Attention to employers! From next year, overtime pay need to be paid for Day (Night) Working Hours

Ministry of Labor recently announced that the “Notes for Enterprise Units that Implement Day (Night) Working Schedules” will be invalid from January 1, 2022. In other words, this means If an employer engages workers in day (night) work, it is classified as "working hours" and the exceeded hours shall be included in the number of extended working hours and paid for overtime.

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The Ministry of Labor mandates that if workers work overtime, employers must give overtime pay. (Photo / Provided by the MOL)

MOL stated that the notice implemented mainly to regulate institutions to arrange works for labor not in working hours - "Engage in work not agreed upon in the labor contract".For example: handling urgent documents, answering phone calls, inspecting business establishments, etc.; because day (night) duty is different from the agreed work, it has not been considered as working time over the years, leading to voices to revise the notice.

To protect labor rights, the MOL revised the notice on March 11, 2019, adding the recommended amount of daily (night) allowances. The bonus allowances should not be less than the amount of the monthly basic salary divided by 240 and then multiplied by the number of days (nights).

In addition, Article 49 of Labor Standards Act also revised the notice of “Employers should not ask female labor to work between 10:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M.” It is also updated that employers should provide necessary safety and sanitation facilities to promote gender equality in the workplace. However, workers during pregnancy or breastfeeding are still prohibited from engaging in night shifts.

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Picking up the employer's phone calls after working hours is regarded as "overtime work". (Photo / Retrieve from the Pixabay)

Moreover, if working hour exceeds 8 hours, the bonus allowances should be paid to the employers. If the employer violates the regulations such as not paying overtime allowances, the shift interval is less than 11 hours, 7 workdays and 1 off day, one can be fined NT$20,000 to NT$1,000,000.