I’ve been at the same school for a while now but my minimum contracted hours are not being provided. When I complain and highlight this to my boss they have kicked the can down the road and keep claiming next month the hours will be provided.
Are there any legal protections for this? As I understand by law the lowest minimum hours for foreign teachers are cemented 14 hours a week. My boss claims this is a suggestion not law.
Article 14 of Labor Standards Act says
A worker may terminate a labor contract without giving advance notice to the employer in any of the following situations:
…
5. Where an employer fails to pay for work in accordance with the labor contract or to give sufficient work to a worker who is paid on a piecework basis.
6. Where an employer breaches a labor contract or violates any labor statute or administrative regulation in a manner likely to adversely affect the rights and interests of the particular worker.
when you quit, you should be able to get severance pay. there might not be much else things you could do, but you may get more information from Labour Department of your location.
@tando is there a requirement for companies sponsoring an ARC to provide a minimum number of hours or work?
Otherwise I suspect a shady boss could abuse the system and sponsor an ARC for his buddy to come over to Taiwan to teach at his cram school, and only make him do 2 minutes of work each week, so they can work illegally at a kindergarten for the rest of the week.
for cram school,
Ok, so the following is false?
(I assume @StrawberryCornetto that you are working at a cram school and not a real school?)
Why are they not giving you hours?
Either they don’t have them or they want to push you out. A common tactic is to just not give the teacher enough hours and make them quit.
Either one means that I’d start looking for a new job.
Or call a lawyer…
Not going to help in the long run. Might get a pay off I suppose. Just pointing out that his days at this place are numbered.
Yes, I am a cram school English teacher.
This situation with the work hours being 11-12 hours a week has been dragging on for 4 months now. Many broken promises on hours already.
I spoke with a colleague today and she said my boss is worried “I’m not happy”. When I told her my concerns about hours I was again told “that’s how things work in this sector in Taiwan”. I repeated I signed a contract and she didn’t have an answer to it. Just that my boss will put me first in line for new classes.
Apparently I am at fault because 8 months ago I didn’t agree to subbing for a co-teacher during my contracted two days off. My boss said this is normal and I need to work overtime to cover for potential lower hours in the future. I felt like I was being gaslighted.
They will probably be sweet to you around January and August/September.
Look for another job before then, they are out there.
Sounds pretty normal to me. Time to find a fire your boss
I lasted 1 week at a job because the day I started I was told I was not allowed to take any breaks or go to 7-11 next door to buy anything because ‘full-timers don’t get breaks’.
On my first day I got a lecture cos I forgot to bring my water bottle and wanted to go next door to but one….
Easiest thing to do is just leave.
Did you need them for your visa? If not just ignore that. They sound unpleasant. They should have said"Yes, keep hydrated".
Seconded. Shitty bosses abound around the world, but so do good ones!
11 to 12 hours is really low. Are you able to cover your bills?
How many hours do the other teachers have?
Is the cram school a big chain or an individual school?
This is just what Taiwanese say when they want to take advantage of you being a foreigner.
it is violattion of your contract and the minimum hours of 14hrs. every city or county has Labor Department, and you can consult on your case.
if your contract says minimum salary in addition to the minimum hours, you can get the salary even if they didn’t give the contracted minimum hours, iiuc.