By Hung Ou Yang and Jia-Jun Fang
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Q: Do employers still have to pay employees' salaries when work is suspended?
A: This issue can be analysed under 3 different scenarios:
a. Employers should still pay salaries when they decide to suspend work due to the epidemic. Because this is not the case of forced suspension of work by the government so the cause of the suspension is not attributable to the employees, the employers should still pay the salaries.
b. In the case the government decides certain industries to be closed and forced to suspend work, the employers are exempted from paying the salaries. Here the reason is that this is not attributable to the employers or the employees, so the employers may choose not to pay the salaries.
c. If the industry is not forced to close by the government but ordered to suspend business due to the employer's failure to fulfill the requirements of epidemic prevention (e.g., no dine-in and social distancing), the employer should still pay the salaries since the cause of the suspension is attributable to the employer.
Q: Is the employee still entitled to transport allowances if the employee works from home?
A: If the transportation allowance is an actual reimbursement, the employer is not required to pay it, since no transportation expense is incurred by the employee working from home. But if the transportation allowance is fixed on the payroll and paid every month, it would be considered to be paid regularly therefore a consideration for labor service. Even if the employee works from home, it still should be paid to the employee.
Q: Do employers still have to keep attendance records if employees work remotly from home?
A: Yes, if the employer instructed the employee to work from home, the employer should still keep attendance records for the employee, for example, timing reports via software or emails sent to supervisors when the employee started to work and got off the work, etc., so that employees' attendance records can be kept in writing for the future.
Q: Do employers still have to provide safeguards in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act if employees work from home?
A: Yes, when the employees work from home, the employers still have certain obligations for the safety and health of employees within a reasonable and feasible scope, for example, providing alcohol and masks, reminding the safety of using power outlets, and reporting immediately if they have any symptoms.
Q: Can an employee refuse to work in high-risk areas (e.g. Wanhua District, Banqiao District)?
A: At present, Taiwan has not announced nationwide suspension of work, thus employees are not allowed to refuse to work in high-risk areas. However, if an employee is contracted with Covid-19 during official duties such as going to work or during work, the employer must grant injury or sick leave and pay necessary medical expenses and compensation equivalent to the original salary. If the employee is killed or disabled due to this, the company shall also provide compensation for occupational accidents in accordance with the Labor Standards Act.
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Q: Do employers need to obtain individual employee's consent to flexible commuting for the purpose of prevention from catching the epidemic during rush hours, because it is different from current working rules?
A: Since this adjustment is related to changes in the working conditions of employees, it is recommended that the employers obtain the written consent of individual employees after filing the application, to avoid legal disputes.
Q: What kind of leave can be applied when receiving the notification of independent health management?
A: Ordinary injury and sick leave (half pay if not in hospital for less than 30 days per year), personal leave (not more than 14 days per year, no pay) or annual paid leaves.
Q: When an employee receives a notification of independent health management, the employer asked him/her to take a rest at home, should he/she still be paid?
A: Yes, the cause of staying at home is not attributable to the employee, hence the salary should still be paid to him/her.
Q: Do employers still have to pay salaries when the epidemic escalated to Level 4 and the government ordered the suspension of work?
A: The employer may choose not to pay the salary, or negotiate with the employee about the actual amount of salary payment. When the government announces the suspension of work due to the epidemic's rise to the fourth level, it is not attributable to the employer or the employee. Under the circumstances, the employer may choose not to pay the salary, or the employer may negotiate with the employee, if the employee still have to complete a certain amount of work at home, and pay the corresponding salary.
AUTHOR: Hung Ou Yang
Managing Partner
Taipei
+886-2-2707-9976
[email protected]
AUTHOR：Jia-Jun Fang
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Taipei
+886-2-2707-9976
[email protected]
Copyright Brain Trust International Law Firm
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
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