Taiwan is an island in the western Pacific Ocean that lies roughly 160 km off the coast of southeastern China. It is approximately 395 km long (north-south) and 145 km long across at its widest point. Mountains cover approximately two-thirds of the surface of the island. It is a top player in the world’s information and communication technology industry as well as a major supplier of goods across the industrial spectrum. The economy is driven largely by industrial manufacturing, and especially exports of electronics, machinery, and petrochemicals.
*Please note that the official currency is the currency of remuneration when employed through WorkMotion in Taiwan.
Capital : Taipei | Currency : New Taiwan Dollar (TWD, NT$) | Languages spoken : Mandarin |
Population : 23.32 million (2022 est.) | Minimum wage 2023 : TWD 26400 monthly | Cost of Living index : $$$$ (36 of 139 countries) |
Payroll Frequency : Monthly | VAT - standard rate : 5% | GDP - real growth rate : 6.45% (2021 est.) |
Taiwan has 10 to 15 public holidays. Generally, full-time employees are paid for public holidays. Some of the holidays are fixed dates, and some are based on the lunar calendar. Employers and employees can mutually reach an agreement to adjust these holidays to working days.
The national holidays mentioned below are valid for the year 2023.
The approximate time for sharing the contract with an employee in Taiwan is 6 business days assuming no special requests or changes to our standard employment contract. Any such requests or changes would need to undergo internal and external review, directly leading to a time delay.
NOTE: This number is subject to change and is only an estimation of the Contract Sharing Time. The estimated Contract Sharing Time begins from the moment that WorkMotion has received all required information from both the client and the employee.
The regular working hours of workers may not exceed eight hours a day or 40 hours a week. With the consent of a labor union, or if there is no labor union in a business entity, with the approval of a labor-management conference, an employer may distribute the regular working hours, of any two workdays every two weeks to other workdays, provided that no more than two hours are distributed to each of the other workdays. However, the total number of working hours should not exceed 48 hours every week.
Any employer with more than 30 employees needs to have their employees that perform work besides regular working hours report to the local competent authority for record.
The distribution of regular working hours to other workdays in four weeks should not exceed two hours a day:
There is no statutory provision for probation or trial period in the Labor Standards Act, however, a three-month probation is generally followed.
The employer must serve a notice to the worker as per the following:
| Job Duration | Notice Period |
| More than 3 months but less than 1 year | 10 days |
| 1 to 3 years | 20 days |
| More than 3 years | 30 days |
In the case of a specific fixed term contract for a term of more than three years, a worker may, upon completion of three years’ work, terminate the contract by giving the employer an advance notice 30 days before their severance.
A worker who has worked continually for the same employer or business entity for a certain period of time is granted annual paid leave based on the following conditions:
| Service Duration | Leave |
| 6 months to 1 year | 3 days |
| 1-2 years | 7 days |
| 2-3 years | 10 days |
| 3-5 years | 14 days |
| 5-10 years | 15 days |
| Each year of service over 10 years up to a maximum of 30 days | 1 additional day |
Sick leave rules are:
Where accounted for ordinary sick leave does not exceed 30 days in one year, 50% of salary is paid. In cases where Labor Insurance payments do not reach 50% of salary, the employer has to make up the difference
The duration of unpaid parental leave is until the child reaches the age of three years old but may not exceed two years. The duration of unpaid parental leave for raising a child or children is not, in principle, less than six months each time. If an employee needs to take a leave for less than six months, they may file an application with their employer for leave persisting for no less than 30 days for a maximum of two times.
When an employee applies for unpaid parental leave to raise their children, they should file an application in writing to their employer 10 days in advance. During the period of unpaid parental leave, unless there are other arrangements made by the employer and employee, the period should not be included in working seniority for the employee on leave.
A female worker is granted maternity leave before and after childbirth for a combined period of eight weeks. In the case of a miscarriage after the first three months of pregnancy, the female worker is permitted to discontinue her work and is granted maternity leave for a period of four weeks.
If the female worker has been employed for more than six months, she should be paid regular wages by the employer during the maternity leave, while if her period of service is less than six months, she should be paid wages at half of the regular payment.
When an employee’s spouse is in labor, their employer has to grant them five days off as paternity leave. The salary is paid as usual. For the five-day paternity leave, employees should select five days from a 15-day window before and after the day that their spouse is in labor.
Up to eight days with pay is granted to employees getting married.
Female employees having difficulties performing their work during menstruation may request one-day menstruation leave each month. If the cumulative menstrual leaves do not exceed three days in a year, they must not be counted toward days off for sick leave. All additional menstrual leaves must be counted toward days off for sick leave. Employees on menstruation leave are entitled to half their regular wage.
After receiving the advance notice of termination, a worker may, during hours of work, ask for a leave of absence for the purpose of finding a new job. Such leave of absence may not exceed two workdays per week and is paid by the employer.
In the event of matters that a worker must personally deal with, they are entitled to personal leave without pay, not exceeding 14 days in one year.
The statutory benefit contributions are as follows:
| Category | Employer Contribution for Taiwanese employees |
| Pension Fund | 6%* |
| National Health Insurance | 4.87% (5.17% x 60% x 1.57 of gross salary) |
| Supplementary National Health Insurance Premium | 2.11% |
| Labor Insurance (disability, old-age, and survivor) | 7.7**% |
| Employment Insurance | 1%** |
| Unemployment Benefits | 0.7% |
| Workers’ Compensation/Occupational Accident | Average 2%*** |
*2-15% of earnings for non-Taiwanese employees.
**The labor insurance premium rate is 10.5% which along with the 1% rate for employment insurance makes the contribution to 11.5%. 70% of this rate is paid by the employer, 20% comes from the employee’s salary; 10% is covered by the government.
***The average Business Category Accident Premium rate was reduced from the existing 0.14% to 0.13%, and the On and Off Duty Accident Premium rate stays at 0.07%. The average occupational accident insurance premium rate after the adjustment is 0.20% (0.13%+0.07%).
The National Health Insurance program is compulsory for all citizens starting from birth. Employees are registered in the National Health Insurance program through their employer. National health insurance contribution is 5.17% of gross salary, where employers are liable for 60% of the premium (0.3102%), and 1.58% of the national average number of dependents, employees are liable for 30% of the premium (0.155%), and the government is liable for the remaining 10% (0.052%).
An employer has to pay compensation to a worker who is dead, injured, disabled, or sick due to occupational accidents. The occupational accident insurance premium rates of labor insurance are calculated based on the Table of Business Category and Premium Applicable for the Occupational Accident of Labor Insurance and Experience Rates. Employer supplementary premiums based on the difference between the total monthly salary employers pay and the total salary basis they report for their employees, are paid by employers together with the regular health insurance premiums they owe every month, keeping employers’ operational burdens to a minimum.
Unemployment benefits are financed by the employment insurance premium rate of 1% which is divided into the employer’s contribution of 0.7%, the employee’s contribution of 0.2%, and the government’s 0.1%.
The benefits from the employment insurance program are divided into unemployment benefits, Early Reemployment Incentives, Vocational Training Living Allowances, Parental Leave Allowances, and National Health Insurance Premium Subsidies.
A Taiwanese enterprise normally makes a contribution of 6% of earnings into employees’ individual pension fund accounts for its Taiwanese employees, and 2 to 15% of earnings to its non-Taiwanese employees’ pension fund accounts to comply with the Labor Bureau’s regulations for foreign employees. Workers voluntarily contribute a maximum of 5.1% to their pension accounts in the National Pension Programs with lower rates prescribed for disabled and low-income persons.
Labor insurance premium contributions must also be made by the employer, employee, and the government. The insurance rate is currently 10.5% (employer at 7%, employee at 2%, and the government at 1.5% respectively) of gross salary. There are three types of labor insurance annuity: disability, old-age, and survivor. Employees pay for a mandatory individual account at voluntary contribution rates of up to 6% of monthly covered earnings.
The beneficiaries must reach the age of 60, regardless of working or retired. If they are deceased before reaching 60 years of age, their family survivors or designated beneficiaries may claim the pension.
At present, the employer contribution of 6% to the mandatory individual account of employees under pension funds the scheme.
Survivors or designated beneficiaries of a deceased worker who died before reaching the age for collecting pension may apply to receive a lump sum payment of the deceased worker’s pension account. All subsequent monthly payments shall be ceased when a worker who is already receiving monthly payments dies. Any remaining sum of the individual pension account shall be transferred to their survivors or designated beneficiaries.
The employer contribution of 6% to the mandatory individual account of employees under pension funds the scheme.
Business entities employing 200 or more employees can, with the consent of the labor union, or if no labor union exists, with the consent of a labor-management meeting and permission from the central competent authority, set up an annuity fund. The employer is the provider of the contract of annuity insurance, and the worker is the insured and beneficiary. A business entity has to purchase annuity insurance from a single insurer. A worker employed in a business entity that has adopted annuity insurance may change their preferred pension system.
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