Labour Issues in Taiwan. Mr. Alvin Chan, Client Services Director, Nair & Co

Transcription

1 Labour Issues in Taiwan Mr. Alvin Chan, Client Services Director, Nair & Co

2 Purpose of Today s Meeting Overview Labour issues in Taiwan Immigration issues in Taiwan Q & A Nair & Co

3 Overview Growing number of businesses going into Taiwan (HTC?) Understanding of doing business in Taiwan, including Market, Legal system, Competition and Hiring Employment and Labour issues: 1. Should I hire? 2. How to hire? 3. How to fire! Nair & Co

4 Labour issues in Taiwan 1) Should I hire? (Contractor vs Employee) Is this a genuine contractor relationship or whether the attempt is to class an employee as a contractor simply to avoid employment liabilities and statutory obligations. Terms such as non-compete restrictions, bonus pay, references to vacation, work hours and other provisions that look like employment terms will run the very high risk that the employee will come back and claim deemed employment. The contractor should provide his own tools, equipment supplies etc. and does not receive training Are taxes being paid over by the hire? Nair & Co

5 Labour issues in Taiwan 2) How to hire? Understanding of main laws regulating employment relationship Labour Standard Act (LSA) Labour contracts, Wages, Working hours*, Rest and Leave etc Cost of employment Labour insurance and National Health Pension (including foreign nationals) Personal Information Tax Act* effective 1 Oct 2012 Understanding of Statutory and Supplementary Benefits in Taiwan Need for a country compliance employment contract Nair & Co

6 Labour issues in Taiwan Working hours For the past six years, Guo Chi-mei has struggled to get out of bed on his own. The 40-year-old suffered a stroke in 2006 and can only take a few unaided steps to his wheelchair before his blood pressure rises to a dangerous level. Last year the government ruled that the stroke was because of overwork but his company legally challenging the decision. By law workers are not allowed to do more than 46 hours of overtime each month and companies are fined for violating these rules. Nair & Co

7 Personal Information Tax Act Applies to all public and private sectors and individuals that collect, process or use personal data; personal data is broadly defined to include name and address, ID, special features, fingerprints, marriage, family, medical records and history, financial status, social activities and other data that can directly or indirectly identify a person. Failure to comply with the Act can result in the imposition of civil liabilities up to NT$200 million (approximately US$6.8 million), administrative penalties up to NT$500,000 (approximately US$17,000), and criminal liabilities up to 5 years and/or NT$1 million (approximately US$34,000) - representatives of a company may be subject to the same amount of administrative penalties when the company violates the Act. Ensure you have policies and systems in place to ensure that the data you hold is maintained securely in order to ensure that it is both confidential and without risk of loss, disclosure, or destruction. Nair & Co

8 You are fired! Termination The concept of termination at will (dismissing an employee for any reason, without notice, and at any time) is not permissible under the LSL, even if the employee agrees to it in his or her employment contract. Notice of Termination according to the LSL is as follows: days notice if you have worked for the Company for less than one year; days notice if you have worked for the Company for more than one year but less than three years; days notice if you have worked for the Company for more than three years Nair & Co

9 You are fired! Termination notice must be sent to City Gov. on time. Company that does not send the notice on time is liable to minimum penalty of New Taiwan Dollar of 30,000 (US$1000) for this delay. Severance & Bonus - Where a bonus is based on individual performance, it is considered to be earned income and will be counted in base salary for the purpose of calculating severance pay. Nair & Co

10 Immigration issues in Taiwan Employers intending to hire foreigners to work in Taiwan will have to meet basic requirements before an application for a work permit may be granted. It is also vital that foreign employees meet educational / academic qualification relevant to his position in the organization as well as meets the required work experience to fulfill his given role. Representative Offices The Representative Office must have been approved by the relevant authorities and must show evidence of actual performance record in Taiwan Only permitted activities are allowed and this must be in line with what an RO is permitted to do in Taiwan Nair & Co

11 Immigration issues in Taiwan Local Companies / Foreign Branch Offices If established less than a year Operating capital of at least TWD5 million If established more than a year Annual revenue of at least TWD10 million for the most recent year OR Annual revenue of at least TWD10 million for the past three years OR Average import/export transactions of at least USD1 million OR Average agent commissions of at least USD400,000 Nair & Co

12 Immigration issues in Taiwan Resident Visa / Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) Resident visas are granted to foreigners who have intentions to stay in Taiwan for more than six months for the purpose of employment. A resident visa is usually valid for three months. This visa allows entry into Taiwan for stays of more than 6 months. This is usually a single entry visa (at times at the discretion of the authorities, multiple entries are issued) after which an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) needs to be applied for. The ARC should be applied for within 15 days of arrival in Taiwan. This will include a multiple re-entry permit for easy access back into Taiwan. Validity of the ARC is usually 1 year or at the discretion of the authorities. Nair & Co

13 Who s Nair & Co Nair & Co. protects you overseas with an integrated solution for your HR, finance, tax and legal needs. Having the ease of one firm providing your HR, finance, tax and legal services saves you time, money and takes the stress out of your overseas expansion. Our one point of contact business model means your solution is delivered consistently and in a streamlined manner that allows you to focus on building your business. Our procedures and systems are Statement 16 certified. Over 500 employees with offices in UK, US, India, China, Japan and Singapore. Nair & Co

14 Q&A No time for now Introduction of my colleagues who are at this meeting: 1. Mark Chong Head of Global Mobility 2. Jonathan Malone International Tax Manager See you in the Panel session Nair & Co

15 THANK YOU Nair & Co