So tomorrow has been declared a work day but the company is making us work from home. Is that legal? We used to get typhoon days as a day off.
It seems that you still need to work from home if you were already a WFH employee.
However, if you normally work in the office, and no previous agreement was made when you were hired that you may need to sometimes work from home, then your employer cannot make you work at home during a typhoon day without your agreement. (Some people may not have an environment at home that is suitable for working.)
如果勞資雙方原本約定的工作地點是在公司，資方想在颱風停班期間改變為居家工作模式，除非原來就有約定雇主可以如此指定工作地點，否則必須與勞工協議同意放得為之。
Source (in Chinese):
Are you hourly or salaried?
If salaried, then yea they can make you work from home.
Suggest you work from home, alternate is they may deduct your personal leave.
Btw. for vast majority of salaried workers typhoon days off are not paid. It is voluntary for companies to compensate.
So you have a choice, take a paid day off from your allowance or work.
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(edit olm: related ministry of Labour FAQ in mandarin)
How do you know this? Everything I’ve read online seems to contradict what you said.
There doesn’t seem to be a distinction between hourly and salaried employees when it comes to whether your company can make you work from home on typhoon days.
From what I’ve read, your company can’t just make you work from home if it wasn’t already previously agreed upon, whether you’re hourly or salaried.
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ITT: Lots of speculation, not a lot of links to actual labor law
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It’s going to depend on your company.
As for labor law I don’t know because if you’re working from home it’s not like you’re exposed to any danger, unless your home is flooded or without power.
@araujobsd already provided a link explaining all the options. Nobody can “force” you to work from home however if you chose not to work from home your employer does not have to pay you.
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The OP does not normally work from home. His boss is forcing him to, which is against the law as far as I can tell. What if he has noisy kids at home and he is unable to work around them? What if his wife usually uses the house for Zumba classes while he is at work?
It’s perfectly legal. Typhoon days are not currently regulated by the Labor Standards Act (勞基法). You don’t automatically get an extra paid day off if you work in the private sector. It’s up to your employer to decide whether they will give you a day off, ask you to show up for work or work from home. If you decide to take the day off, they cannot punish you for the absence but they don’t have to pay you.
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Birds of a feather!
Only if you’re salaried as they pay monthly. Hourly worker don’t get paid if they don’t work. So salaried worker cam get a free paid day if there’s a typhoon day.
But it also doesn’t mean your boss won’t try to make you work.
I worked for a couple Taiwanese companies as a salaried employee before moving to the US, and we never got Typhoon days off.
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That’s entirely up to the company to decide, not a legal requirement. Many companies will deduct a day’s personal leave for salaried employees who are unable/unwilling to work on a typhoon day.
According to the article I posted previously, your employer can only ask you to work from home on a typhoon day if you are already a WFH employee, or otherwise had already previously agreed to sometimes work from home.
Of course, you may not get paid if you don’t agree.
After Covid, I am sure most employees whose jobs can be done from home are equipped to work from home. Do you think Taiwanese employers will give them this option if the employees cannot work from home? I bet they would rather give them an unpaid day off than pay them to do nothing at home.
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I’d rather just stick to posting what the law says in the article than make assumptions about the OP’s living arrangements.
There is no such law. What you posted was from a press release by the Ministry of Labor. It’s a recommendation, not a law. Also, you can decline to work from home if it’s not previously agreed upon, but you are not entitled to free money if you don’t work.
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