何嘉仁國際文教團隊_何嘉仁實業股份有限公司

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All I can say is

Working at this company made me deeply regret it

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1. Excellent rhetoric; can turn white into black

2. Tells different lies to different people; the policy changes every day (about the same matter)

3. Managers have no unified plan or explanation, and it always feels like going around in circles

4. Managers do not respect employees; if they cannot control you, they ask you to resign voluntarily

5. Regarding salary, the base salary plus meal allowance and position-finding allowance may still be less than the salary originally discussed

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My girlfriend (a foreigner) taught at the Kaohsiung Gaox branch. After hearing about far too many absurd incidents, she realized that this really is an unbelievably terrible company:

There are far too many miscellaneous tasks to do, including preparing for various children’s performances and rehearsals and dealing with the children’s problems. Overtime is unpaid.

The entire work environment involves all kinds of illegal practices.

The “all-inclusive responsibility system” is utterly exploitative, and they even have a kindergarten where foreign employees teach (which is illegal).

Employees are forced to undergo training, but are not paid for it; they have to spend their own extra time training.

A minor incident: Because my girlfriend felt exhausted for these and similar reasons, she complained to me and to her colleagues. Her supervisor found out inadvertently and, without a word, told her to resign and demanded that she pay a breach-of-contract penalty.

The reason for her dismissal was that she was “disrespectful” (insulting) toward her work. She was told that nothing related to Hess should be discussed with anyone outside Hess.

Just taking these claims at face value, several of them are illegal.

Apparently, the turnover rate is very high. They take advantage of foreigners’ unfamiliarity with Taiwan’s complaint channels and laws to bully them.

It is truly deplorable!

The position interviewed for was an after-school care teacher, with no pressure to recruit new students.

The interviewer had a very good attitude.

There was a written test at the beginning, including a question requiring me to plan the content and teaching for one week of classes.

So it took quite a bit more time (because I didn’t expect there to be teaching-related questions; in the past, I had briefly worked as a teaching assistant at an after-school care center). After that came the interview. The company said that the salary would be 28K for someone without experience, and I only later found out that there was also a second interview at the head office. I felt that it took a lot of time... yet the salary and benefits I received were...

I feel it was a bit regrettable that the salary and job responsibilities were unbalanced. After all, teachers definitely need to do many things, and if the children in the class haven’t left yet, you may not be able to get off work...

Teachers in the cram-school industry really are hardworking and great miscellaneous service workers.

Applied for an English administrative staff position

Most colleagues are fairly easy to get along with

Comfortable work environment

The staffing is overly lean. Whenever someone takes leave, there is a manpower shortage, and staffing arrangements are also very chaotic. The kindergarten, English classes, and after-school care center all ask administrative staff to help, such as looking after classes, accompanying students on off-campus trips, and going into the kitchen to cut vegetables and wash dishes

No one guides you through the administrative work that actually needs to be done. You are constantly pulled away to do things unrelated to administration. It is not that I cannot do them, but the position I applied for and the salary I receive are not for doing these things

There is no systematic employee training or onboarding system. I often did not know what to do or how to do it, and had to rely entirely on figuring things out myself. Then my supervisor would blame me for not doing anything and for not knowing how to ask questions

During my first week, I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do. I was constantly sent from one task to another: at noon, I was told to go to OO Elementary School to pick up children, and in the afternoon, I was told to go to XX Elementary School to pick up children

During that period, I was also occasionally asked to take attendance in English classes. However, with so many classrooms holding classes at the same time, the attendance sheet did not indicate which class was where, at what time, or in which classroom, so I could only keep asking people

The attendance sheet only had the students’ Chinese names, while the teachers only recognized their English names. What should have been a very simple attendance task became extremely difficult because the information was incomplete and scattered

It was not until the second or perhaps the third week that I managed to organize the schedule for the entire week myself, including which elementary school to go to pick up children and which classrooms to visit for attendance

The main job was supposedly to promote courses to parents. Yet just a few days after I arrived, when I was still completely unfamiliar with the overall course system, my supervisor gave me a hasty explanation of the courses and then expected me to study the presentation on my own and figure out how to promote the courses

The problem was that the presentation itself was incomplete. It listed one price for the transportation fee, my supervisor explained a different price, and when I asked again, I received a third pricing method

My supervisor normally explained tasks without clearly communicating the context or details, so I always had to go back and ask again to clarify the whole situation. Sometimes I could not even get an answer after asking twice. That would be one thing, but even important matters involving money were explained unclearly, which was truly astonishing

The overall way of working is very outdated. Even though everyone knows there are many complicated tasks, no one thinks to create documents and keep records. For example, with routine tasks, proper handover documentation would allow the next person to get up to speed quickly without requiring a great deal of time spent personally training employees

However, when I asked my supervisor whether there were any written or electronic documents I could refer to, the answer was no. My supervisor believed that this was called experience and that I would learn it after doing the job for a long time, as if they could not understand why written documentation was necessary

The salary and overtime system were also terrible. During the probationary period, the salary was reduced below the amount listed on 104, without any prior disclosure during the interview. I only found out after officially starting work, which made me feel that I had been tricked into joining

The salary consisted of a very low base salary plus meal allowances, work allowances, and an attendance bonus. Only after adding them together did it reach the salary listed on 104

Overtime pay seemed to be calculated using the very low base salary, and the amount deposited was pitifully small. I did not stay long enough to receive an annual bonus, but I guess that would also have been calculated using the very low base salary

Even though overtime pay was already kept extremely low, the company was also very reluctant to pay it. Only activities under labels such as student recruitment events counted as overtime, and usually only two hours could be claimed. If cleanup after an event took longer and I worked two and a half hours, the extra half hour could not be claimed as overtime. When there was too much regular work to finish, the overtime hours spent staying late could not be claimed either

In short, the company has management problems and terrible systems. I do not want to give most of my life to a company without receiving much financial compensation in return, so I ran away~

Can't think of any.

Zuoying Fu X Branch

The supervisor had a bad attitude and was completely different from the attitude they had when I originally applied for the job. I was the only full-time Chinese-speaking English teacher in the entire company, and I also had to assist with academic administration. All the others were part-time teachers who were still university students. Many of the previous attendance records and assignments had large gaps.

When I first joined, I proactively submitted daily work reports to the director and the academic supervisor. This was later changed to twice a week, and finally once a week, without missing a single report. At least I proactively reported my work situation to my superiors.

Afterward, there were several occasions when I was given short-notice instructions to attend training at other branches, as well as being asked to complete monthly evaluation forms without prior notice. I had been with the company for less than a month when I was asked to complete the class schedule for the following month within four days. I brought my own laptop and wanted to finish it within the allotted time, but they would not provide the Wi-Fi password. The file was converted to a Google Drive Word document, and all the formatting was different.

I also discussed several times with my supervisor that I was still becoming familiar with the teaching materials and teaching procedures, and that I could not complete the following month's course schedule within such a short time. It still had no effect.

Eventually, I could no longer bear the excessive workload. I told the director that my current workload had exceeded my capabilities, and the supervisor told me: “If you can’t handle this, then I’ll put even more and more pressure on you later.”

The supervisor then asked me to resign on the spot. However, since it was already after working hours and preparations for the departure documents were needed, the resignation date was changed to the following Monday. It was later changed again to the following Tuesday. After confirming this with the director, I went home. When I arrived home, I saw a message from the director: “Dear~ Would it be possible for you to help until Thursday?” The Friday that week was the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Would that day have been included in my pay? I refused at the time.

On my final day of work, I confirmed the handover and returned all files and materials, whiteboard markers, employee ID card, and so on. I also reconfirmed with the director and administration whether there was anything else that had not been handed over. Everything was returned.

I still have not received last month’s salary. I will call the branch tomorrow to ask about it. If we cannot resolve it, I will contact headquarters directly.

Can't think of any.

Zuoying Fu X Branch

The supervisor had a poor attitude, completely different from the attitude they had when I first applied for the job. I was the only full-time Chinese English teacher in the entire company, and I also had to assist with academic administration. Everyone else was a part-time teacher who was still in university. There were many blank entries in all the previous attendance records and assignments.

When I first joined, I proactively submitted daily work reports to the director and the academic administration supervisor. This was later changed to twice a week, and finally once a week, and I never missed one. At least I proactively reported my work situation to my superiors.

After that, there were several occasions when I was given last-minute notice that I needed to attend training at another branch, as well as being asked to complete monthly evaluation forms without prior notice. Less than a month after joining the company, I was asked to complete the class schedule for the following month within four days. I brought my own laptop and wanted to finish it on time, but they would not give me the Wi-Fi password. The file was converted to a Google Drive Word document, and all the formatting was different.

I also discussed with my supervisor several times that I was still becoming familiar with the teaching materials and teaching procedures, and that I could not complete the following month’s schedule in such a short time, but it was still ineffective.

Eventually, I could no longer bear the excessive workload. I told the director that my current workload had exceeded my capabilities, and the supervisor told me: “If you can’t handle this, then I’ll give you even more and more pressure in the future.”

The supervisor then asked me to resign on the spot. However, because it was already after working hours and the resignation documents needed to be prepared, the resignation date was changed to the following Monday. It was later changed again to the following Tuesday. After confirming this with the director, I went home. When I arrived home, I saw a message from the director: “Dear~ Would it be possible for you to help until Thursday?” The Friday after that was the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Would that day be included in my pay? I refused at the time.

On my last day of work, I confirmed the handover and returned all files and materials, whiteboard markers, my employee ID card, and so on. I also confirmed again with the director and administration whether there was anything else that had not been handed over. Everything had been returned.

I still have not received last month’s salary. I will call the branch tomorrow to inquire. If we cannot resolve it, I will contact headquarters directly.

Can't think of any.

Zuoying Fu X Branch

The supervisor had a poor attitude and was completely different from how he acted during my interview. I was the only full-time Chinese English teacher in the entire company, and I also had to assist with academic administration. Everyone else was a part-time teacher who was still attending university. Many of the previous attendance records and assignments were left blank.

When I first joined, I proactively submitted daily work reports to the director and the academic supervisor. This was later changed to twice a week, and finally once a week, without missing a single report. At least I proactively reported my work situation to my superiors.

Afterward, there were several last-minute notifications requiring me to attend training at other branches, as well as requests to complete monthly evaluation forms without prior notice. Less than one month after joining the company, I was asked to complete the class schedule for the following month within four days. I brought my own laptop and wanted to finish it on time, but they would not provide the Wi-Fi password. The files were converted to Google Drive Word documents, and all the formatting was different.

I also discussed several times with my supervisor that I was still becoming familiar with the teaching materials and teaching procedures, and that I could not complete the following month’s class schedule within such a short time. It still had no effect.

Eventually, I could no longer bear the excessive workload. I told the director that my current workload had exceeded my capabilities, and the supervisor told me: “If you can’t handle this, then I’ll put even more and more pressure on you in the future.”

The supervisor then asked me to resign on the spot. However, since it was already after working hours and preparations for the resignation documents were needed, the resignation date was changed to the following Monday. It was later changed again to the following Tuesday. After confirming this with the director, I went home. When I arrived home, I saw a message from the director: “Dear~ Would it be possible for you to help until Thursday?” The Friday that week was the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Would that day be included in my pay? I refused at the time.

On my last day of work, I confirmed the handover and returned all files and materials, whiteboard markers, employee ID card, and so on. I also confirmed once again with the director and administrative staff whether there was anything else that needed to be handed over. Everything had been returned.

I still have not received last month’s salary. I will call the branch tomorrow to inquire. If we cannot resolve the matter, I will contact headquarters directly.

Can't think of any.

Zuoying Fu X Branch

The supervisor had a poor attitude and was completely different from how they had acted during my interview. I was the only full-time native English-speaking teacher at the entire company, and I also had to assist with academic administration. Everyone else was a part-time teacher who was still in university. Many of the attendance records and assignments from before had been left blank.

When I first joined, I proactively submitted daily work reports to the director and the academic supervisor. This was later changed to twice a week, and finally once a week, without a single omission. At least I proactively reported my work situation to my superiors.

Later, there were several occasions when I was given short-notice notifications that I needed to attend training at other branches, as well as being asked to complete monthly evaluation forms without prior notice. I had been with the company for less than a month when I was asked to complete the class schedule for the following month within four days. I brought my own laptop and wanted to finish it on time, but they would not give me the Wi-Fi password. After converting it to a Google Drive Word file, all the formatting was different.

I also discussed several times with the supervisor that I was still becoming familiar with the teaching materials and teaching procedures, and that I could not complete the following month's schedule in such a short time, but it still had no effect.

Eventually, I could no longer bear the excessive workload. I told the director that my current workload had exceeded my capabilities, and the supervisor told me: “If you can't handle this, then afterward I will put even more and more pressure on you.”

The supervisor then asked me to resign on the spot. However, because it was already after working hours and I needed to prepare the resignation documents, the resignation date was changed to the following Monday. It was later changed again to the following Tuesday. After confirming this with the director, I went home. When I arrived home, I saw a message from the director: “Dear~ Would it be possible for you to help out until Thursday?” The Friday after that was the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Would that day have been included in my pay? I refused at the time.

On my last day of work, I confirmed the handover and returned all files and materials, whiteboard markers, employee ID card, and so on. I also confirmed once again with the director and administration whether there was anything else that had not been handed over. Everything had been returned.

At present, I still have not received last month's salary. I will call the branch tomorrow to ask about it. If we cannot resolve it, I will contact headquarters directly.

Can't think of any.

Zuoying Fu X Branch

The supervisor had a poor attitude and was completely different from how they acted during my interview. I was the only full-time Mandarin-speaking English teacher in the entire company, and I also had to assist with academic administration. Everyone else was a part-time teacher who was still attending university. Many of the previous attendance records and assignments had significant gaps.

When I first joined, I proactively submitted daily work reports to the director and the academic administration supervisor. This was later changed to twice a week, and finally once a week, without missing a single report. At least I proactively reported my work situation to my superiors.

Afterward, there were several instances where I was given last-minute notice that I needed to attend training at other branches, as well as instances where I was not informed in advance that I had to prepare monthly evaluation forms. Less than a month after joining the company, I was asked to complete the class schedule for the following month within four days. I brought my own laptop and wanted to finish it within the allotted time, but they would not give me the Wi-Fi password. The file was converted to a Google Drive Word document, and all the formatting was different.

I also discussed several times with my supervisor that I was still becoming familiar with the teaching materials and teaching procedures, and that I could not complete the following month's course schedule in such a short time. It still made no difference.

Eventually, I could no longer bear the excessive workload. I told the director that my current workload had exceeded my capabilities. The supervisor told me, “If you can’t handle this, then I’ll give you more and more pressure from now on.”

The supervisor then asked me to resign on the spot. However, because it was already after working hours and I needed to prepare the resignation documents, the resignation date was changed to the following Monday. It was later changed again to the following Tuesday. After confirming this with the director, I went home. Once I got home, I saw a message from the director saying, “Dear~ Would it be possible for you to help until Thursday?” The following Friday was the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Would that day have been included in my pay? I refused at the time.

On my final day of work, I confirmed the handover and returned all files and materials, whiteboard markers, my employee ID card, and so on. I also reconfirmed with the director and the administrative staff whether there was anything else that still needed to be handed over. Everything had been returned.

I still have not received last month’s salary. I will call the branch tomorrow to ask about it. If we cannot resolve the matter, I will contact headquarters directly.

Can't think of any

Zuoying Fu X Branch

The supervisor had a poor attitude and was completely different from how he acted when I initially applied. I was the only full-time Mandarin-speaking English teacher in the entire company, and I also had to assist with academic administration. Everyone else was a part-time teacher who was still attending university. There were many blank entries in all the previous attendance records and assignments.

When I first joined, I proactively submitted daily work reports to the director and the academic administrator. This was later changed to twice a week, and finally once a week, without a single omission. At least I took the initiative to report my work situation to my superiors.

After that, there were several instances of being given last-minute notice that I needed to go to other branches for training, as well as being asked to complete monthly evaluation forms without prior notice. Less than a month after joining the company, I was asked to complete the class schedule for the following month within four days. I brought my own laptop and tried to finish it on time, but they would not provide the Wi-Fi password. When the file was converted to a Google Drive Word document, the formatting was completely different.

I also discussed several times with the supervisor that I was still becoming familiar with the teaching materials and teaching procedures, and that I could not complete the following month's class schedule in such a short time. It still had no effect.

Eventually, I could no longer bear the excessive workload. I told the director that my current duties had exceeded my capabilities. The supervisor told me: “If you can’t handle this, I’ll give you even more and more pressure later.”

The supervisor then asked me to resign on the spot. However, because it was already after working hours and I needed to prepare the resignation documents, the resignation date was changed to the following Monday, but later changed again to the following Tuesday. After confirming this with the director, I went home. Once I arrived home, I saw a message from the director: “Dear~ Would it be possible for you to help until Thursday?” The Friday that week was the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Would that day be included in my wages? I refused at the time.

On my last day of work, I confirmed the handover and returned all files and materials, whiteboard markers, employee ID card, and so on. I also reconfirmed with the director and administration whether there was anything else that had not been handed over. Everything was returned.

I still have not received last month’s salary. Tomorrow I will call the branch to ask about it. If we cannot communicate effectively, I will contact headquarters directly.

Can't think of any.

Zuoying Fu X Branch

The supervisor had a poor attitude and was completely different from the attitude they had when I originally applied for the job. I was the only full-time Chinese-speaking English teacher in the entire company, and I also had to assist with academic administration. Everyone else was a part-time teacher who was still in university. Many of the previous attendance records and assignments had been left blank.

When I first joined, I proactively submitted daily work reports to the director and the academic supervisor. This was later changed to twice a week, and finally once a week, without missing a single report. At least I proactively reported my work situation to my superiors.

After that, there were several instances where I was given short-notice notifications that I needed to attend training at other branches, as well as being asked to complete monthly evaluation forms without prior notice. Less than a month after joining the company, I was asked to complete the class schedule for the following month within four days. I brought my own laptop and wanted to finish it within the required time, but they would not provide the Wi-Fi password. When the files were converted to Google Drive Word documents, all the formatting was different.

I also discussed several times with my supervisor that I was still becoming familiar with the teaching materials and teaching procedures, and that I could not complete the following month's course schedule within such a short period. It still made no difference.

Eventually, I could no longer bear the excessive workload and told the director that my current duties had exceeded my capabilities. The supervisor told me: “If you can’t handle this, then I’ll give you more and more pressure in the future.”

The supervisor then asked me to resign on the spot. However, because it was already after working hours and the resignation documents needed to be prepared, the resignation date was changed to the following Monday. It was later changed again to the following Tuesday. After confirming this with the director, I went home. When I arrived home, I saw a message from the director: “Dear~ Would it be possible for you to help until Thursday?” The Friday after that was the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Would that day have been included in my pay? I refused at the time.

On my final day of work, I confirmed the handover and returned all files and materials, whiteboard markers, employee ID card, and so on. I also reconfirmed with the director and administration whether there was anything else that had not been handed over. Everything was returned.

I still have not received last month’s salary. I will call the branch tomorrow to inquire. If we cannot resolve it, I will contact headquarters directly.

Can't think of any.

Zuoying Fu X Branch

The supervisor had a poor attitude and was completely different from how they behaved when I initially applied. I was the only full-time Chinese-speaking English teacher in the entire company, and I also had to assist with academic affairs. Everyone else was a part-time teacher who was still attending university. There were many blanks in all the previous attendance records and assignments.

When I first joined, I proactively submitted daily work reports to the director and the academic affairs supervisor. This was later changed to twice a week, and finally once a week, without missing a single report. At least I proactively reported my work situation to my superiors.

After that, there were several instances where I was given short-notice notifications requiring me to attend training at other branches, as well as being asked to prepare monthly evaluation forms without prior notice. Less than a month after joining the company, I was asked to complete the class schedule for the following month within four days. I brought my own laptop and wanted to finish it on time, but they would not give me the Wi-Fi password. When the file was converted to a Google Drive Word document, all the formatting was different.

I also discussed several times with the supervisor that I was still becoming familiar with the teaching materials and teaching procedures, and that I could not complete the following month's class schedule within such a short time. It still had no effect.

Eventually, I could no longer bear the excessive workload and told the director that my current duties had exceeded my capabilities. The supervisor told me: “If you can't handle this, I will put even more and more pressure on you in the future.”

The supervisor then asked me to resign on the spot. However, because it was already after working hours and I needed to prepare the documents related to my departure, the resignation date was changed to the following Monday. It was later changed again to the following Tuesday. After confirming this with the director, I went home. When I arrived home, I saw a message from the director saying, “Dear~ Would it be possible for you to help until Thursday?” The following Friday was the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Would that day be included in my pay? I refused at the time.

On my last day of work, I confirmed the handover and returned all files and materials, whiteboard markers, employee ID card, and so on. I also reconfirmed with the director and administration whether there was anything else that had not been handed over. Everything had been returned.

I still have not received last month's salary. Tomorrow I will call the branch to inquire. If we cannot resolve the matter, I will contact headquarters directly.

They have someone clean, so the environment isn't too bad.

I really regret joining this company. You only get overtime pay for overtime that has been reported.

If you stay to finish work because you couldn't complete it during regular hours, you won't get overtime pay—but there is so much work that you simply can't finish it all.

After discovering this issue a month after joining and submitting my resignation, I was told that they couldn't find anyone to replace me and would not let me resign.

Kaohsiung–Jiuru Branch

1. Before scheduling the interview, they informed me that a test would be required and that it would take some time.

2. During the interview, they informed me that full-time positions require signing a contract.

3. The work environment is good. There are all kinds of colleagues, but everyone gets along well and supports one another. The supervisor is very good and focuses on the matter, not the person.

4. Part-time workers: The working hours are very flexible, and support work on holidays is also paid.

5. Although the education and tutoring industry is said to be a “Taiwanese labor-intensive job,” you really can learn many skills.

1. Children nowadays are not as easy to manage as they used to be.

2. Occasionally, holiday support and overtime work are required, but they are paid.

3. You are responsible for the children’s safety.

4. Although full-time employees have annual leave, it is difficult to take time off due to understaffing.

The environment is simple, and colleagues are friendly (depends on the branch).

Other than that, I can’t think of anything good…

An education company that does not respect the quality of its employees’ work. Unless you are a workaholic who doesn’t mind working excessive overtime without overtime pay and doesn’t care whether the salary is high or low, you should definitely not come.

Don't mention the law, and your supervisor will treat you well.

Legal aspects:

1. If the contract is not renewed, they say you automatically become “part-time.”

2. When an employee has worked for a year and the contract is not renewed, they require the employee to become part-time and refuse to grant the seven days of annual leave. When the employee presents the detailed provisions of the Labor Standards Act, the supervisor turns hostile.

These issues have been encountered by more than one employee.

3. Due to the pandemic, they did not follow the regulations of the Department of Education, cut employees’ salaries, and casually asked employees to take leave with a smile. They also applied for the Ministry of Education’s pandemic relief subsidy, using employees’ labor insurance information to prepare the application, yet did not inform the employees about it. Are they trying to pocket the subsidy?

I’ve heard that many former employees encountered this, yet no one reported this large company. It’s really strange.

Work-related aspects:

1. The supervisor is extremely busy and does not train newcomers, leaving them to fend for themselves, resulting in a high turnover rate.

2. They say one thing to one person and another to someone else; I don’t know whether this company can be trusted.

3. A leader in the education industry, they spend all day catering to children and their parents, while making many demands of employees and setting very high standards. Yet the pay is worse than at other, much smaller preschools. Their thinking is old-fashioned, and they still think they are the best.

4. There is no overtime pay. Employees are required to clock out on time and then continue working on “tasks within their own responsibilities” that were not completed; otherwise, HR says it is difficult to calculate their wages.

The branch where I worked was large, and I learned a lot. My colleagues were relatively young, so we got along well, and they were always willing to help when problems arose.

When I made mistakes as a newcomer, my supervisor took responsibility and apologized to the parents on my behalf.

As soon as I had worked there for six months, I was given three days of leave. Although I couldn’t actually use them, it was still nice that they proactively informed me instead of pretending not to know just because I was a clueless newcomer.

The interview process began through 104. I first went to the head office, where I took an English listening test even though I had applied for a tutoring classroom position. After passing, I was assigned to a branch for a second interview, where I took tests in Chinese, English, math, science, and social studies. Some of the questions even contained errors. Because the supervisor for that area was at another branch, I was then asked to go to yet another branch for an interview. It was extremely inefficient.

There was a severe shortage of staff. If there weren’t enough teachers, forget about taking leave, because no one could cover your classes. Most annual leave could only be used during the winter and summer vacations, and even then it had to be taken by rotation.

There was absolutely no overtime pay, only compensatory leave, and unused compensatory leave could not be cashed out (although the academic affairs staff once helped negotiate this). If you were a lower-grade teacher, you were in trouble, because lower grades only had full-day classes on Tuesdays, meaning substitute teachers could only take compensatory leave on Tuesdays. However, there were many things to do on Tuesdays (weekly disinfection: thoroughly washing the children’s lunch bowls, disinfecting tables and chairs, washing the classroom fans, cleaning the windows, and so on…………). If you chose to take the day off, you ended up having to work overtime to do these tasks yourself.

The work started getting busy half an hour before dismissal: picking up the children → serving lunch → urging them to finish their homework (children nowadays have extremely short attention spans).

Hess International mainly focuses on English classes, so from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. there were English lessons. If you didn’t urge the children to finish the required assignments before 2:00, things would become extremely stressful after 4:00, when parents arrived to pick them up and their homework still wasn’t finished.

The rules required sweeping and mopping the classroom every day, but in reality it was impossible to finish before the end of the workday, because you couldn’t clean while parents were waiting outside the classroom.

I originally thought that, given how large an education business Hess International was, all courses would be planned centrally. That was not the case: each branch had to design its own winter and summer vacation courses.

The supervisor was slow and often waited until the last minute to start working. There were many administrative tasks to handle before the start of the winter and summer vacation sessions, but the supervisor waited until the very last day to distribute the communication books that needed name labels. As a result, I worked the early shift that day (starting at 7:00 a.m.) and, although I should have been able to leave at 4:00 p.m., ended up working overtime until 7:30 p.m.

Administrative staff should be careful: if there aren’t enough people, you may be pulled in to work as an emergency after-school tutor.

Also, during the interview, another more senior manager kept praising my excellent test results, good upbringing, and ambition (come on, it was an interview).

But when I resigned, I was told that my thinking was negative (even though they were the one who asked why I was leaving). They chose to ask me while the students were returning, causing the children in the class to become chaotic.

They took notes while asking questions and said they wanted to understand the reasons for my resignation so they could improve in the future. At least that made it feel as though they were making a sincere effort.

The HR staff and managers were very polite and had a good tone during the interview.

Regardless of whether I was accepted, they followed up after the interview.

The company's overall environment was also quite good.

I applied for the Japanese administrative staff position.

The salary listed on 104 was NT$30,000–35,000.

The position required more than two years of work experience.

Given the experience requirement, the compensation was already not particularly high.

However, since they invited me to interview and I was also somewhat interested in the education and tutoring industry,

I decided to give it a try.

Then, during the actual final interview,

the manager called each interviewee separately into a small room (the final interview itself was conducted with everyone together)

and discussed the specific salary with each person.

In the end, the salary they offered was only NT$28,000... orz

It did not even meet the minimum salary of NT$30,000 originally listed on 104.

Isn't that a bit too outrageous?

NT$28,000 is more or less the starting salary for a fresh university graduate,

let alone the fact that this job also required serving as an interpreter and communication bridge for more than 30 Japanese teachers nationwide at HESS International Educational Group,

as well as assisting with organizing various camps and courses, among other things.

The listed salary differed from the actual salary... I don't know whether all Taiwanese tutoring companies are like this.

In any case, I was really dumbfounded.

On top of that, after seeing so many online comments from various people about the sweatshop-like working conditions at HESS,

the interview gave me an even stronger feeling of: "Ah, so some of what people wrote online really is true."

In any case, I sincerely wish those who were hired the opportunity to make full use of their talents.

As for me, although I have mixed feelings, I am somewhat relieved that I wasn't hired.

After spending so many years building up my Japanese skills and project management experience (HESS said it was because of the latter that they invited me to interview),

if they were worth only this much,

going there would truly have been an insult to all the effort I have put in up to now.

The restroom is very clean.

The manager shows absolutely no respect for subordinates. Without asking whether you were willing, they cut shifts and hours on the pretext that the branch was poorly managed. Right after New Year’s, the manager removed people from the work group without giving any explanation and forcibly suspended our work for two months to pressure us into resigning⋯⋯

I originally came here because I needed to attend classes and pursue further training, and the flexible scheduling for part-time work was appealing. But after only three months, I was left extremely frustrated and felt that the senior management here has very little respect for people. They don’t even look at the proposals we prepare. Even when they do, they never say whether they’re good or bad. Then, when something actually goes wrong and a customer complains, they say that we didn’t confirm it with the manager. Seriously? The worst part is that they only raise issues at the end of each month, when we’re already preparing the proposal for the following month, and they don’t allow us to use it for the next month either. With only two or three days left, we still have to spend time coming up with another new proposal...

The working environment here is really not okay either. When machines and equipment break, they don’t repair them. They keep cutting the budget, including labor costs, and they even haggle with employees over decorations costing just a few hundred dollars........ They are this stingy, yet expect us to make the place look like a five-star hotel.

My pay stub says that I am an administrative specialist, so I originally thought I would be doing administrative work and planning as my main duties. I never expected that, despite not having teaching licenses, the company would pressure us to design courses, prepare lesson plans, and teach classes. None of this was mentioned during the interview, and there was no employee training related to teaching. We have to figure everything out ourselves. The manager makes it sound very nice, saying that if we have any difficulties, we can call downstairs and they will help us. But when we actually run into difficulties, not a single person is willing to help.

You senior managers and supervisors should ask yourselves honestly: has anyone ever truly cared about the work being done on our floor? And as for all that nonsense you say about poor management and having enough staff, please don’t recruit people in the first place. You’re just wasting other people’s time.

Can't think of any

1. About 15 years ago (that's really how long it's been), I worked here for three months as an advertising planner. The salary I received then was exactly the same as the salary being offered now.

2. It seems this company has made no progress at all, because even back then, foreign teachers were paid more than local staff and received overtime pay, while local staff did not—even when they had higher or equivalent educational qualifications.

3. There is no overtime pay for supporting activities on holidays. They always talk about enthusiasm, but in reality, it's just exploiting free labor.

4. Extremely high turnover.

5. A lot of internal office politics.

6. Clock in when you start work, but operate under a responsibility-based system after work—this should be reported.

The interview was very pleasant, and HR was very nice.

You have to sign a contract, but this was not mentioned at all during the interview, nor was the content brought up. They are very good at making empty promises.

The colleagues are easy to get along with

The workload is very heavy, with a whole lot of miscellaneous tasks. Don't join unless you're prepared for it. Also, overtime on regular weekdays basically comes without overtime pay. It's a responsibility-based system, and understaffing is never addressed.

The children’s English improves, and when the supervisor isn’t around, you can sneakily use your phone.

There is a shortage of staff and insufficient training. However, if your English is good, you can basically get up to speed quickly. Hopefully, you can observe more classes—the new teachers will learn faster!

I recently interviewed at the Yonghe location. Although I was clearly interviewing for an administrative position at the front desk, they kept asking whether I could lead a team, take over shifts, and handle enrollment pressure. Then they repeatedly asked why I had left my previous job (the company contract had expired, which I had explained very clearly). They kept pressing me, saying that the enrollment rate was very important and asking whether I could handle it, and whether I wasn't afraid that the company might suddenly go bankrupt one day. (What kind of job was I applying for?) “If the company goes bankrupt, Ms. Irene, you said you had worked there for several years—weren't you worried?????”

A teaching position that Taiwanese people can apply for; it is called a teaching job, but in reality it is a foreign teacher’s errand-runner, secretary, and nanny all rolled into one.

The working hours are very long and the rules are unclear. Overtime is extremely common, with work often continuing until 11 or 12 at night. Days off are split up and then effectively taken away by internal regulations, making them available in name only; in reality, you only get one day off per week.

Mandatory employee training is unpaid, and you also have to attend outside working hours.

As soon as you join, they tell you that teachers are under a responsibility-based system and that teaching is a matter of conscience, after which you are worked to death. Many tasks can only be completed after hours, effectively forcing you to work overtime.

The salary is variable, so the amount you receive differs each month. You do more work than foreign employees but receive only half the pay, which is outright discrimination against local workers.

There is no time to eat. You have to squeeze eating into a 10-minute break while also using it to go to the bathroom, make phone calls, answer parents’ questions, and prepare lessons.

The pay is very low, but the responsibilities are substantial. Upon joining, you have to sign a contract agreeing to bear full responsibility for any mishaps involving students. You also have to sign a one-year agreement stating that you cannot resign, or you will be fined. It is an unlawful employment contract.

The job duties are unclear. Because turnover is high, there is always a shortage of teachers, so you often have to take on multiple roles and cannot focus on looking after the students. Anyone who joins hoping to teach will discover that they spend all their time doing odd jobs; teaching time is assigned to foreign teachers, and even when they teach recklessly, you are not allowed to intervene.

By the way, Hess Educational Organization’s pay is the lowest in the industry, while the responsibility and exploitation are the highest.