On November 19, 2020, the Executive Yuan announced that the Middle-aged and Elderly Employment Promotion Act (hereinafter the “Act”) would become effective on December 4, 2020.

In response to an aging population, besides promoting relevant employment measures, the Ministry of Labor also enacted the Act. The Act was planned to be implemented on May 1, 2020; however, due to the impact of the pandemic on domestic industries, the implementation of the Act was postponed. Lately, the Executive Yuan and the Ministry of Labor conducted a comprehensive evaluation of domestic economic signals and job market indicators and decided to implement the Act on December 4, 2020.

The Act not only prohibits employers from discriminating against middle-aged and elderly job applicants or employees on the basis of age, but also provides the employment protection of “re-employment.” Wherein, in particular, the Act allows the employer to employ a worker at the age of sixty-five or more by an “employment agreement with fixed duration” (Article 28 of the Act). With this, an employer can hire back veteran employees more flexibly, and the treasured experience of the middle-aged and elderly population can be further applied to enhance the competitiveness of our businesses and nation as a whole.

(Author: Hsin-Jen Wang, Associate Partner)

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