Taiwan has approved the Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act, which grants all workers two months of complete salary pay-out after an occupational injury or disease.
The decision is seen to be beneficial for employees, coming ahead of the May 1 Labour Day. With the law, the insurance payouts will cover the event of medical treatment of the disease/injury, disability, death, and disappearance.
According to chairperson of Taiwan Occupational Safety and Health Link Ms. Liao Hui-fang, the legislation, covering all employees in the nation including foreigners, domestic helpers, and interns, has aimed to integrate compensation and prevention of occupational hazard, alongside rehabilitation into a single law. This law is mandatory for all employees in Taiwan, irrespective of the size of the company.ย
Under the Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act, employers will now be required to sign their employees for the insurance on their first day of work. Having failed to do that will result in a fine of up to NT$100,000.ย
Prior to the law, only firms having five or more staff were required to have labour insurance for their employees, while insurance enrolment was voluntary for firms having less than five staff.ย
The monthly insured salary ranges from NT$24,000 to NT$72,800.