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 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 visit approximately 5–8 clients a day. This is not difficult for someone 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 establishment’s pest-control results were poor, the person taking over

may get harshly blamed for problems left behind by the previous worker. Reporting the issue to management often results in being told that you should find a way to solve it yourself,

or that a team leader or someone else will be assigned to attend with you (although senior management usually just makes a superficial visit and does not genuinely devote time to helping resolve the issue).

“Night work” is defined as 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 carry out spraying work at 10 p.m.; this counts as a night shift.

Whether night shifts stay under seven days is a matter of luck. When there is a staffing shortage, 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 workweek (public holidays that fall in the month are also days off) with flexible scheduling.

In other words, you may get two or three days off in a week (three when a public holiday happens to fall then), but three consecutive days off cannot be scheduled.

Overtime is currently calculated in accordance with the Labor Standards Act, but only based on the insured base salary for labor insurance.

For example, if your insured base 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, there is essentially no overtime pay for working on scheduled days off.

The scheduling of days off still depends on the work at hand—in other words, on coordinating with clients, colleagues, and company operations.

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

or a team leader or colleague may ask you to swap shifts. Often, if you do not show up, the work is simply left uncovered.

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

minus employee contributions for labor and health insurance. Because the insured salary is low, the deduction is generally just over 1,000.

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

Monthly pay is generally between 30,000 and 40,000, with only a few people earning more than 40,000. You only get more money if you are promoted or take on a management position.

There is absolutely no system governing promotions, management appointments, or raises; it depends entirely 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 ratio (also determined by the boss, between 0.5 and 1).

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

Bonuses for the three traditional festivals are not guaranteed. They may consist only of 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 are also held only occasionally. If the meal costs too much, the boss may complain again, so some employees do not attend the dinners.

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

“Comprehensive training” means applying to the company and being casually handed over to a senior employee or a colleague who is about to leave,

who trains you for 3–5 days and then leaves you to handle clients and pest control on your own (because turnover is so high, no one is available to take over the assigned areas).

Then, within the company, they claim and tell outsiders that you have three years of experience. Does three days equal three years of experience? Did you enter a time chamber?

In my view, pest-control work may seem easy to enter, but without 1–2 years of training, it is difficult to become fully competent.

The work basically consists of riding a company motorcycle 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 visit approximately 5–8 clients a day. This is not difficult for someone 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 establishment’s pest-control results were poor, the person taking over

may get harshly blamed for problems left behind by the previous worker. Reporting the issue to management often results in being told that you should find a way to solve it yourself,

or that a team leader or someone else will be assigned to attend with you (although senior management usually just makes a superficial visit and does not genuinely devote time to helping resolve the issue).

“Night work” is defined as 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 carry out spraying work at 10 p.m.; this counts as a night shift.

Whether night shifts stay under seven days is a matter of luck. When there is a staffing shortage, 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 workweek (public holidays that fall in the month are also days off) with flexible scheduling.

In other words, you may get two or three days off in a week (three when a public holiday happens to fall then), but three consecutive days off cannot be scheduled.

Overtime is currently calculated in accordance with the Labor Standards Act, but only based on the insured base salary for labor insurance.

For example, if your insured base 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, there is essentially no overtime pay for working on scheduled days off.

The scheduling of days off still depends on the work at hand—in other words, on coordinating with clients, colleagues, and company operations.

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

or a team leader or colleague may ask you to swap shifts. Often, if you do not show up, the work is simply left uncovered.

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

minus employee contributions for labor and health insurance. Because the insured salary is low, the deduction is generally just over 1,000.

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

Monthly pay is generally between 30,000 and 40,000, with only a few people earning more than 40,000. You only get more money if you are promoted or take on a management position.

There is absolutely no system governing promotions, management appointments, or raises; it depends entirely 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 ratio (also determined by the boss, between 0.5 and 1).

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

Bonuses for the three traditional festivals are not guaranteed. They may consist only of 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 are also held only occasionally. If the meal costs too much, the boss may complain again, so some employees do not attend the dinners.

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

“Comprehensive training” means applying to the company and being casually handed over to a senior employee or a colleague who is about to leave,

who trains you for 3–5 days and then leaves you to handle clients and pest control on your own (because turnover is so high, no one is available to take over the assigned areas).

Then, within the company, they claim and tell outsiders that you have three years of experience. Does three days equal three years of experience? Did you enter a time chamber?

In my view, pest-control work may seem easy to enter, but without 1–2 years of training, it is difficult to become fully competent.