I was scheduling a teleconference for the end of the month, and my boss kept telling me that Wed 28 Sep is a holiday, but I couldn’t figure out what she was talking about. So when I went online, I found this:
Since some of the participants in the meeting are in the US, I sincerely wondered if this was what she meant. When I mentioned 28 Sep to a colleague, she immediately said it was Teacher’s Day. In Taiwan.
Ohhhhh – OK!
Taiwan uses this day to honor teachers’
contributions to their own students and
to society in general. People often make
use of the day to express their gratitude
to their teachers, such as paying them
a visit or sending them a card.
This date was chosen to commemorate
the birth of Confucius, believed to be
the model master educator in ancient China.
In 1939, the Ministry of Education
established the national holiday as 27 August,
the attributed birthday of Confucius.
In 1952, the Executive Yuan changed it to
September, stating that it was calculated
to be the precise date in the Gregorian
calendar. The festival celebration occurs
in the temples of Confucius around the
island, known as the “Grand Ceremony
Dedicated to Confucius” (祭孔大典). The
ceremony begins at 6am with drum beats.
54 musicians are dressed in robes with
blue belts, and 36 (or 64) dancers
dressed in yellow with green belts.
They are led by Confucius’s chief
descendant (currently Kung Tsui-chang)
and followed by ceremonial officers.
Three animals are sacrificed: a cow,
a goat, and a pig. The hairs plucked
from these sacrificed animals are
called the Hairs of Wisdom. In addition,
local education institutes and civil
offices award certain teachers for
their excellence and positive influence.
After reading about Ask A Stupid Question Day, I think it’s a nice coincidence that it happens to be the same as Taiwan’s Teacher’s Day.
######However, I do not want to ask my boss whether she was talking about Taiwan Teacher’s Day or Ask A Stupid Question Day - she might think I was making fun of her
First year in a long while, although it may have been a holiday back in the days when December 25th (because it’s Constitution Day!) was also a day off.
But it’s weird this year. It seems like many schools and companies aren’t entirely sure yet if it’s even a holiday.
I do remember those days. Funnily enough, I was actually a teacher then and we DIDN’T get it off.
Because shark buxiban owners.
We had a (seemed to me) rather tersely worded email from HR a couple weeks ago that went into some detail about how the day would be a holiday in keeping with the specific government department and regulation. The subtext being, like, “We really don’t want to give you shiftless bastards yet ANOTHER day off after just giving you one (yeah, that’s right, ONE, not FOUR, FFS) last week for Pomelo Day, but we don’t have any choice. Don’t go thinking we’re happy about it, though, just so you know”
ps Back when we did have like 3 or 4 stats every month, it was always funny to see the FNGs go “Wait a minute, Halloween is a holiday???”
The removal of holidays for 2016 was reversed. Assuming they haven’t re-reversed it yet, if you’re subject to the Labor Standards Act and not being compensated with a holiday swap (for another working day off, not a day off off), you have the right to be paid without working on this holiday, and if you do work, you have the right to be paid double.
@yyy OK, but what if I’m scheduled to be on an overseas business trip during that time? Will I be paid double for the day? What are my legal entitlements?
Official (but with no legal weight) English translation:
Enforcement Rules of the Labor Standards Act
Article 18
If the working hours of a worker cannot be readily calculated owing to
special errands or other reasons requiring him to attend to work outside
the workplace, his/her working hours shall be deemed to be his regular
working hours. This shall not apply, however, where his actual working
hours have been proven.
(1986 citation)
If a worker is ordered to go out on business, the work time exceeds ordinary work time, and there is proof of a proper reason, the worker shall demand the employer to give overtime pay in accordance with Art. 24 of the LSA.
For a worker who is ordered to go out on business on a day designated by the LSA as a day on which leave should occur [including holidays], regardless of whether or not there are travel expenses, the worker should be deemed to be attending work as usual, and that day’s wage should be paid double in accordance with Art. 39 of the Labor Standards Act.
For a business entity implementing a day duty or night duty system, if the worker is ordered to go out on business during a supplementary holiday for day duty or night duty [i.e. a make-up holiday], aside from the regular wage for that day, the standard for payment of the supplementary holiday’s wage shall be decided through negotiation between the worker and the employer.
)and normally teachers don’t get Labor Day off because they are not labors ( 
), right?