Job Discussion Forums

[kait]

I don't understand. I don't teach kindy. I work only with the buxiban students at my school. I have my ARC. I thought everything was above board.

However, the other day, my supervisor asked me to hide in a storage room because "the inspectors are here." Uh, ok. So, I sat in the storage closet wondering what it is that I don't know.

Any ideas?

[TaoyuanSteve]

Do you work at more than one location? If so, that may be it. You may want to take out your ARC card, walk up to a street sign on the road on which your school is located and see if any of the Chinese characters match. If not, then you know your ARC is not valid at the location at which you are working. You said you worked at Hess? The location you're at is likely a franchise. It may not be licensed and you may have an ARC that 's valid somewhere other than where you're working. Call the head office, explain what happened and ask for answers.

[matchstick_man]

This happened to me the first year I was here. I was legal but I suspect it was largely due to the low amount of hours I was working. There is a legal amount.

[EOD]

I have an open work permit and a degree in education. I am not legal because I am working in a public school hired through a third party.

[clark.w.griswald]

[Aristotle]

Nearly all foreign teachers on Taiwan are working illegally in some way or another. The biggest problem for many of them is that they don't know or don't want to know.
If you are going to work illegally take full advantage of that fact.
No contract, no ARC and no taxes. When the inspectors come you go home.
With the current political instability on Taiwan even if your boss pays all the required bribes there still is no certainty about your job security or protection.
Welcome to Taiwan,
A.

[TaoyuanSteve]

A lot of what is being discussed here is true. Yes, the name of your school as it appears on your ARC card is likely not Hess. They have a trading name different from the one that appears on the street sign. However, the street address will be the same. That is what you need to check. Aristotle has a point. There are a lot of grey areas in employment here. Quite a few-- possibly most-- foreigners are likely illegal in some respects. Mostly this has to do with the issue of working in more than one location, or a location other than the one on your card. I don't agree that fullout illegal work makes sense anymore, though.

I have the benefit of walking my dog every day with an expat who's lived here more than a decade. He's been telling me a lot obout how this place used to be and how it's changing. 10 years ago, you wouldn't have gotten an ARC card for English teaching and you would have been crazy to get one. Your Chinese school visa extension fees were lining hong baos (likely still are) and everyone was happy. It was the best way to work here. The big difference these days is Taiwan has joined the WTO and is looking for international recognition. Democracy has also been here a while as well. Rule of law is taking hold. The government agencies are still corrupt, but much less so than before. The FAP is under some pressure to show they are doing something about illegal workers. ARC now carries numerous benefits and has become the best way to work here. The other way has been getting less and less viable. Just a few of the advantages are the health insurance, abilty to legally own and license vehicles (including getting a driver's license) and entering into contracts and agreements that can only be entered into by residents. Then there is the protection of the labor laws and FAP.

Have you called your head office ? Update us if you can.

[clark.w.griswald]

[TaoyuanSteve]

I was not refering to Hess in Chinese either, Clark. Also, the address (and "trade" name) of my employer is on my ARC card. I have the literacy level in Chinese necessary to read the card's entire contents. I won't say that it's the case for absolutely everybody, but my employer's address--as well as my own residential one-- is on my card, and it's on most people's I've seen.

My employer's address appears on the line 居留事由
My address appears on the line 居留地址

[clark.w.griswald]

I am not going to suggest that you are wrong, as it is clear that you know what is on your card. As I am also aware as to what information is contained on an ARC, the situation becomes rather perplexing.

It is possible that things are done differently in different areas, as we all know that there are lots of such inconsistencies here in Taiwan.

居留事由 is where your employers name should go.

居留地址 is where your address should go.

I am curious however. If you have the school address listed next to 居留事由 instead of your employers name, then where is your employers name listed on your ARC.

[TaoyuanSteve]

It seems you're right Clark. I pulled out my card and read it just now and my school's name is on it and not its address. I'm not sure why I thought it was. Sorry, Kait, for any confusion. I'm afraid my earlier advice will not be much use. You'll have to know your cram school's registered name if you're to do any checking on your own. You're likely better off phoning Hess' head office to ask why you were asked to hide in a closet. Perhaps while you've got them on the phone, you could put in for a transfer(?).

[Aristotle]

[kait]

Well, it turns out that my ARC states I work at a different Hess branch than the place I show up everyday and act like a professional/clown. So, could I get in trouble for this? It seems like I was hiding in the closet to protect my employer more than to protect myself. Right?

[Aristotle]

[TaoyuanSteve]