Workplace reviews and discussion: 耀際實業有限公司

The job basically consists of riding a company scooter or car to various restaurants or establishments to carry out cockroach and rodent control.

Working hours are 8:30 to 17:00, with a 1.5-hour lunch break. You clock in and out at the company.

You typically visit around 5–8 clients a day. This is not difficult for people with pest-control experience, but because employee turnover is so high,

you often end up taking over a complete mess (a cockroach infestation or severe rodent problem). Since the previous treatment was ineffective, the person taking over

may get chewed out over problems left by the previous worker. Reporting issues to management often gets you a response along the lines of, “You should figure out how to solve it yourself,”

or they send a team leader or someone else to accompany you (though senior management only makes a superficial visit and does not genuinely devote time or effort to helping resolve the issue).

Night work is defined as any work after 5 p.m. For example, leaving at 5 p.m. to carry out pest control until 8 p.m. counts as overtime.

After finishing at 5 p.m., you may rest for 2–3 hours and then return to the company to do pesticide spraying at 10 p.m.; this counts as a night shift.

Whether night shifts stay under seven days is a matter of luck. When staff are short, plenty of people work more than ten night shifts.

After working at night, you must take compensatory time off the following morning, meaning you only need to start work at noon the next day.

At present, the company generally implements a two-day weekend (public holidays in the same month are also days off) with flexible-hours scheduling.

In other words, you may be given two or three days off in a week (three when there is a public holiday), but three consecutive days off cannot be scheduled.

Overtime is currently calculated according to the Labor Standards Act, but only based on the insured salary used for labor insurance contributions.

For example, if your insured salary is 22,500: 22,500/240 × 1.33, or × 1.66 (after two hours).

Because the one fixed day off and one flexible rest day system and public holidays are shifted around, there is effectively no overtime pay for working on scheduled days off.

Days off must still be scheduled according to the workload at hand—that is, in coordination with clients, coworkers, and the company’s operations.

For example, a supervisor may suddenly instruct you not to take the day off, a client may suddenly ask to change the appointment,

or a team leader or coworker may ask you to switch shifts with them. Often, if you do not show up, the work simply goes uncovered.

Pay consists of the basic salary + meal allowance + unexplained bonuses + overtime pay (if any; I heard they may change to a responsibility-based system),

minus your share of labor and health insurance contributions. Since the insured salary is low, the deduction is generally a little over 1,000.

The actual calculation is 22,500 + 1,500 + 8,000 + 1,236 − 800 = 32,436 (calculation for reference only).

Monthly earnings are generally between 30,000 and 40,000; only a few people earn more than 40,000. You only get more money after being promoted or taking on a management position.

There is absolutely no system for promotions, management appointments, or pay raises; it all depends on the boss’s mood. Of course, outwardly, they will claim that a system exists.

The year-end bonus is also calculated based on the basic salary, multiplied by a performance ratio (also determined by the boss, between 0.5 and 1).

The actual year-end bonus received is approximately 11,250–22,500 (calculated using a basic salary of 22,500); if you have not worked for a full year, it is further prorated by month.

Bonuses for the three major holidays are not guaranteed. They might consist of just a box of pastries for everyone to share, or cash of 600–1,000.

Employee trips basically do not exist. If it is impossible even to take three consecutive days off, how could there be an employee trip?

Department dinners only happen occasionally. However, if people eat too much, the boss may complain again, so some employees do not attend the dinners.

What I find most ridiculous about this company is that it claims on 104 that it provides comprehensive training.

The “comprehensive training” consists of applying to the company, being casually handed over to a senior employee or a coworker who is about to resign,

being trained for 3–5 days, and then being sent out to deal with clients and pest control on your own (because turnover is so fast, no one is available to take over the area).

Then, inside the company, they claim that you tell people outside that you have three years of experience. Three days equals three years of experience—is this a time chamber?

In my view, pest-control work may seem easy to enter, but without one or two years of training, it is difficult to become fully competent.

The job basically consists of riding a company scooter or car to various restaurants or establishments to carry out cockroach and rodent control.

Working hours are 8:30 to 17:00, with a 1.5-hour lunch break. You clock in and out at the company.

You typically visit around 5–8 clients a day. This is not difficult for people with pest-control experience, but because employee turnover is so high,

you often end up taking over a complete mess (a cockroach infestation or severe rodent problem). Since the previous treatment was ineffective, the person taking over

may get chewed out over problems left by the previous worker. Reporting issues to management often gets you a response along the lines of, “You should figure out how to solve it yourself,”

or they send a team leader or someone else to accompany you (though senior management only makes a superficial visit and does not genuinely devote time or effort to helping resolve the issue).

Night work is defined as any work after 5 p.m. For example, leaving at 5 p.m. to carry out pest control until 8 p.m. counts as overtime.

After finishing at 5 p.m., you may rest for 2–3 hours and then return to the company to do pesticide spraying at 10 p.m.; this counts as a night shift.

Whether night shifts stay under seven days is a matter of luck. When staff are short, plenty of people work more than ten night shifts.

After working at night, you must take compensatory time off the following morning, meaning you only need to start work at noon the next day.

At present, the company generally implements a two-day weekend (public holidays in the same month are also days off) with flexible-hours scheduling.

In other words, you may be given two or three days off in a week (three when there is a public holiday), but three consecutive days off cannot be scheduled.

Overtime is currently calculated according to the Labor Standards Act, but only based on the insured salary used for labor insurance contributions.

For example, if your insured salary is 22,500: 22,500/240 × 1.33, or × 1.66 (after two hours).

Because the one fixed day off and one flexible rest day system and public holidays are shifted around, there is effectively no overtime pay for working on scheduled days off.

Days off must still be scheduled according to the workload at hand—that is, in coordination with clients, coworkers, and the company’s operations.

For example, a supervisor may suddenly instruct you not to take the day off, a client may suddenly ask to change the appointment,

or a team leader or coworker may ask you to switch shifts with them. Often, if you do not show up, the work simply goes uncovered.

Pay consists of the basic salary + meal allowance + unexplained bonuses + overtime pay (if any; I heard they may change to a responsibility-based system),

minus your share of labor and health insurance contributions. Since the insured salary is low, the deduction is generally a little over 1,000.

The actual calculation is 22,500 + 1,500 + 8,000 + 1,236 − 800 = 32,436 (calculation for reference only).

Monthly earnings are generally between 30,000 and 40,000; only a few people earn more than 40,000. You only get more money after being promoted or taking on a management position.

There is absolutely no system for promotions, management appointments, or pay raises; it all depends on the boss’s mood. Of course, outwardly, they will claim that a system exists.

The year-end bonus is also calculated based on the basic salary, multiplied by a performance ratio (also determined by the boss, between 0.5 and 1).

The actual year-end bonus received is approximately 11,250–22,500 (calculated using a basic salary of 22,500); if you have not worked for a full year, it is further prorated by month.

Bonuses for the three major holidays are not guaranteed. They might consist of just a box of pastries for everyone to share, or cash of 600–1,000.

Employee trips basically do not exist. If it is impossible even to take three consecutive days off, how could there be an employee trip?

Department dinners only happen occasionally. However, if people eat too much, the boss may complain again, so some employees do not attend the dinners.

What I find most ridiculous about this company is that it claims on 104 that it provides comprehensive training.

The “comprehensive training” consists of applying to the company, being casually handed over to a senior employee or a coworker who is about to resign,

being trained for 3–5 days, and then being sent out to deal with clients and pest control on your own (because turnover is so fast, no one is available to take over the area).

Then, inside the company, they claim that you tell people outside that you have three years of experience. Three days equals three years of experience—is this a time chamber?

In my view, pest-control work may seem easy to enter, but without one or two years of training, it is difficult to become fully competent.