Like if they try to fire someone who is under contract. Said person has not done anything outside the bounds of the contract, and would basically be fired for not doing the typical “work 2 hours past your shift to keep the admins happy” Taiwanese thing?
Oh, also, the employer does not supply an ARC or work permit because the person, or people, employed have their ARCs through family.
As long as you have a legal contract you are entitled to 1 month extra pay for each year worked (in the case of getting let go or ‘fired’, same thing to the law). You can go to the Council for Labor Affairs (google it to find website). They have a helpline and they will follow the case for you for free. From what I have heard they are very helpful. Just mentioning that you are contacting this department to your employer should at least get you your extra pay without too much trouble. Beyond that this is Taiwan and I’d say leave it at that.
Great. Thank you. It hasn’t happened, but I was just curious.
Actually you should go to your local Bureau of Labor Affairs in your city or county to file your complaint, not the national Council for Labor Affairs. Also, your right to severance pay is based in the Labor Standards Act, not your contract with your employer.They may also owe a small amount of extra severance if they notify you too late. The notification period depends on how long you have been employed. Be very careful about any instructions not to come in for work for a few days. One of the few ways that you can terminated without severance or notice is by being absent with telling your employer for three straight days. Some unscrupulous employers try to use this as a way to get out of paying severance.
That is good to know. Thank you.
What if it’s time to renew a contract and the school doesn’t renew it? Is that the same as being fired?
Anyone know what the severance pay is after 2 consecutive contracts/ 2 years?
I’m asking because negotiating my new contract has been difficult this time around. I am left with two choices it seems: A-accept being ripped off and re-sign a third contract, or B-refuse to be ripped off by not signing again.
In brief, my original contract as well as the second contract I signed which ended recently stipulates that A- I get 10k bonus for re-signing the second year which they paid in full when I signed a year ago. B- I get 20k bonus if I sign again for a third year. C- The contract also states that if there is a discrepancy between English and Chinese, the Chinese version of the contract prevails. Now here’s the catch, the school claims that a mistake was made when my contract was initially drafted (remember, this is the same contract I fulfilled two years in a row and I have the choice to re-sign for a third year now). Simply put, the Chinese version does not include anything about getting 20k bonus if I sign a third consecutive contract, but it’s black and white in English.
Bottom line, my contract offers benefits in its English version, but the same benefits are not included in the Chinese version. I understand that the contract says that if there is a discrepancy between English and Chinese as far as translation is concerned, Chinese prevails. But we’re not talking about a discrepancy, here, we’re talking about a complete omission. And that is precisely what I told my boss, but she won’t honor the English version of my contract. Given that I can’t read the Chinese version, it strikes as being dishonest and a way to lure people to stick around with false promises of benefits which are not actually mentioned in the Chinese version of the contract. The boss tells me that it was a mistake, and I believe her, but I think she should still honor the contract I signed, but she won’t.
The result is she is willing to renew the contract only if I am willing to accept only half of the bonus I am supposed to get according to the English version of my contract. Seems like a catch 22. If I refuse to sign the contract unless she pays me the bonus as per my contract, it will look as if I am quitting, but ultimately it would be the school who is unwilling to fulfill the contract and therefore refusing to renew my contract was I to refuse taking only half the bonus.
This said, I look at it this way. I only make 30k per month there (part-time). If I choose not to sign and if it takes me 2 weeks to find classes elsewhere, I lose 15k not working for two weeks. That’s pretty much the equivalent of the bonus right there. So if I don’t sign, I will lose revenue because I won’t be working, and if I sign I get ripped off half of my bonus.
I found out about this came time to sign the third contract. The contract was re-drafted because I negotiated some changes. Mostly, I got them to reduce the penalty for not finalizing the contract from 30k to 15k. Once the new draft came in, that’s when I noticed that the mention about 20k bonus for signing a third year had vanished. From there we looked at the old contract and found out that the 20k was only in English, but not in Chinese.
To be fair, the boss also offered to donate an extra 5k to a charity I am involved with to alleviate the “disappointment” as she puts it herself. This seriously offends me because I don’t see why I would have to take my own earnings and donate to charity when I already donate my time to a great extent to this charitable organization. Besides, it’s not 5k she’s shorting me on the bonus, it’s 10k.
After I read this thread and about severance pay, I am wondering if all this could pass as me being fired for refusing to be ripped off on my annual bonus of 20k as is clearly stipulated in the last contract I signed. In other words, if I could pull it off, could I possibly be eligible for 2 months severance pay after working there two years if the school refuses to renew the contract/ if I tell them to honor my contract or else I can’t sign for a third year.
If anyone is willing to provide some answers, do not hesitate to ask specific questions if the above wasn’t clear enough. So far I have managed to deal with this situation while being extremely culturally sensitive and no one lost face yet… Hence why they are still willing to renew my contract. Truth be told, I don’t care if it’s a genuine mistake or if they are being dishonest, I think they should honor my previous contract if they want me to sign the new one.
I am very tempted to sign it and quit whenever I find other classes suitable for my schedule so that I’m not put in a situation where I either lose half the bonus or lose revenue while in between schools. I fear that if I sign it, though, I will lose my chance to set this right and either make them honor my contract or pay me severance pay because as a result to the shady/dishonest/ mistaken contract they made me sign last time I find myself in a position where I will lose money either way I choose to go about it; either I sign the stupid contract or not.
Thanks!
marboulette
your boss tells you that that omission was ‘a mistake’, and you believe her? you’re not so naive, surely.
also, don’t forget your pension fund payments, that they should have been making for you. if you get fired, you can get back the voluntary bits that you topped it up with. if you leave on good terms, you get to keep all of your contributions, AND the 7% that they should have been paying for you.
you are paying into a pension fund, aren’t you?
Pension fund you say? Not for me. I wish.
i thought your employer had to if you’re on a JFRV… anybody out there know the truth of this?
You get nothin’ if you ain’t married to a local. Do married folk pay more taxes?
OP is married.
we often do pay more taxes, as our income is added to our spouse’s.
You get nothin’ if you ain’t married to a local. Do married folk pay more taxes?[/quote]
Hmm, I am married to a local. And I have a JFRV. Now I am getting very curious about this pension fund.
[quote=“urodacus”]OP is married.
we often do pay more taxes, as our income is added to our spouse’s.[/quote]
Ok, fair enough then.
No foreigners are eligible for the portable pension scheme that started in 2005. It does not matter if you are married or not.
Hmm, why has my school not mentioned this? Is it something one must request or should they have told us from the start?
That you aren’t eligible for something they didn’t give you?
OK, then why am i paying my voluntary 7% and getting a govt 7% as well?
I guess i’ll find out when I claim it!
My employer is the govt, BTW.
I didn’t get anything when I left Taiwan, pensionwise. It would not surprise me if one of those clowns ‘forgot’, though.
What? Who are you talking to?
Ok, wait…I think I may have this figured out…but who knows.