Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China, is a small island nation off the southern coast of Mainland China with an economy that’s anything but small. Taiwan’s growth has been strong and continuous since the 1980s, and its GDP has reached an impressive $804.89 billion in 2025, making it the 22nd-largest economy in the world. This nation is home to 23.38 million people, with over 12 million making up its labor force. These workers are largely employed in services, with over 60% working in this sector, 35% in industry, and just 5% in agriculture. Taiwanese employers are highly skilled and well-educated, but their wages are relatively affordable compared to other developed nations.

Many employers are keen to get their hands on Taiwanese employees, but they can also find this difficult. Not only do they face language and cultural barriers, but they can also struggle to ensure that they’re choosing the right people for the jobs they have on offer. It can be a challenge to evaluate their skills and fit within organizations without trying them out on the job. Employees can also find it difficult to choose jobs and employers when they don’t have any experience with them. Probation periods can be used to help both sides make final decisions about their employment relationships. This guide will explain what Taiwan probation periods are and how they can benefit employers and employees alike.

Definition of Probation Period in Taiwan

A probation period or trial period in Taiwan is an initial period when a new employment arrangement is assessed by both an employee and an employer. Both sides use these times to figure out if the choices they made were good and if they’ll lead to long-term success.

Employers in Taiwan can propose using probation periods and write them into employment contracts. They can then use these periods to monitor new employees closely to see if they have the skills to perform their roles adequately. Employers also look beyond hard skills to see how employees interact and collaborate with their supervisors and teammates and how they fit into the company’s structure and culture. They often also focus their energy on getting new employees up to speed during probation so they can work at full capacity.

For employees, probation periods provide a time to build their skills, adjust to new roles, and prove themselves capable to their employers. They also allow employees to test out new jobs to see if they’ll like them and be able to perform them successfully. They, too, evaluate their ability to work with their colleagues and to fit into the company culture. They also test out their working conditions to ensure they’re as the employer promised.

When a new employee starts working, their probation period begins. Either party may choose to terminate their employment agreement during or by the end of the probation period if they don’t expect it to be successful. If neither does, the employee works until the end of the period, then they continue to work as a full employee. 

Lengths of Probationary Periods in Taiwan

Unlike in most other countries, probation periods aren’t strictly defined by law in Taiwan. That’s not to say they’re not permitted, however. They are considered normal and, often, necessary, and various Supreme Court rulings have helped to give them structure.

Employers and employees are allowed to agree on probation periods of appropriate length to assess the employee’s abilities. A probation period of between three and six months is considered appropriate for most employment relationships, though this is not a strict limit.

Legal Considerations of Probation Periods in Taiwan

While previously defined in the Labor Standards Act, probation period rules were removed from this act when it was amended in 2024. Instead, various court rulings help to define probation periods in Taiwan, with rules and regulations as follows:

Pay and Working Conditions

Taiwan uses a federal minimum wage that protects all workers in the country. On 1 January 2026, this minimum wage was updated to 29,500 TWD (New Taiwan dollars) per month, or approximately 934 USD. There is no allowance in law for employers to pay probationary workers less than this minimum wage. They also may not pay probationary workers less than they are to be paid as full employees. 

Employees in Taiwan work a standard workweek of 40 hours, normally working eight hours a day, five days a week. They can work overtime, but this is strictly regulated. Employees can only work four hours of overtime a day and 46 hours a month. When they work no more than two overtime hours in a day, they must be paid 133% of their normal wages, and when they work more than two hours of overtime, they must be paid 167% of their normal wages. These overtime rules apply equally to full employees and probationary workers.

Termination and Notice

According to the Labor Standards Act, employers need to provide just cause to terminate employee contracts, and this is true for probationary workers. However, the Act states that, among other reasons, dismissal is justified if a “worker is clearly not able to perform satisfactorily the duties required of the position held”. Employers are therefore able to terminate workers during probation if they lack the necessary skills to do their work. However, they must provide objective evaluations to prove poor performance. 

The Act also stipulates that employees who’ve worked between three months and one year must be given ten days’ notice of termination. They should receive 20 days’ notice if they’ve worked between three and ten years, and 30 days’ notice for over ten years of service. This suggests that no notice is needed for employees who’ve worked fewer than three months, which can mean that many probationary employees can resign or be dismissed without notice. 

Vacation / Holidays

With new days added in 2024, Taiwanese workers typically receive 15 days off for public holidays each year. However, extra holidays can be added by the Ministry of the Interior. These are paid days off for both full and probationary employees. If they are required to work on public holidays, workers can choose to receive 200% of their normal pay or compensatory days off at a later date.

Taiwanese workers are entitled to three days of annual leave after working for six months, seven days after working for a year, ten days after working for two years, 14 days after working for three years, and fifteen days after working for five years. After ten years of service, they gain an extra day of leave for each year of service they provide, up to a maximum of 30 days. In effect, this means that most workers in Taiwan are not entitled to annual paid leave until they’ve completed their probationary periods.

Benefits of Probation Periods in Taiwan

Taiwanese law recognizes that probation periods can be necessary for some types of employment and allows employers to include them in contracts. Employers typically choose to do so because of the many benefits that they provide, including:

  • For Employees

The opportunity to try out a new job to see if they can perform it well and enjoy working with their new coworkers.

The chance to prove their skills to their employers.

Time to assess the working conditions and benefits provided.

The ability to resign quickly and easily, without having to give notice.

  • For Employers

The opportunity to evaluate a worker’s skills and abilities on the job.

The chance to observe how new employees collaborate with their teammates and fit into the corporate culture.

The ability to dismiss workers who don’t have the necessary skills without having to give notice.

Conclusion

Probationary periods in Taiwan are no longer strictly defined by law as they were in the past. Instead, employers and employees can agree on these periods and include them in their contracts, as long as they are appropriate and fair. This allows more flexibility for both sides to double-check their employment relationships and make sure they’ll last long-term.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, probation periods are not required and are generally left up to the employer’s discretion. The law recognizes their value, however, and allows them to be used when appropriate.

Since Taiwanese law doesn’t strictly define probation periods, they could theoretically be made for any duration as long as the employer and employee agree. In practice, however, legal decisions have stated that between three and six months should be an appropriate duration for employers to assess their employees’ skills in most industries.

Employers don’t need to provide notice if they dismiss workers who have worked for fewer than three months. They must provide justifications for doing so, but poor performance or a lack of the necessary skills to do the job are allowable reasons for dismissal.