Comprehensive Guide to Hiring Employees in Taiwan

Hiring in Taiwan could be the next step after you have identified the country as the latest hub for expansion with an offshore team. The labor force here is educated and sizable. Moreover, it comes with the ability to understand STEM and values work ethics highly. 

The country is well connected to the mainland China market via sea and air routes. With a population of 23.6 million, Taiwan is famed for being a hotspot for industrial manufacturing and technology-related developments.

Taiwan has a high literacy rate of 98.5%, with 46% of Taiwanese holding higher education degrees. Around 11.5 million individuals form the Taiwanese workforce and come with solid reach in the industry, service, and agriculture niches.

The employer can initiate hiring employees once a legal company is established. There are several nodes to apply to for licensing, registration, and approval purposes. It is essential to fulfill all application requirements since the business license would take a fair bit of time. 

This guide will aid in recruiting employees and complying with the process in Taiwan, as per the latest norms.

Things to Know Before Hiring in Taiwan

Before starting recruitment and selection in Taiwan, bear a few things in mind-

• Understand the local work culture – The country values work ethics and believes in a formal business outlook or presentation. The local language is officially Mandarin, but English is widely spoken for business purposes. Depending on what language the employer and employee are comfortable in, business dealings and talks move ahead.
• Explore varied recruitment means – Several companies hire an agency to handle recruitment needs. However, hiring using other verticals too helps quicker closure of the process.
• Anti-discrimination at the workplace – It is essential to know that the Labor Standards Act (LSA) controls every aspect of hiring, including operational hours and employment contracts. No employer must indulge in anti-discriminatory practices at the workplace based on gender, marriage status, sexual preference, race, gender, disability, or even prior participation in work unions.

Employment contract

An employment contract in Taiwan is a non-mandatory but preferred written document that specifies all employee work details, related payout, and conditions. The language would be Mandarin Chinese or English as per the convenience of both employer and employee.

The main points mandatory to mention in a contract are-

• Details of the employer as well as employee
• Job description in detail
• Workplace detail
• Work hour involved
• Payment 
• Vacation

A copy of the contract remains with the employer, and another is given to an employee.

Termination

An employer cannot order termination at will unless the company gets dissolved or changes ownership. Employees can also be dismissed in case of non-performance, damage caused at work, criminal offense, and/or sentencing.

An employee can give 30 days’ notice if there is a contract for fixed-term employment and the former has completed three service years.

• Notice Period: An employer’s notice period varies between 10 days to a month, depending on the employee’s service tenure.
• Severance: Employers in Taiwan need to pay a monthly salary for every year of service an employee has engaged in continually.

Employment laws

All employment-related conditions and rules are governed by the Labour Standards Act statutes.

Working hours and breaks

When hiring staff in Taiwan, here are the relevant work hours.

• An employee can work up to 40 hours weekly except for overtime. Any work outside five days per week is overtime work.
• As per the LSA, employers must offer 30-minute breaks for every four hours of work.

Payroll

• Once you set up a company in Taiwan, develop a payroll system that complies with all mandated contributions and tax withholdings. 
• Payments of salary occur monthly.
• A bonus is customary for employees during the Lunar New Year.

Minimum wage

• The minimum wage in Taiwan stands at (New Taiwan Dollar) TWD26,400 monthly. 

Holidays for employees             

Official public holidays in Taiwan are listed below in order of month of occurrence-

Other Leaves

Vacation/Annual Leave

An employee gets the following leaves annually as per service tenure completed-

Bereavement leave

• Taiwanese employees can take bereavement leave for the death of their immediate family for up to eight days.

Parental leave

• Employees have no entitlement to statutory parental leave.

Paternity and maternity leave

• Male employees are entitled to five days of paternity leave.
• Pregnant female employees can take five days’ leave for checkups just before their delivery date.
• Paid maternity leave is granted for eight weeks if the employee has completed six months of service. If the tenure of service is lesser, the leave span gets lashed to half.

Sick leave

• Employees stand entitled to 12 months of paid sick leave in case of hospitalization.
• In the absence of hospitalization but for sickness, sick leave is granted for up to a month at 50% pay.

Social security

17.152% contribution from the employer’s end comprises-

• 7.35% Labor Insurance
• 1% Employment Insurance
•  6% Pension fund
• 3.102% Health insurance

4.651% of the employee contributions comprise of-

•  2.10% Labor Insurance
• 1% Employment Insurance
• 1.551% Health insurance

Taxation

Taiwan follows a progressive rate of personal income tax, applicable as follows-

The Cost of Hiring an Employee in Taiwan

The recruitment fees in Taiwan vary per the compliance and company policies that employers follow during the hiring procedures. Hiring employees in Taiwan comprises the following costs-

• Establishment costs and banking 
• Legal and translation 
• Job post advertisements
• Permit and background check costs
• Software used for office management 
• Salary and benefits
• Training

What Does a Company Need to Hire Employees in Taiwan?

Employers in Taiwan may hire fixed-term permanent or part-time employees based on the job post requirements. Before hiring as a business in Taiwan, they need to have the following:

1. Certificate of registration with an approved business name and optional Chinese name
2. Local account for banking
3. Work permits
4. Employment contracts
5. Foreign Investment Approval application
6. Ministry of Economic Affairs’ filing
7. Tax filings
8. Payroll set up

Various Options for Hiring Employees in Taiwan

Once you are clear on fulfilling all legal needs for hiring and recruitment in Taiwan, you can kick-start the hiring process. There are a couple of standard options for hiring in Taiwan, as follows-

• Hiring an EOR service: You may team up with a reputed Employer of Record (EOR) for hiring in Taiwan. It helps to fulfill all the intricacies of international hiring.
• Direct hire: If you have a department for hiring, initiate and round up the hiring process internally.

The Steps to Hiring in Taiwan

Here is how the typical process for hiring in Taiwan pans out

Step 1- Advertise open jobs

• Begin a hiring process in Taiwan by advertising the job openings on popular job boards, aggregator sites, and social media platforms.
• Mention all the job-specific requirements in these advertisements to ensure transparency. 

Step 2- Shortlist

• Review CVs received for shortlisting matching requirements for a specific role.

Step 3- Scheduling interviews

• During this step, understand a candidate’s competencies by asking relevant questions about past experiences and the latest job requirements. . 

Step 4 – Background checks

• Once the employer decides on the final pool of candidates, a pre-employment identity verification is the next step.
• When the candidate consents, employers can verify any references and everything around the candidate’s background. 
• Background checks can never be used discriminatorily against a prospective employee.

Step 5- Final offer, onboarding, and training

• This is the final step of closing the hiring process in Taiwan. Draft the employment contract specifying the headers mandated.
• The employee must accept the employer’s offer letter before signing the employment contract. Employers can set an employee up for a  trial or probation period of up to three months.
• Employers must onboard employees and train for the on-job role and similar contexts.

Let Multiplier be Your EOR Platform in Taiwan

Recruiting or hiring employees involves lots of work and meticulous research on country-based labor laws. This is where a PEO-EOR entity like Multiplier could be of help.

Experts at Multiplier smooths all issues around the recruitment process in Taiwan. It ensures hassle-free hiring using SaaS-based EOR solutions without setting up a subsidiary in the country.  

Multiplier makes all hiring-related processes breezy. It takes care of even the most complicated areas, such as human resources and payroll management, to successfully conclude the hiring process in Taiwan.