Once an employer receives a workplace bullying complaint, intake, the investigation panel, interviews, the report and the response all need to follow the procedure. A respondent must also be given a chance to state their views and respond. Depending on your role, first confirm your own deadlines and documents.
Employers first confirm the procedure when handling a complaint; respondents and people who may face criminal proceedings also need to organize their documents according to their own stage.
Complaint channels, investigation panels, deadlines and records.
Deadline and compliance tools
Understand the procedure, arrange the facts, prepare your statement, and decide whether to request a review after the decision.
Checklist and timeline
Public insult, defamation and threats; preparation before police or prosecutors question you.
Criminal procedure guideCompiled from this site’s employer investigation procedure and legal guides; actual handling still depends on the facts of the case and the size of the workplace.
This site’s employer procedure follows Arts. 10 and 11 of the Workplace Bullying Prevention Measures Regulations: decide whether to accept the complaint and give written notice within 10 working days after receiving it, then enter the case in the system and notify the complainant within 7 working days starting the day after acceptance.
For employers with 100 or more workers, this site follows Art. 14 of the Regulations: form an investigation panel of at least 3 members within 15 working days, with outside professionals making up at least one-half and each gender at least one-third.
A member must recuse themselves in the statutory relationships. Where specific facts give reason to believe a member may be biased, a party may apply in writing for recusal, and the employer decides. See this site’s employer procedure on Art. 15 of the Regulations.
Parties must be notified in writing. Interviews are supported by audio or video recording and documented in a record; parties may not be made to confront each other, and identity information must be kept confidential. This site’s employer procedure follows Art. 16 of the Regulations.
The investigation report, the decision and the written notices each have their own procedures and deadlines, and the response should match the investigation findings and the seriousness of the conduct. See this site’s employer procedure and deadline calculator.
This site follows Art. 22 of the Regulations: a party may request a review in writing within 30 days starting the day after receiving the written notice, once per matter.
To review your investigation process or arrangements for external panel members, see the employer compliance page and lecture and investigation experience.
Choose a question for an answer based on the Workplace Bullying Prevention Measures Regulations. Common employer questions appear above. Individual facts still matter.
Questions from employer HR teams
The employer must investigate and give you an opportunity to respond. If substantiated, it must discipline or otherwise address the conduct according to its seriousness, considering the harm, frequency and methods, the parties' relationship and later conduct. A dismissal must also satisfy employment law.
Regulations, Arts. 16, 18–19; Labor Standards ActThe legal definition requires conduct beyond what is necessary and reasonable for work. Method, frequency and effect matter.
Was the instruction work-related?
Assigning work, assessing performance and correcting errors can fall within management authority.
Was the method necessary and reasonable?
A private reminder and public humiliation can be assessed very differently.
Was it repeated?
Continuity is generally part of the definition, but a serious incident need not recur (Occupational Safety and Health Act, Art. 22-1(1)).
Was mental or physical health harmed?
Medical, leave and other records may be relevant to an investigation.
Regulations Article 2 lists factors such as intentional exclusion from necessary meetings, obstructing work or withholding accurate information, misuse of authority, assigning unreasonable work, spreading rumors and exposing private information. These are considerations, not a finding in any particular case. Not all workplace bullying is a crime.
Attorney Hsu's approach is to listen carefully, understand the sequence of events and choose a strategy suited to the client's interests.
It is fine to start a conversation without them.
Organize a timelineCheck the notice, your role and deadlines; put events in date order and separate what you remember from what you assume.
Assess the internal investigation and any criminal or civil process, then identify relevant documents.
Prepare for the interview. If police or prosecutors are involved, meet counsel before questioning and attend with counsel.
Check the decision and procedure; consider a review request within 30 days, once only, or another remedy.
Based on the Ministry of Labor notice of June 23, 2026 and relevant law · Updated September 24, 2026
Acceptance, coordination, investigation panels, deadlines, decisions, review and records.
Public insult, defamation, threats and coercion, including complaint periods.
Opportunity to respond, interview rules, recusal and review.
More: Guide for complainants · Bullying and sexual harassment compared · Performance feedback and bullying
Bring the notice and your timeline if you have them; you can still start without them.
Attorney Hsu checks conflicts before accepting a matter and does not represent opposing parties in the same matter.