With a competitive job market and low employment rate, companies must employ strategic recruitment practices to attract and retain skilled talent in Taiwan.
Recruiting in Taiwan
When recruiting in this country, you can either look for nationals or seek international employees living in Taiwan. The Employment Services Act stipulates that you must give preferable or affirmative consideration to nationals from Taiwan. Employing an international employee cannot jeopardize a national’s opportunities.
While hiring in Taiwan, companies cannot:
- Present false advertisements or disclosures.
- Request applicants to surrender personal documents unrelated to the employment.
- Withhold an applicant’s belongings.
- Collect bond from an applicant.
- Assign an applicant or employee to engage in any work that violates public orders.
- Submit false information or fake health examination samples when applying for permits for international employees.
- Fail to publicly display or inform regular pay less than TWD 40,000.
Legal and background checks
Taiwan does not prohibit background and reference checks. However, employers must abide by the applicable laws and regulations related to privacy and personal information security. Companies can also request screenings for candidates, such as drug or personality tests, as long as human rights protections are taken into consideration. All tests must be conducted under the employee’s free will.
Laws against discrimination in Taiwan
The Employment Services Act also prohibits companies from discriminating against any applicant or employee based on:
- Race
- Religion
- Age
- Gender
- Sexual orientation
- Marital status
- Disabilities
- Political party
- Appearance
- Place of birth or origin
- Thought
- Language
- Labor union membership
- Facial features
- Horoscope
- Blood type
How to hire employees in Taiwan
Hiring employees in Taiwan should start with an employment contract. Although individual contracts are not the norm or required in Taiwan when employing local national employees, we strongly recommend that you draft a written agreement that includes terms such as compensation, benefits, and termination conditions. Make sure to write all compensation amounts in Taiwan dollars (TWD). If employers hire international employees, a written employment contract must be provided.
Taiwan’s Labour Standards Act (LSA) recognizes 2 types of employment contracts — fixed-term and non-fixed-term. Fixed-term contracts work for temporary or short-term work of up to 6 months, seasonal work of no more than 9 months, and specific work with a defined duration.
Taiwan employment laws
Most Taiwan employment compliance laws are covered in the LSA, although some occupations and industries follow the Civil Code. If a company has more than 30 employees, they are required to draft work rules and register those rules with the local labor authority. These laws are required to cover a range of aspects, including working hours, paid leave, disciplinary measures, and health and safety regulations. The law also stipulates employers must give preference to employees from Taiwan as opposed to hiring international employees.
Taiwan employment compliance also applies to work hours. The typical workweek is 40 hours, with 8-hour days, and regular weekly working hours cannot exceed 48 hours. Overtime is permitted; however, there are various steps to ensure compliance, including the approval of the labor union or labor-management conference.
Onboarding in Taiwan
The onboarding process is different for every country and can vary depending on the type of business, but you can follow these best practices to ensure a smooth transition:
- Go over the employment contract during the employee’s first day or week.
- Provide any necessary training that the employee will need to succeed.
- Draft a code of conduct and have all employees sign it.
- Develop a buddy program to accompany new hires.
- Onboard multiple employees together to save time.
Grow globally with G-P.
G-P never forgets that behind every hire is a human being. That’s why we’ve backed our fully customizable suite of global employment products with our robust team of HR and legal experts, so we can remain at your side, ready to support you as you build your global teams. With G-P Meridian Recruit™, you can search for talent anywhere, and find your perfect full-time or contract match with our all-in-one platform.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you recruit, hire, and onboard anyone, anywhere.