while listing exact working hours (ie 9-5) is what a labor contract would have. Teachers aren’t required to stay for anything outside those exact teaching periods and definitely should not take part in any of the activities below or else the contract cannot be teaching-only.

  • grading
  • class prep
  • attending meetings
  • doing class-related admin work
  • subbing for other teachers
  • attending any other mandatory events not explicitly listed in the contract
  • attending PD events
  • Meetings with parents
  • Monitoring
  • picking up students
  • tutoring

If an employer insists upon having a teaching-only contract while still having their employees take part in any of the above, it seems like it would technically be possible, though exceedingly confusing, to have the teaching time under the teaching-only contract and the rest of the time under LSA with a standard labor contract or by getting paid at the overtime rate per teaching period for the number of periods the teachers are present at work outside of teaching periods.

Some things characteristic of standard labor contracts (that shouldn’t be present in a teaching-only contract):

  • strict working hours
  • having to clock in/ out
  • late policy and deductions for tardiness
  • overtime pay
  • a break of 30 min every 4 hours

Please let me know if any of this seems incorrect.