Normal working hours

In Taiwan, labor cannot work over 8 hours per day, or over 40 hours per a week and the total working hours combining normal hours and prolonged hours cannot exceed 12 hours a day; the total number of overtimes shall not exceed forty-six hours a month. However, the extension of working hours, with the consent of a labor union or the approval of a labor-management conference, shall not exceed 54 hours a month and 138 hours every three months. 

A worker shall have 2 regular days off every seven days, 12 days of national holidays each year, and who has worked continually for the same employer or business entity for a certain period of time shall be granted annual paid leaves on an annual basis, calculated based on years of service, up to 30 days.

Recognition of OD due to overwork

Diagnosis guidelines for work-related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (CCVDs)  were first promulgated in 1991 and for occupational mental disorders in 1999. The contents are similar to that of the Japanese versions.


Workers' Compensation cases of OD

Although work-related diseases has attracted serious attention in recent years. However, due to poor exposure data on working hours and psychological factors, work-related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (CCVDs) and occupational mental disorder are still under‐recognized in Taiwan. 

In fact,  the number of occupational diseases (OD) in Taiwan is lower than other countries. In the past five years (2017-2021), the average of compensated cases of work-related diseases is 779, work-related CCVDs is 67.6 and mental disorders is 7.6. 

About Us

Taiwan Occupational Safety and Health Link (Taiwan OSH Link) is an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to safeguard workers' safety and health rights at work.  Founded in 2013, Taiwan OSH Link currently consists of 2 full-time staffs and is supported by dozens of volunteer activists from multiple professional disciplines. 

In Taiwan, workers enduring injuries and diseases resulting from occupational accident or long-term exposure to workplace hazards often encounter discrimination and even hostile employers in the workplace.  Experiences of institutional and psychosocial hardships are common during the process of claiming deserved workers rights on economic loss compensation, health care and return-to-work assistance.  Most of the injured workers and their families lack sufficient information, knowledge and social support to fully exercise their stipulated rights.  In complicated occupational disease cases such as work-related cardiovascular disease, mental illness and occupational cancer, difficulties in collecting relevant exposure data and proving disease causality evidence make the recognition of work-relatedness of disease even harder, rendering a severe under-documentation of occupational disease.  Taiwan OSH Link provides consultation and assistance to affected workers and their families, and engages in research and policy advocacy on workers' behalf.