A former employee of a drinks shop in Taiwan has received her final salary of NT$6,972 (US$215) entirely in coins of mixed denominations following a dispute with her employer.
The boss said the method of payment was justified as a “shock education” to the woman, sparking a fierce debate online.
The incident unfolded when a 19-year-old woman, surnamed Liu, based in Tainan said on social media that her employer handed her a plastic bag of coins as her final pay of NT$6,972 upon her resignation.
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According to EBC News, the salary included NT$1 coins, NT$5 coins, and NT$10 coins, which took her an hour to deposit at the bank.
“I even found that NT$20 (60 US cents) was missing and confronted the employer, who joked to others, ‘There’s a beggar here, give her NT$20,’” Liu said.
The shop owner justified her actions saying they were a form of “shock education,” claiming it was in response to her alleged poor attitude towards colleagues and repeated absence from work.
“I told her that when we work, we need to treat others with respect and maintain good communication. Her response was dismissive, saying her impatience was because she had just woken up,” the shop owner told TVBS News.
The owner also accused the employee of borrowing part of her salary in advance after working for only a month and said she had been absent without notice for three days.
“Legislators need to revise the laws in Taiwan. I support preventing labour exploitation, but may I ask why there are no corresponding measures to deal with employees who are absent without leave or simply fail to show up for work without reason?” the owner said.
She added that she had offered to exchange the coins for banknotes if the employee apologised, but her offer was rejected.
Li Xuanchang, the commissioner of Occupational Safety and Health Department at the Labour Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government told TVBS News: “The employer did not delay payment or reduce the amount, so technically there was no violation of labour laws. However, this approach is certainly not considerate or ethical.”
The case has drawn widespread criticism in Taiwan , with many condemning the employer.
One person asked: “Is the boss doing this on purpose, trying to set an example for other exploitative employers?”
“Maybe the shop’s profits are not doing well, so the boss is just bored and has time to count coins,” added another.
One person said they had similar experience with an employer: “I did not do anything wrong. I resigned after working less than a month, but she got angry because I did not give her enough notice. I am not the only one who got coins!”
It echoes a similar case in Sichuan province, southwestern China, where an employer attempted to settle a labour dispute by paying an employee 8,000-yuan (US$1,000) salary entirely in coins weighing 10kg.
The employer was compelled to count the coins in court, found the task to be overwhelming, abandoned the effort midway, and ultimately agreed to pay the employee through a bank transfer before issuing a formal written apology.
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