Workplace reviews and discussion: 凌群電腦股份有限公司

You can learn things, but it depends heavily on luck. If you’re lucky, you can learn useful things; if you’re unlucky, you’ll learn things that are of no use outside the company.

And if things go even worse, you’ll be worked to death with overtime, receive only 60% of your compensatory leave, and be restricted to taking at most one day off per week.

The alternative military service program is extremely exploitative.

1. Assuming the figure discussed initially was N, then N-5 is actually the base salary, while the 5k is a non-compete bonus. The base salary figure is closely related to your three annual bonuses and year-end bonus.

2. The 5k is a bonus for signing a non-compete clause. The non-compete clause cannot be signed in the first month; it is only offered for signing in the third month, and payment begins in the fourth month. In total, this means receiving 15k less.

3. 3. If the first three months are considered a probationary period (I could not find the company’s regulations, and this was not discussed during the interview or when signing the contract), there are three points that can be questioned:

(1) Employees entering through the alternative military service system are required to serve for three years. Is it reasonable to treat the first three months as a probationary period, as with regular employees?

(2) The interviewer clearly explained this bonus verbally, but did not inform candidates that the money would not be paid until the fourth month?

(3) Non-compete bonuses are generally paid as a lump sum after resignation. Does paying them while the employee is still employed actually have legal effect?

4. The alternative military service program is divided into three stages, and the salary payment method is also divided into three stages.

First stage: Initial training. Duration: 3+1 weeks; you go to the company in the fourth week. Salary: $7xxx?

Second stage: 10 or 11 months (not deducted from the service period). Salary: around 20k; the company makes up the difference to N-20k.

Third stage: 24 months. Salary: N.

The money for the second stage is paid in two installments, each covering five months. The first installment is paid around the seventh month after joining the company, which is not a problem.

As for the second installment, it should theoretically be paid in the 13th month. However, the problem is that this money is delayed until one and a half years after joining the company—i.e., the 18th month.

At that point, the company presents a four-year service contract. If you sign it, you receive the second installment the following month; if you do not sign it, payment is delayed another year, until the 2.5-year mark.

(Note! The company does not pay you any interest for withholding your money. Putting it in a one-year fixed deposit would earn at least 1.37%.)

5. Signing a four-year contract adds another 5k per month (again, this is not added to the base salary). If you want to resign once your service period ends, you must return all the 5k payments you received for each month.

There is also a problem here: the 5k you initially received was taxable, but when you repay it, you must repay the full amount. The difference, combined with the interest on the previously delayed payments, may not be a large sum,

but it still comes close to five figures.