Taiwan’s Occupational Safety and Health Act Amendments on Workplace Bullying: Are Your Compliance Documents Ready?

The workplace bullying amendments to Taiwan’s Occupational Safety and Health Act are scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2026. After months of speculation and uncertainty, the implementation date has now become a concrete compliance deadline for employers.

For companies operating in Taiwan, the key issue under the new regime is not merely whether workplace bullying has occurred. The more immediate and practical question is whether the company has established, documented, announced, and implemented a legally compliant prevention and complaint-handling mechanism.

In other words, workplace bullying compliance will no longer be evaluated solely by reference to workplace culture or employee relations. Labor authorities are expected to focus heavily on whether the employer can produce concrete institutional evidence, including written policies, complaint channels, investigation procedures, protection measures, and records of timely handling.

Companies that continue to rely on assumptions such as “our workplace culture is harmonious” or “no employee is likely to file a complaint” may face significant legal, regulatory, and reputational risks once the new rules come into force.

1. Compliance Focus: Procedure, Documentation, and Institutional Readiness

A common misunderstanding among employers is that workplace bullying compliance is relevant only after a dispute has occurred. Under the new framework, however, employers are expected to establish preventive mechanisms in advance.

After the amendments take effect, labor inspectors may request to review whether the company has adopted and announced written workplace bullying prevention measures, complaint-handling procedures, and disciplinary rules. The existence of these documents will be a clear and objective compliance issue.

If the required documents and procedures are absent, the employer may be exposed to penalties even if no workplace bullying complaint has previously been filed. From a compliance perspective, “no incident has occurred” is not a substitute for “the required system has been established.”

2. Employer Obligations Differ by Company Size

The new framework imposes tiered obligations on employers depending on the number of employees. Human resources departments should promptly confirm the number of employees under the same corporate entity and assess which level of obligation applies.

Employers with 10 or more employees should establish clear complaint channels.

Employers with 30 or more employees should further adopt written workplace bullying prevention measures, complaint-handling rules, and disciplinary regulations, and make them known to all employees.

Employers with 100 or more employees should pay particular attention to the composition and operation of investigation panels when handling complaints. To ensure neutrality and procedural fairness, external professionals, such as attorneys or other qualified experts, may be required to participate in the investigation mechanism, with external members accounting for a prescribed proportion of the panel.

For larger corporations, this is no longer merely an HR administration issue. It is also a matter of corporate governance, ESG risk management, supply chain compliance, and employer brand protection.

3. Management Practices That May Become High-Risk Conduct

Many management practices that were once treated as ordinary workplace discipline may now require careful reassessment. Supervisors and managers should receive updated training to avoid conduct that may be characterized as workplace bullying or unlawful workplace infringement.

High-risk examples include publicly naming and criticizing employees in messaging groups, assigning work that is clearly beyond an employee’s capacity or reasonable scope, isolating specific employees through silence or exclusion, or justifying unreasonable demands with traditional workplace expressions such as “everyone went through this.”

The legal risk does not arise only from the manager’s intent. Once an employee files a complaint, the company’s ability to demonstrate that it had proper reporting, protection, investigation, and corrective mechanisms will become critical.

4. Penalties and Reputational Risks Apply Regardless of Company Size

Employers should not assume that smaller companies are unlikely to be inspected or penalized. Under the new regime, failure to establish required prevention mechanisms or failure to properly handle a complaint may result in administrative fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$750,000.

In addition, the competent authority may publicly disclose the name of the violating company, the name of its responsible person, and the nature of the violation. For small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, and growing businesses, such disclosure may materially affect recruitment, employee trust, and business reputation.

For listed companies, multinational groups, technology companies, and suppliers subject to corporate governance evaluations, ESG standards, or RBA 8.0 requirements, the impact may extend beyond domestic labor law compliance and become a broader governance and supply chain risk.

5. Compliance Self-Check No. 1: Written Complaint-Handling Procedures

The first priority for employers is to confirm whether the company has adopted a complete written complaint-handling procedure.

A compliant policy should not be limited to general statements such as “the company prohibits workplace bullying.” It should include practical and enforceable procedures covering complaint intake, notice of rights, interim protection measures, confidentiality obligations, investigation steps, evidence collection, determination of findings, corrective action, disciplinary measures, and recordkeeping.

For labor inspection purposes, oral commitments or informal HR practices are usually insufficient. Written documents and implementation records are essential evidence that the employer has fulfilled its statutory duties.

6. Compliance Self-Check No. 2: Clear and Protected Complaint Channels

A written policy must be supported by a clearly designated complaint channel. Employers should announce to all employees how complaints may be filed, whether through a dedicated email address, hotline, online form, physical mailbox, or designated responsible unit.

The complaint channel must also provide adequate confidentiality and anti-retaliation protection. Employees who file complaints, assist in investigations, or act as witnesses should not be subject to adverse treatment because of their participation in the process.

A well-designed intake channel allows the company to identify issues early, control escalation, and reduce the risk of external complaints, litigation, or public relations crises.

7. Compliance Self-Check No. 3: Statutory Timelines and Response Obligations

Employers should also ensure that their internal rules clearly specify the applicable timelines for handling complaints.

A compliant procedure should address, among other things, the deadline for notifying the complainant whether the complaint is accepted, the obligation to register the case with the competent authority’s online system where applicable, the timeline for commencing and completing the investigation, the circumstances under which an extension may be granted, and the deadline for notifying the parties of the investigation result in writing.

Clear timelines are critical to avoid allegations of delay, inaction, or improper suppression of complaints. In future labor disputes, mediation proceedings, or litigation, these procedural records may become important evidence that the company acted reasonably and in good faith.

Conclusion: Workplace Bullying Compliance Is Now a Core HR and Governance Issue

The implementation of the workplace bullying amendments represents an important shift in Taiwan’s labor and occupational safety regulatory environment.

For employers, the new rules should not be viewed merely as an additional administrative burden. Properly designed workplace bullying prevention mechanisms can help companies reduce legal disputes, strengthen internal trust, improve management accountability, and protect corporate reputation.

From a risk management perspective, workplace bullying compliance is not only about responding to employee conflicts. It is about building a defensible system before a dispute arises.

Employers should therefore review their internal policies, complaint channels, investigation procedures, training programs, and documentation practices as soon as possible to ensure readiness before the new regime takes effect.

For assistance with workplace bullying compliance policies, investigation procedures, or management training, please contact YesinLaw.

YesinLawTel: 02-25156822Website: https://www.yesinlaw.com

這版可直接作為英文官網文章；若要更像「國際客戶法律快訊」，我建議再加上 Key Takeaways 與 Recommended Action Items for Employers 兩個區塊。