In most cases you complain to your employer. If the respondent is the organization's most senior person in charge, you may complain directly to the city or county authority (Occupational Safety and Health Act, Art. 22-3(1)). A complaint to the employer must generally be filed within three years after the conduct ends. If the respondent used a position of power, the worker may also complain within one year after leaving employment if that period is longer (Regulations, Art. 8(3)). Interviewees may not record an employer investigation interview themselves.
First check the legal definition
Occupational Safety and Health Act Article 22-1(1) describes a worker performing duties at a workplace who suffers physical or mental health harm because someone in the organization uses a work or power relationship to engage, beyond what is necessary and reasonable for business, in ongoing offensive, threatening, excluding, isolating, insulting or other improper words or acts. A serious incident need not recur.
Regulations Article 2 also calls for an overall assessment of the context, frequency, place, motive and purpose. It lists deliberate exclusion, obstruction of work, unreasonable assignments, spreading rumors and revealing private information as relevant circumstances.
Where to complain
- Usually, your employer: Employers with at least ten workers must provide and display a complaint channel (Regulations, Art. 5). You can complain orally, by email or in writing (Art. 8(1)).
- If the respondent is the organization's most senior person in charge (最高負責人): You may complain directly in writing to the city or county competent authority (Occupational Safety and Health Act, Art. 22-3(1); Local Authority Complaint Rules, Art. 7). This category includes the external representative of a legal entity and people in equivalent roles.
The employer must notify you in writing within ten working days of receipt whether it accepts the complaint (Regulations, Art. 10(1)). A complaint without concrete facts, a real name or enough identifying information may be declined (Art. 10(2)); describe the conduct specifically.
Complaint periods differ by route
| Where filed | After conduct ends | After leaving employment | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| With employer | Not accepted after three years, unless the longer post-employment period below applies | One year if the respondent used a position of power | Regulations, Art. 8(3) |
| With local authority, when respondent is the organization's most senior person in charge | Not accepted after three years, unless the longer post-employment period below applies | One year if the worker was employed when the incident happened | Occupational Safety and Health Act, Art. 22-3(2) |
The longer applicable period controls. The one-year post-employment condition differs: the employer route concerns a respondent's use of power; the authority route concerns whether the worker was employed when the conduct occurred.
What the employer must do once it knows
On receiving a complaint, the employer must take immediate effective measures (Occupational Safety and Health Act, Art. 22-2(1)(1); Regulations, Art. 7(1)(1)). You can state what you need:
- Separation or protection: The employer must consider the complainant's wishes and must not treat them adversely.
- Support: Depending on need, the employer must provide or refer legal advice, medical care or psychological counseling.
- Coordination is voluntary: It may occur if the complainant wishes; if either party declines or no agreement is reached within one month, it stops and investigation continues (Regulations, Art. 13).
Even where someone reports concerns without wishing to make a complaint or coordinate, the employer must clarify the facts, explain remedies and appropriately adjust work or location (Art. 7(2)). It may not dismiss, demote, reduce pay or otherwise disadvantage a complainant or helper (Art. 20; Occupational Safety and Health Act, Art. 39(4)). A prohibited action is invalid (Art. 39(5)).
Protections during the investigation
- Written notice: It must state the purpose, time, place and effect of absence (Regulations, Art. 16(1)(1)).
- Opportunity to speak, without confrontation: Parties may state their views and respond, and must not be made to confront each other (Art. 16(1), (3)).
- Confidentiality: Identifying information about parties and helpers must generally be protected (Art. 16(1)(7)).
- Recusal: Where concrete facts suggest investigator bias, a party may request recusal in writing with reasons (Art. 15(3)).
- Written decision and review: Parties must receive a written decision within ten working days after it is made (Art. 18(3)). A dissatisfied party may seek one written review within 30 days from the day after receiving notice (Art. 22(1)).
An authority or labor inspector may require the employer to investigate again if a violation of the Regulations and a major procedural defect are found. The employer may not refuse (Occupational Safety and Health Act, Art. 22-2(5); Regulations, Art. 24).
What evidence to preserve
The complaint record must state the facts of the complaint and the relevant evidence (Regulations, Art. 8(2)(3)). You can organize:
- A dated sequence: who, where, what was said or done, and who was present.
- Messages, email, assignments and meeting invitations you received.
- Medical or counseling records, if any; the legal definition includes harm to physical or mental health.
- Where other evidence can be found, such as system logs. The employer must preserve relevant evidence during investigation (Art. 16(1)(6)).
On recordings: Under Article 29(3) of the Communication Security and Surveillance Act, a party to a conversation who records it without an unlawful purpose is not punished under that Act. Recording a private conversation you did not join without cause may implicate Criminal Code Article 315-1 or that Act's Article 24. Legality depends on the case.
公司調查訪談時，受訪談者不得自行錄音或錄影；訪談由雇主以錄音或錄影輔助並作成紀錄（準則第16條第1項第2款）。地方主管機關的調查亦同（辦法第13條第1項第1款）。
Unofficial English summary (not an official translation): Interviewees may not make their own audio or video recording of an employer investigation interview; the employer records and documents it (Regulations, Art. 16(1)(2)); a local authority investigation follows a similar rule.
When criminal law might also apply
Specific conduct may separately satisfy a criminal offense, such as public insult (Criminal Code, Art. 309), defamation (Art. 310), criminal intimidation (Art. 305), coercion (Art. 304) or injury (Art. 277(1)). Public insult and defamation (Art. 314), and ordinary injury (Art. 287), generally require a victim's complaint within six months of learning the offender's identity (Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 237(1)). Article 287 excepts ordinary injury committed by a public official while performing official duties. That is much shorter than the workplace complaint period. See when bullying may become a criminal case.
Where to seek help
For labor advice or complaints, call Taiwan's Ministry of Labor hotline at 1955. For violence or immediate threats, call 110. The local authority may refer resources or provide legal consultation for complaints it receives.
If criminal conduct may be involved, a deadline is near or you are unsure how to write the complaint, consider legal advice. This page provides general information, not individual legal advice.