Hi guys, apologies if this has been posted before…I searched the forums and found similar threads, but none that pertain exactly to my situation.
Anyway, I’m in the middle of changing jobs, and about 2 weeks from the end of my notice period. Everything seems to be going okay, except for the termination letter/cancel contract agreement. I asked my current school for this and they feigned ignorance:
“What’s that Wonton? Maybe you can write it yourself and we sign”
I find it very hard to believe that an established school with an experienced manager has NEVER been in this situation before. I suspect they’re trying to drag the process out and make it difficult so I cannot leave my current school or start at the new one. Perhaps they’re under the misguided impression that I’ll carry on teaching (as they haven’t found a new teacher yet), I don’t know.
Has anyone got a sample letter to show them? Or does anyone know the Chinese word for the document I’m after? Alternatively, does anyone have any advice for resolving this situation?
Hey I have no real-world experience with this, but the Mandarin for a termination letter is 終止聘僱關係證明書 (zhōngzhǐpìngùguānxizhèngmíngshū). A quick google revealed the following link, not sure if it’s applicable for teachers, but at least it’s a start. It’s to be used for type-two foreign workers (第二類外國人). The types of foreign workers are outlined here (in Mandarin). Good luck!
Thanks a lot pal. I just sent both links to my boss, we’ll see what happens. I really don’t want to hardball and push the “I’ll speak to the labor department to get confirmation” route but I may have to.
Type B foreigners are “blue collar” (ESA Art. 46 Par. 1 Subpar. 8 to 11). If you are, for example, a buxiban teacher, you have a “white collar” job (ibid. Subpar. 1 to 6), which makes you type A.
If the WDA doesn’t have a form for type A contract termination, just ask for a 離職證明書, or a 服務證明書 but specify that it needs to say the contract is finished.
Bumping my old thread as I’m currently going through the same dance. My former employers are telling me they cannot give me the termination letter “because of level 3”. I’ll admit, this is a new one. Any advice for this line of argument?
Document everything. Get a six month “looking for work” extension
Also, 離職證明, as mentioned above, is commonplace. It’s my understanding that Taiwanese people cannot get jobs without them. Future employers don’t trust resumes in this country. You have to have a signed and stamped document from every employer that “claim” to have worked for or else “you’re probably lying”. I’ve helped a few Taiwanese people draft them for their overseas employers (because we certainly don’t use them in the US!), but the first few I was so confused, exactly because I didn’t understand why you would need a notarized letter “proving” you worked at a clothing store for six months abroad in order to get a job as a school nurse. But that’s Taiwanese culture of assuming that you’re lying unless you have a pile of papers to prove them otherwise.
Tell your boss that you know they have 離職證明 and that COVID is the best excuse you’ve ever heard but it’s not going to stop you
Of course they do! They could even post it, or just leave it in reception for me to collect. There should be no excuses.
I suppose my question is: if this is a standard document in Taiwan, as @nz has pointed out, then why do employers make it so difficult to obtain? Why the extreme reluctance on their end? Is it just laziness or something else? A quick search of the forum shows numerous cases like mine over the years.
Sometimes it is better to lose and do the right thing than to win and do the wrong thing. — Tony Blair