If a worker agrees to work on a rest day but such work is not performed for certain reasons, the wage for the time slot when leave is taken should be calculated on a multiplied basis(Taiwan)

2017.2.7
Melanie Lo
The Ministry of Labor issued the Lao-Dong-2-1050133150 Circular of February 7, 2017 (hereinafter, the “Circular”) to communicate that If a worker agrees to work on a rest day but such work is not performed for certain reasons, the wage for the time slot when leave is taken should be calculated on a multiplied basis.

The Circular first pointed out that under Article 24, Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Labor Standards Law stipulate the wage payment standard for workers who agree to work on their rest days. In addition, Article 39 provides that the employer shall still pay the wages for the rest days under Article 36, and such payable wages for such rest days are not affected by the attendance status of workers on such rest days.

The Circular further points out that if an employer obtains a worker’s consent to work on a rest day, the worker is then obligated to work. If the worker fails to provide services for the agreed-upon hours for certain reasons on that day, the worker may take leave based on the reasons and facts pursuant to the laws and regulations such as the Regulations on Leave-taking of Workers. In addition to the wages under Article 39 of this law which shall still be paid, the wage for the time slot in which the worker reports for duty on that day shall first be calculated pursuant to Article 24, Paragraphs 2 and 3 before the wage for time slot when leave is taken is calculated on a multiplied basis for rest days pursuant to relevant laws and regulations such as the Regulations on Leave-taking of Workers.

The Circular also gave an example for the sake of illustration. For a worker whose monthly wage is NT$36,000, the daily wage is NT$1,200 and the hourly wage NT$150. After the employer obtained the consent of such worker to work on a rest day for four hours, the worker took sick leave for two hours after working for two hours. In addition to the daily wage (NT$1,200), which should still be paid, the wage for the extended work hours for the service on that day should be calculated as follows: (150 × 1 and 1/3 × 2 + 150 × 1 and 2/3 × 2) – (150 × 1 and 2/3 × 2) × 1/2 = 900 – 250 = NT$650.