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

The work basically consists of riding a company motorcycle or car to various restaurants or locations to control cockroaches and rats.

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

You have to visit approximately 5–8 clients a day. This is not difficult for people with pest-control experience, but because employee turnover is so rapid,

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

may get chewed out because of problems left by their predecessor. Reporting the issue to management often gets you a response like, “You should figure out how to solve it yourself,”

or they will send a team leader or someone else to accompany you (although senior management merely goes through the motions and does not genuinely put in the effort to help solve the problem).

Night work is defined as work after 5 p.m. For example, if you leave at 5 p.m. to perform pest control until 8 p.m., it counts as overtime.

If you finish work at 5 p.m., rest for 2–3 hours, and return to the company to do pesticide spraying at 10 p.m., that counts as a night shift.

Whether night shifts are limited to no more than seven days is a matter of luck. When there is a staff shortage, plenty of people work more than ten days.

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.

Currently, the company generally implements a five-day workweek with two days off (public holidays marked in red on the calendar are also off), using flexible scheduling.

In other words, you may get 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 the insured salary base for labor insurance is used in the calculation.

For example, if your insured salary base 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, as well as public holidays, are shifted around, there is essentially no holiday overtime pay to claim.

Your days off still have to be scheduled around the work on hand—in other words, coordinated with clients, coworkers, and company operations.

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

or a team leader or coworker may ask you to swap shifts. 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 employee contributions to labor and health insurance. Since the insured salary is low, the deduction is generally just over NT$1,000.

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

Monthly pay is generally between NT$30,000 and NT$40,000. Only a few people earn more than NT$40,000; you get more money only if you are promoted or take on a management position.

There is absolutely no system for promotions, taking on management roles, or salary increases. It all depends on the boss’s mood. Of course, outwardly, they will say that there is a system.

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

The actual year-end bonus is approximately NT$11,250–22,500 (based on a basic salary of NT$22,500); if you have worked less than a year, it is prorated by month.

Bonuses for the three traditional holidays are not guaranteed. They could be nothing more than a box of cookies for everyone to share, or cash of NT$600–1,000.

Employee outings 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. If people eat too much, the boss may complain again, so some employees do not attend the dinners either.

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

“Comprehensive training” means you apply to the company and are casually handed over to a senior employee or a coworker who is about to leave.

They train you for 3–5 days, then leave you to deal with clients and pest control on your own (because turnover is so high that no one is available to take over the territory).

Then, within the company, they claim to outsiders that you have three years of experience. Three days equals three years of experience—is this some kind of time chamber?

In my view, pest-control work may look easy to enter and get started in, but without 1–2 years of training, it is difficult to become fully proficient.

The work basically consists of riding a company motorcycle or car to various restaurants or locations to control cockroaches and rats.

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

You have to visit approximately 5–8 clients a day. This is not difficult for people with pest-control experience, but because employee turnover is so rapid,

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

may get chewed out because of problems left by their predecessor. Reporting the issue to management often gets you a response like, “You should figure out how to solve it yourself,”

or they will send a team leader or someone else to accompany you (although senior management merely goes through the motions and does not genuinely put in the effort to help solve the problem).

Night work is defined as work after 5 p.m. For example, if you leave at 5 p.m. to perform pest control until 8 p.m., it counts as overtime.

If you finish work at 5 p.m., rest for 2–3 hours, and return to the company to do pesticide spraying at 10 p.m., that counts as a night shift.

Whether night shifts are limited to no more than seven days is a matter of luck. When there is a staff shortage, plenty of people work more than ten days.

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.

Currently, the company generally implements a five-day workweek with two days off (public holidays marked in red on the calendar are also off), using flexible scheduling.

In other words, you may get 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 the insured salary base for labor insurance is used in the calculation.

For example, if your insured salary base 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, as well as public holidays, are shifted around, there is essentially no holiday overtime pay to claim.

Your days off still have to be scheduled around the work on hand—in other words, coordinated with clients, coworkers, and company operations.

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

or a team leader or coworker may ask you to swap shifts. 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 employee contributions to labor and health insurance. Since the insured salary is low, the deduction is generally just over NT$1,000.

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

Monthly pay is generally between NT$30,000 and NT$40,000. Only a few people earn more than NT$40,000; you get more money only if you are promoted or take on a management position.

There is absolutely no system for promotions, taking on management roles, or salary increases. It all depends on the boss’s mood. Of course, outwardly, they will say that there is a system.

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

The actual year-end bonus is approximately NT$11,250–22,500 (based on a basic salary of NT$22,500); if you have worked less than a year, it is prorated by month.

Bonuses for the three traditional holidays are not guaranteed. They could be nothing more than a box of cookies for everyone to share, or cash of NT$600–1,000.

Employee outings 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. If people eat too much, the boss may complain again, so some employees do not attend the dinners either.

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

“Comprehensive training” means you apply to the company and are casually handed over to a senior employee or a coworker who is about to leave.

They train you for 3–5 days, then leave you to deal with clients and pest control on your own (because turnover is so high that no one is available to take over the territory).

Then, within the company, they claim to outsiders that you have three years of experience. Three days equals three years of experience—is this some kind of time chamber?

In my view, pest-control work may look easy to enter and get started in, but without 1–2 years of training, it is difficult to become fully proficient.