The family of a Kaohsiung security guard who died after working 42 consecutive days is to receive about NT$890,000 (US$27,934) in compensation, the Kaohsiung District Court ruled.
The man, surnamed Hsu (徐), started working as a security guard at Formosa Wang Brothers Park in Kaohsiung’s Cianjhen District (前鎮) on June 11, 2020, the ruling said.
He collapsed suddenly while at work on Nov. 27 that same year, before dying three days later of a hemorrhagic stroke.
Photo: Taipei Times
Hsu’s family said that they were seeking compensation of NT$1.49 million because before he collapsed at work, Hsu had worked the night shift for 42 days without any days off, working 10.5 hours to 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 that in 2020, Hsu had worked 107.5 hours of overtime from Oct. 27 to Nov. 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, which the judge said had contributed to his death.
The judge added that even though Hsu did not disclose his underlying health problems, his employer should still have take into consideration the effect that working night shifts and long hours can have on people’s health and take measures to ensure employees work in a safe environment.
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