Hire in Taiwan without an entity and fully compliant with local labor laws

Full-time employees

• Referred to as “hired individuals”
• Enter into hire-of-services agreements
• An employee is hired and paid to do a specific job 
• Must follow employer’s instructions; no independent decision-making authority

‍

Contractors

• Referred to as “retained individuals” 
• Enter into mandate agreements
• Retains independent decision-making authority within the terms of the agreement

‍

Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor (MOL) created the non-binding Guiding Principles for the Identification of Labor Contracts (the Principles) November 19, 2019

Taiwan labor law references two types of contracts: fixed and non-fixed terms. Both are optional but if preferred, both types must include:

• The worksite and the work to be performed in that location
• Start and stop times, break periods, national & public holidays, off days, and paid vs unpaid leave 
• How wages are calculated, revised, and paid 
• Retirement and termination and 
• Bonuses, allowances, severance and other additional payments
• Non-reimbursable expenses associated with completing assigned duties
• Expectations regarding safety, health, welfare, on-site behaviors, and professional development, awards, and discipline
• Payment for occupational injuries 
• Additional topics regarding employer and employee rights and obligations

• Minimum = six months
• No legal maximum 
• Businesses usually establish a probationary period

• Eight hours per day
• 40 hours per week, Monday-Friday
• Employees choose overtime pay or additional paid leave equal to the number of overtime hours worked

Monthly

• Minimum monthly wage = $795 USD
• Minimum hourly wage = $5.30 USD
• Lunar New Year bonus (a.k.a., 13th or 14th monthly payment)
• Holiday bonus amounts range from $25 USD to $63 USD

‍

USD equivalent median salaries based on Role:

• Data Scientist: $17,091
• Electrical Engineer: $46,993
• Hardware Engineer: $25,673
• IT Manager: $26,450
• Mobile Developer: $25,237
• Product Manager: $35,798
• Project Manager: $20,630
• QA Engineer: $17,051
• Software Engineer: $29,981
• System Administrator: $18,279
• UX Designer: $20,116
• Web Developer: $40,142

• 10.5% Labor Insurance 
• 6%: Pension Fund
• 5.17%: Health Insurance
• 0.20%: Accidental Insurance
• 0.025%: Arrear Wage Payment Fund (a.k.a. Overdue Wages)

National Health Insurance

• Typically offered to employees’ spouses and dependent children 
• Full cost is distributed among employers (60%), employees (30%), and the government (10%).

‍

Paid Leave

‍

Maternity

• Less than 6 months consecutive employment = eight weeks at 50% salary
• More than 6 months consecutive employment = eight weeks at 100% salary
• All employees receive five days of paid leave for medical visits before delivery

‍

Paternity

• Maximum two days 
• 100% salaryFive days of paid paternity leave at 100% salary

Note: employees may distribute two years of unpaid parental leave as they choose

‍

Vacation/PTO days

• Prior to six months = no PTO 
• 6 months = 3 days
• 1 year =7 days
• 2 years = 10 days
• 3 years =14 days
• 5 years =15 days
• 10+ years = 1 additional day per year; maximum annual leave is 30 days

‍

Sick Days

• Employer pays 50% of employees salary
• Maximum 30 days per year
• Up to one year of hospitalization leave over two years

‍

Additional leave

• Bereavement
• Civil duty
• Personal leave
• Marriage

‍

Additional Benefits

• P3: Annual Health Check-up reimbursement 
• P3: Meal reimbursements
• P3: Leaving Services Benefits
• P3: Festival benefits

‍

Holidays (Taiwan celebrates 14 national holidays a year. Some have fixed-dates set on the Gregorian calendar and others are based on the Lunar calendar and thus observed on different dates each year.)

‍

The most important fixed date holidays are

• New Year's Day (1 January)
• 228 Peace Memorial Day (28 February)
• Labor Day (1 May)
• National Day (10 October)

‍

The most important Lunar calendar holidays are

• Lunar New Year, (January or February)
• Dragon Boat Festival (June)
• Mid-Autumn Festival (September or October)

• The Labor and Standards Act (LSA) governs dismissal policy
• All terminated employees receive severance = to 50% of monthly salary number of years employed
• Employers and employees must serve notice or payment in lieu of notice
• Unused holidays, benefits, or payments are paid at termination

‍

Non-compete Agreements 

• Maximum length = two years 
• Employees must be compensated for the non-compete period at a minimum of 50% of their average monthly wage