MOL plans two-day weekends for all by 2016

2014-12-15

The Ministry of Labor seeks to revise the Labor Standards Act, enforcing two-day weekends nationwide by formalizing a 40-hour work week, benefiting approximately 3.4 million workers in the private sector.

Presently private sector laborers in Taiwan must abide by an 84-hour two-week schedule. As per the bill revealed by the ministry Dec. 11, full-time working hours will be redefined as eight hours per day with a maximum of 40 hours per week.

“Following amendments to the act, laborers will have 12 national holidays in addition to two-day weekends throughout the year,” an MOL official said. “This will reduce the time worked annually by 48 hours, or six days, compared with the current schedule.”

Employees asked to work on holidays will be entitled to take compensation time or receive overtime pay within six months. Those asked to work on days off due to inclement weather are to get both their time off and compensatory pay within a week, according to the draft proposal.

As for overtime following one’s normal working hours, the draft sets a limit of an additional four hours per day, with the monthly maximum number of total hours raised to 60 hours from the current 46 hours. Regarding flexibility granted employers to distribute workdays in blocks or other optimal schedules, unless a different plan is approved by the union or the majority of employees, the ceiling of eight consecutive weeks will continue to stand.

The amendments also cover such issues as shift rotation and record management. Workers must be allotted a minimum of 11 hours between shifts in order to provide them with sufficient rest, while all attendance records must be preserved for five years instead of one as presently specified.

The draft is undergoing internal review at the MOL and should be submitted to the Legislature by year’s end. The ministry is optimistic that the amendments can be implemented by 2016.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=225146&CtNode=413)