True, if you leave on your own you get nothing. But who would do that unless you are guilty of negligence or similar - then it’s actually fair to offer you the opportunity to resign rather than being fired (not being retrenched). Nobody would resign by him/herself if the company is retrenching - that would be pretty stupid IMHO.
Some companies offer voluntary retrenchement though but then you are still entitled to the severance payment. Many locals who were not retrenched in the above case told me they would have done so, saying the package would have been worth it (and they were confident to find a similar job quickly). This was mainly said by administrative staff, engineers thought it would be hard to find a new employement and preferred to stay put.[/quote]
In Taiwan, when they want someone to leave or lay someone off, it’s customary to ask targeted employees to leave on their own. If the employee refuses to follow suit, they try to make life hard for the employee so that he will finally leave, and they don’t have to pay severance.[/quote]
Yeah I’ve seen some bad things. If they fire a employee they have to pay 1 month severance per year (something like that). They will make life very difficult for some people in the ‘give them nothing to do all day and sit them on their own in the corner’ variety. I’ve also seen Taiwanese take a company to labour review and get all the money they were owed…nice. If you have a case in law you can go to labour arbitration and they should be helpful (maybe not so much for teachers but).
Foreigners, too. A few years ago I got my original “severence” offer of NT$70,000 upped to NT$560,000 after review and arbitration. The company actually paid it, too! :shock:
Read the contract very carefully. Have it written in your native language if possible. Everything discussed here is off if you sign a contract. You will be expected to adhere to the terms, even if the company decides not to adhere to their part. In cases where the contract is written in 2 languages, then the Chinese usually takes precedence.
We were negotiating terms, and agreed to settle everything within a few days. I emailed him my contract the next morning, he came in to discuss a few details, we amended the document, printed it out, et voila! Sometimes, if you take the initiative, Taiwanese can be very easy to do business with. I’m pleased that I’m now working for someone that is able to make a fair deal, and (this is going to come back and haunt me!) stick with it.
Mesheel, you might consider being equally pushy. You’re selling a service, subject to your standard terms and conditions, not begging for a job on any terms,
Thanks stragbasher for the hint. If I really would want that job, I would be pushy, trust me. But I don’t see myself selling kitchens and bathrooms, so I just keep sending out my CV and calling people until something better comes up…