’COST INCREASES:’Businesses said that the new labor laws mean that they would have to alter shift schedules and employ more workers to meet staffing requirements

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 05, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Newly implemented labor laws on vacation days and the 40-hour workweek are set to have the biggest impacts on the service, old economy and retail sectors, according to the results of a survey published by an online human resources firm yesterday.

The firm, 1111.com.tw, said the new rules that took effect on Dec. 23 last year after the legislature revised the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), have seriously affected the labor market and would test the flexibility of businesses as they respond to the changes.

The survey of local businesses found that 77 percent of respondents did not fully understand the new system, while 4.5 percent said they did not understand it at all.

Of those polled, 36.8 percent said they had a partial understanding of the system, while 35.6 percent said they understood most of it, but they still had some questions.    [FULL  STORY]