Family of man who died after overworking to receive nearly $28,000 in Taiwan

The family of a Kaohsiung man who died after working 42 days in a row will receive around NT$890,000 (US$27,919) in compensation, the Kaohsiung District Court ruled on August 29.

According to the verdict, the man, surnamed Hsu (徐), started working as a security guard at the Formosa Wang Brothers Park in Kaohsiung City's Qianzhen District on June 11, 2020, Focus Taiwan reports.

He collapsed suddenly while at work on November 27 that same year, before dying three days later of a hemorrhagic stroke.

Hsu's family claimed that they were seeking compensation of NT$1.49 because before he collapsed at work, Hsu had done the night shift for 42 days without any days off, working an average of 10.5 - 12 hours each day.

Hsu's employer said that he only needed to be on duty for two hours per day while he was making the rounds of the park and that he could then take a rest as he was just on standby.

However, the judge said that time still counted as work time and not time when he was free to rest.

The verdict said Hsu had worked 107.5 hours of overtime from October 27 to November 25. The law states the maximum number of overtime hours allowed per month is 46.

The court also found that Hsu had hidden that he had hypertension when filling out the employee health form before starting work, therefore, the judge ruled that Hsu's actions had also contributed to his death.

The judge added that even though Hsu did not disclose his underlying health problems, his employer should still take into consideration the impact that working night shifts and long hours can have on people's health and take measures to ensure employees work in a safe environment.