Vacation = Breach

I told my boss I would like to go home in July for a 4 week vacation. She said this would be a breach of contract and that I would have to repay my training wages (32,000). My contract is silent on this matter.

I only teach 7 hours a week, and it was easy for me to find a sub willing to cover for me and come in a few weeks early for training (at my expense). My boss refused allow a sub. I told her I’d teach an extra 4 weeks longer than my original contract. She refused.

I’m afraid my boss is being uncooperative because she WANTS me to breach… By the time July arrives, I will have taught 10 months. I only teach 7 hours per week, so I won’t generate a lot of income for her in those last two months. But if she can get me to break the contract, she thinks she can get 32,000.

I would like to claim that I am not breaching the contract. Since my contact doesn’t say anything about vacations.

Alternatively, I would like to claim that 32,000 is unreasonable, since I will have worked 10/12 of my contract before going home (and am willing to work another 1/12) after I come back.

Has anyone else been in a similar position? How did it turn out?

Finally, from other posts, I’ve read that a boss cannot refuse to pay you money you’ve earned. Does this mean I can tell my boss I plan to quit two weeks before my plane leaves and that I will come in to pick up all my salary the day before I take off? What if I walk in the day before I leave and she just refuses to pay me, claiming I owe her money?

This is just a guess, but if the contract doesn’t mention vacation time, I’d guess it would then go according to the labour standards law, which is zero paid vacation for the first year, seven days in the second year, with an addition day per year of service to a max of (I think) 15 days.

[quote=“LawFerret”]
Finally, from other posts, I’ve read that a boss cannot refuse to pay you money you’ve earned. Does this mean I can tell my boss I plan to quit two weeks before my plane leaves and that I will come in to pick up all my salary the day before I take off? What if I walk in the day before I leave and she just refuses to pay me, claiming I owe her money?[/quote]

I guess she won’t pay you, knowing you are leaving … than in breach of contract she cancels your ARC and workpermit … which puts you in a very difficult spot when returning … getting a 30 day visa free entry, no more …

Is it that hard to stay until the 12 months are over and than go home … would make it easier for all tho …

I think Sandman has it right… and because you are always getting a new contract when you start in a new place, then you are always in the first year, so you never get ANY paid vacation.

What are you? Lazy? :smiley:

I do miss my 4 weeks paid per year (Australia). I get two weeks paid, and by arrangement, can take some time unpaid as well, but you have to be an irreplaceable worker to have that kind of sway. Why not just stay an extra 2 months? You can still see the folks in summer time, just not right in the middle. And then you can have a 2 month holiday, or as long as you want.

By the way, a common misconception is that yearly contract workers never accumulate enough service years to get paid vacation. Not true. If you stay at the same workplace for more than a year you’re entitled to the paid vacation time, even if youre signing a contract every year.

Summer is often the busiest time for schools, with all the extra summer classes on top of the regular classes. Why don’t you just wait the extra 2 months then take a vacation? 4 weeks vacation is a LOT more than a TW teacher gets.

Sandman is mostly right in what he posted above.

The vacation requirements as stated in the Labor Standards Act, Article 38 are that a worker shall receive time off for any public holidays plus the following number of days vacation depending on years of service:

0-1 years: no vacation
1-3 years: 7 days per year
3-5 years: 10 days per year
5-10 years: 14 days per year
10+ years: 14 days per year plus 1 day for each additional year of service with max 30

In addition, Article 10 specifies that if you renew a contract within 3 months of a previous contract expiring with the same employer, that the total service time is cumulative. Article 20 also specifies that if a company changes ownership or is restructured, the service time of any retained employees will be cumulative.

For the original poster, if your contract did not specify any vacation time, you are only entitled to what is legally required, which in the first year is only public holidays. Leaving on a four week holiday would probably legitimately be a breach of contract. Sorry.

[quote=“sandman”]This is just a guess, but if the contract doesn’t mention vacation time, I’d guess it would then go according to the labour standards law, which is zero paid vacation for the first year, seven days in the second year, with an addition day per year of service to a max of (I think) 15 days.[/quote]As I understand it, this only applies to salaried workers rather than those paid per hour.

From the practical point of view of what to do, cfimages’s suggestion makes sense.

7 hrs a week makes this an illegal job, no? You’re supposed to do a minimum of 14, aren’t you?

If you don’t have a work-permit for this job then it’s probably not legal, and if you’re not doing 14 hrs or more then you’re probably already in breach of the contract. If anyone wants to get pissy with you about what you’re legally required to do then you are free to insist that ALL the provisions and laws are complied with.

Generally this is only a good idea if you’re planning to quit and want to make sure they don’t make trouble for you. After all, if it comes to an administrative hearing, you’re quitting because you’re not doing as much work as you’re supposed to by law. It would be easier for your boss to just pay you off than to get into a shitfight.

However, I would add the following: You signed a contract agreeing to work at your school for 12 months, and didn’t think to ask in advance if you would be allowed to disappear for a month in the middle of their busiest time.

Why do you now have the right to insist that you be allowed to waltz off, leaving them with a whole bunch of valued paying customers asking where their regular teacher is? Like it or not, YOU are what they pay for, and no boss likes having to sell a new teacher. And what guarantee does your boss have that you will come back? Sure, you might promise, but you’ve already decided not to honour the agreement you made ten months ago to work for one year. She might find herself without a teacher right when she needs you the most.

If it says nothing about vacation then you are entitled to none. Thus it depends on the goodwill of your boss, if she says no then you are not going.

I also agree with the suggestion by cfimages, just wait the two months and then go on a vacation, as long as you like. :wink:

Thanks for everyone’s advice and observations:

I went to the Lao Gong Ju (Department of Labor?) for some more info. The man said I was in breach, because my vacation would be too long. However, he said if it was just one or two weeks, it would probably be OK. I’m not sure why his advice conflicts with the first-year-zero-day rule that some of you have brought up.

Thus, there will be a breach. It is not really a vacation at this point, so much as me quitting my job and then starting another when I come back. However, that is by far NOT the end of the story.

Just because my contract says I should return my entire training pay doesn’t mean I actually will do so. I told the Labor rep. that although my boss wanted to recover my entire training pay, the “reasonable” amount of the fine would be 2/12 of the training pay, as I will work 10/12 of my contract. Since my boss will receive 10 months of work from me, asking me to repay the whole training fee would be a windfall for her. I have a strong suspicion that she is denying my vacation in an attempt to get this windfall.

When I asked the Labor rep. what would happen if my boss refused to accept the 2/12, he said she would have to sue me. He went on to say that my boss cannot refuse to pay me any of the money I’ve earned for any reason, and that he would call her and remind her of this if I wanted. When I asked him how exactly my boss could recover ANY of the training pay from me if I was leaving the country, he told me straight-up that she can’t.

Regardless of what your contracts say, workers have a lot of power here. I’m not saying that it’s morally right to do so, but it appears that workers can take off with all of their money in hand and bosses have very little recourse. Indeed, even if a worker did not leave the country, is their boss really going to spend the time and resources necessary to take them to court?

Cfimages: The vacation dates are out of my hands, as the plane tickets are free on these days only. If it was up to me, I would have waited for the contact to expire before going home. But the value of the free tickets is too great to pass up just so I can put in 7 hours a week out here.

Loretta: You are right that there are two sides to every story. Maybe my boss will feel like she is the victim here. But if I didn’t leave, she would have had to find a new teacher in a few months anyway. I have given her 2 months warning, which should be enough time to find someone else. As for the kids, since I only teach 7 hours a week, I’m not really the main teacher for any of them. If my boss actually let me go on vacation, individual students would only have missed me for a total of 5 hours. Since now I will break the contract, they will miss me for 10.

Rascal: I am going on vacation. Regardless of what my contract says, my boss does not own me, and certainly cannot require me to work if I don’t want to.

I’ll keep you posted as to whether my boss accepts 2/12.

[quote=“LawFerret”] Maybe my boss will feel like she is the victim here. But if I didn’t leave, she would have had to find a new teacher in a few months anyway. I have given her 2 months warning, which should be enough time to find someone else. As for the kids, since I only teach 7 hours a week, I’m not really the main teacher for any of them. If my boss actually let me go on vacation, individual students would only have missed me for a total of 5 hours. Since now I will break the contract, they will miss me for 10.

Rascal: I am going on vacation. Regardless of what my contract says, my boss does not own me, and certainly cannot require me to work if I don’t want to.

I’ll keep you posted as to whether my boss accepts 2/12.[/quote]

Who cares? There are a bazillion other schools you can find employment at when you get back. You weren’t even legal in the first place if you were teaching 7 hours a week–as if the contract is worth anything anyway.

She is rather unreasonable.

Don’t blame you for attempting to play hardball. But 32000 NT is not a windfall for her.:laughing:

Either way, you leave on bad terms, and that is a pity.

Of course not, but then accept that you are in breach of the contract. If you don’t want to honor it is your choice, not the fault of your boss.

And there again, although the labor guy is right and she’d have to sue to to get any money back, it’s also a two-way street in that she CAN withold the money and leave you to get the CLA on her case or sue her. Pretty difficult thing to do if you’re not in the country.

Isn’t a sub illegal if he/she doesn’t have a workpermit for the school? Isn’t there the issue off breach of contract that has an impact on future workpermits/ARC’s?

Oh, so all that stuff about completing your contract when you get back was bullshit?

You basically want to break your contract early. Why didn’t you just say so, so that she can at least make arrangements to replace you properly. I’ve usually found that if you treat people decently then they will treat you decently too.

You’ve admitted you’re in breach, and that what you’re doing may not be morally right. But you only seem to care about the practicalities, so consider the following:

If your boss is annoyed with you then she can pay you whatever she feels like paying you on your last day, or a week or month after your last day. She might decide to withhold ALL your salary until you sue her.

How are you going to sue her if she cancels your work permit and you have to leave Taiwan? What if she does this while you’re away? The first you will know of it will be at the airport on your way back.

How are you going to return to Taiwan and get a new work permit if she doesn’t sign the release confirming that you held up your end of the bargain?

Sometimes it’s necessary to play hardball with people, but exercising your alleged power just because you can, when you know it’s wrong to do so, can easily backfire.

Like it or not, if YOU create a situation where you’re in legal conflict with her the judge will probably enforce any legal terms of the contract. Best to find another way to deal with this.

…in this case? None.

She’s got you by the balls.

Albeit her position is somewhat unreasonable, based on your more than reasonable offers to compensate and solve the problem:I do see her side of the problem. A “sub” is ILLEGAL. Full stop. She would get slapped with any nasty fines if found with him/her on the premises.

IF you absolutely insist on breaking the contract, and hope to return to Taiwan thereafter…I would not count on getting another Work Permit anywhere. Records are kept on file at the CLA, and they can for whatever reason under the sun decide to reject a future application based on your proven unreliability.

Loretta, I’m not sure what you are getting at. I would love to finish my contract when I come back. However, there will be no more contract to finish. My boss will claim my leaving is a breach. I have told her that I’m leaving. She told me “no you’re not.” If she doesn’t want to find a new teacher in the two months notice I’ve given her, what more am I supposed to do? As I said, I even found her another teacher. She refused to use him. Of course my boss will cancel my ARC while I’m gone. As she should, considering I will no longer be her employer.

In theory, she could refuse to pay me. However, her holding my money is against Taiwan’s labor laws, i.e., illegal. Other posts on this topic lead me to believe she could face a 90,000 penalty and potential criminal charges. If I didn’t pay her, I would not face criminal charges. On top of that, my 7 hours per week does not generate a monstor salary. If she kept a month of my pay, that’s not much more than the 2/12 I’m offering her. So she’d be risking 90,000 and criminal charges to get a few thousand more than the 2/12 I’m offering her legally.

SoulDragon, thanks for the heads-up about future work permits. I’ll make sure I talk to the labor guy about that next time I see him.

So you got these plane tickets back home without even clearing it with your boss? Then tell her that you are going to take this time off and are surprised that she’s pissed off and is not willing to accept a person who she didn’t even screen, to come into her business and work illegally in your place?

I’m trying hard to see how you can come out smelling like roses, but from what you have shared, well. Let’s just say rotting chou doufu (talk about redundant) might be more appealing than the situation you’ve put yourself into.