Employers in Taipei must allow workers to rest on Double Ten National Day, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Thursday, citing the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).

Employers must ask if people are willing to work on that day, the department said, adding that if they do work, extra wages must be paid or companies would face fines of NT$20,000 to NT$1 million (US$632 to US$31,577).

As National Day falls on a Monday this year, employers should give workers a paid day off, or, if the employee agrees, shift the day off, the department said.

If the holiday coincides with an employee’s regular day off, the employer must observe Article 23-1 of the Enforcement Rules of the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法施行細則) and provide the employee with a separate day off that should be agreed upon by both parties, it said.

A full-time employee on a monthly salary who works fewer than eight hours on Monday should be paid for a full day, while part-time employees who work on the holiday should be paid no less than NT$336 per hour, or double the minimum wage, if they work for fewer than eight hours, it said.

For those who work more than eight hours, employers must comply with Article 24 of the act and pay them overtime in accordance with the rules, the department said.

Article 24 says: “In accordance with Article 36, an employer shall pay a worker overtime wages when required to work on the rest days. When the overtime work does not exceed two hours, the worker shall be paid, in addition to the...