Taiwan Legal Update: New Draft Bill For Workers Over 65 & The Industrial Upgrade and Innovation Platform Coaching Program

On the 25^th July, the Executive Yuan approved a draft act that will enable employers to offer new contracts to workers aged 65 and older. The draft Law on the Promotion of Employment of the Middle And The Elderly will relax existing regulations surrounding the mandatory retirement age which is currently 65. According to Executive Dean Su Yuchang, the working population, aged 15 to 64, has been decreasing annually since 2015. In order to counter any potential implications to the labor market, the government has adopted a variety of policies, programs and practices to improve the labor participation rate of all age groups.  Law maker, Dean Su pointed out that the current retirement age encourages people to leave the workplace or retire prematurely, regardless of their physical strength, skills, experience and willingness to remain in the workplace. The government aims to empower people in this age bracket to continue to invest in national development needs by staying in the workforce, if possible.

This law also aims to protect employment rights, offer fair employment opportunities, and affords employers increased flexibility.  After the law was submitted to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation, the executive contacted the Ministry of Labor ensure that the legislative process is completed as soon as possible.

The new provisions are as follows:

• Employers should provide a friendly employment environment in accordance with the needs of senior citizens and senior citizens employed. (Article 5 of the draft)

• The competent authority shall monitor labor conditions, handle relevant investigations and shall consult relevant agencies to determine employment plans for middle-aged and elderly people; (Sections 6 and 7 of the Bill)

• The competent authority may employ employers, employers, academic experts and representatives of government agencies to discuss and consult matters concerning the employment rights of middle-aged and elderly people. (Article 8 of the draft)

• An employer may not discriminate on the grounds of age. This draft also outlines the burden of proof, the grievance procedure, the liability for damages, and penalties in such circumstances. (Sections 12 to 17, 41 and 42 of the Bill)

• To encourage people to stay in work, employers must adopt on-the-job training and re-employment (Articles 18 to 22 of the draft)

• The competent authority shall assist middle-aged and elderly people in employment or entrepreneurship, and may issue relevant allowances, subsidies or awards. (Sections 23 to 27 of the Bill)

• To support re-employment after retirement, employers may offer workers over 65 relaxed contracts.  Employers can also provide retirement assistance or re-employment assistance for one year before retirement. The central competent authority may also provide relevant subsidies and establish a database of retired personnel. (Articles 28 to 32 of the draft)

• The central and local competent authorities may promote the service of previously retired talent. The local competent authority shall regularly submit implementation result reports to the central competent authority and accept the supervision and assessment of the central competent authority. (Sections 33 to 35 of the Bill)

It will be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for consideration at a later stage.

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On the 22^nd July, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced the « Industrial Upgrade and Innovation Platform Coaching Program » thematic R&D project- engineering experiment wafer mask support program.

The main objective, as outlined by the MOEA, was to aid Taiwan’s competitive semiconductor industry. The MOEA have also described the semiconductor industry as Taiwan’s « national industry », the pillar of Taiwan’s economy, and the most important foundation for the government to promote 5+2 industry innovation. However, the high R&D cost of IC advanced processes is one of the main obstacles for Taiwan’s small and medium-sized companies when they seek to develop innovative products. In order to encourage domestic newly created small and medium-sized enterprises, the program is designed to assist Taiwan’s small and medium-sized start-up companies to master key technologies/products.

The main objectives are as follows: 

1. To assist local industries, in line with national policies, in the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), AloT, 5G, AR/VR/MR, security, medical power, and vehicle power.
2. Reducing the high R&D cost of Taiwan’s small and medium-sized start-up companies to develop advanced IC products, subsidizing the cost of engineering test wafer masks in the research and development and trial production stages, and reducing investment pressure.

Review focus (including performance indicators)

1. Technical energy: The enterprises should have the human and project execution and management capabilities required for research and development and have access to the experience of working in IC design innovation services. Conduct industrial technology research and development for the application plan.
2. Technical content, implementation method and product development plan: wafer function, wafer development time, engineering experiment wafer mask under-line planning during the project and the associated wafer foundry. The description of the chip function includes:

• Describe the function of the chip to be developed from the product or system    application.
• It is expected to develop a circuit block diagram of the wafer.
• Process technology expected to be used on the wafer.

Innovation or difference in the plan / Operational planning
The current product line and related patents and technical energy of the company should be specified, and the business model of the applied products, domestic and international market operation plans and medium and long-term operation strategies should too be specified.
The overall benefits of the project

• the promotion of the estimated output value of the innovative application products and services, direct or indirect investment and other relevant indicators.

Eligibility for application:

The enterprise concerned shall meet the following application qualifications:
(1) It shall be a wholly owned, partnership or company that is legally registered and established in Taiwan. And one of the following:

1. The turnover in the fiscal year before the application plan is less than NT$100 million and the number of employees is less than 100.
   2. New venture (company established under the company law, and the establishment is under full Five years).

(2) The non-bank refuses to the current household, and the company’s net worth (shareholder equity) is positive.
(3) It shall not be a land-invested investment enterprise (in accordance with the latest land-based investment business directory published by the Investment Review Committee of the Ministry of Economic Affairs).

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Feel free to contact asiallians@asiallians.com for more information.