Chapter III Aid for Necessary Expenditures in Labor Incidents and Criminal Cases

Article 15
Workers who have any of the following circumstance may apply for the aid for necessary expenditures specified in Subparagraph 3 of Article 2:
1. Where a worker, the survivors specified in Paragraph 5 of Article 3, the legal representative, or the person entitled to file a complaint as specified in Paragraph 1 of Article 5 has been approved to receive representation fee aid pursuant to Paragraph 1 of Article 3, Article 3-1, or Paragraph 1 of Article 5.
2. Labor unions who are financially insufficient and file a lawsuit to a court in accordance with Article 40 of the Labor Incident Act.
3. If a labor union is selected by a laborer insufficient in financial resources to file litigation to the court according to Article 44-1 of Taiwan Code of Civil Procedure, and the labor meets the circumstances stated in Paragraph 1 of Article 3.
The necessary expenditures set forth in the preceding paragraph are as follows:
1. Court costs, fees for motion, enforcement costs, daily travel expenses for witnesses, appraisal fees, governmental fees, and costs for temporarily release to the custody of the court or the prosecutor.
2. Expenditures as determined by the court.
3. Other necessary expenditures.
The application of Paragraph 1 shall be submitted no later than 60 days after the conclusion of the labor mediation, litigation, or compulsory execution proceedings. However, where the amount of litigation costs or execution costs is determined only by a court ruling or refund notice after the conclusion of the labor mediation, litigation, or compulsory execution proceedings, the application shall be submitted no later than 60 days after the date the ruling becomes final or the refund notice is served.
Article 16
When a worker or labor union applies for aid for the following necessary expenditures, the central competent authority, or a private organization commissioned by the central competent authority to administer the aid program, shall determine the amount of aid at its discretion based on the type of aid case, the progress of labor mediation, the subject matter of the litigation, and the complexity of the case. The standards for aid are as follows:
1. Necessary expenditures for labor incidents: The maximum aid amount for the same case shall be NT$100,000.
2. Necessary expenditures for criminal cases: The maximum aid amount for the same case shall be NT$100,000.
Article 17
Where multiple workers individually apply for aid for necessary expenses in a labor-management dispute arising from the same underlying facts, the central competent authority may consolidate the applications into a single case and handle them in accordance with the provisions of the preceding article.
Article 18
Applications filed by workers for aid for necessary expenditures shall be submitted along with the following documents:
1. The application
2. The labor-management dispute statement and related proof.
3. The financial statements of the worker and related proof documents; if there is any deduction of income or assets as provided for in Paragraph 3 to Article 6, relevant proof documents thereof shall be submitted separately.
4. Photocopy of the competent authority’s mediation record, whether concluded or unsuccessful.
5. Proof of payment of the necessary expenses. However, in urgent or special circumstances, a copy of the court ruling ordering the payment of necessary expenses or a copy of the court refund notice may be submitted instead.
6. An affidavit stating that no aid of the same nature from other government agencies or private organizations entrusted by government agencies has been received.
Applications filed by labor unions for aid for necessary expenditures shall be submitted along with the following documents:
1. The application
2. The labor-management dispute statement and related proof.
3. Photocopy of the competent authority’s mediation record, whether concluded or unsuccessful.
4. Copy of certificate of registration of labor union.
5. Proof during the past 12 months of documents submitted in accordance with Article 31 of the Labor Union Act and approved by the competent authority for review and record.
6. Proof of payment of the necessary expenses. However, in urgent or special circumstances, a copy of the court ruling ordering the payment of necessary expenses or a copy of the court refund notice may be submitted instead.
7. An affidavit stating that no aid of the same nature from other government agencies or private organizations entrusted by government agencies has been received.
If a person applying for aid as stated in the Subparagraph 1, Paragraph 1 to Article 15, the documents specified in Subparagraphs 2 to 4 in the Paragraph 1 shall not be needed.
If a person applying for aid as stated in the Subparagraphs 2 or 3,Paragraph 1 to Article 15 has already applied for aid for lawsuit representation fees according to Paragraphs 2 or 3 to Article 3, the documents specified in Subparagraphs 2 to 5 in the Paragraph 2 shall not be needed.
Persons applying for aids in accordance with Subparagraph 3,Paragraph 1 to Article 15 shall submit documents stated in Subparagraph 3 of Paragraph 1.
Article 19
Where an application for aid for necessary expenses has been approved, the applicant shall, within 30 days from the date of service of the notice of approval, submit a receipt and remittance account information to the central competent authority to request disbursement.
When the aid application described in the preceding paragraph is filed jointly by more than one applicant, one of the applicants shall be authorized to receive the payment.
Where an application for aid for necessary expenditures pursuant to the proviso of Subparagraph 5 of Paragraph 1 and the proviso of Subparagraph 6 of Paragraph 2 of the preceding article has been approved, the applicant shall, within 30 days from the date of payment of the necessary expenses, submit proof of payment to the central competent authority to apply for reimbursement.
Article 20
Where an application is made for aid for necessary expenditures, aid shall not be granted under any of the following circumstances:
1. Any of the circumstances specified in Subparagraphs 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, or 9 of Article 10 applies.
2. The requirements set forth in Article 15 are not satisfied.
3. The potential benefit that the worker may obtain from prevailing in the case is less than the necessary expenditures. However, this shall not apply where the case has significant impact or importance to society or the public interest.
Article 21
The Central Competent Authority may terminate the aid when an aid applicant receiving approval does not cooperate in the aid execution procedure without justification and the aid cannot be provided.
The Central Competent Authority may revoke the aid when an aid applicant receiving approval is found to be with the situation specified in Subparagraph 2 or Subparagraph 5 of Article 10.
The Central Competent Authority shall demand the applicant to return within a given period the entire aid for necessary expenditures already appropriated when the situation specified in Paragraph 1 or the preceding paragraph occurs. Legal action shall be taken if such an applicant fails to return the aid within the given period.
An applicant failing to return the aid as stated in the preceding paragraph may not apply for the aid specified in Article 2 for five years starting from the date the aid termination or revocation occurs.
Article 22
When the necessary expenditures are not paid by the aid applicant, the amount shall be returned within 30 days after the applicant receives is compensated or the court returns the amount. The refunded amount shall not exceed the aid amount granted.
The Central Competent Authority shall repeal the original aid approval and demand return of already disbursed amount if an applicant fails to return the amount as specified in the preceding paragraph. Legal action shall be taken if such an applicant fails to return the amount within the given period. Such an applicant may not apply for the aid specified in Article 2 for five years starting from the date the aid approval is repealed.
Where the applicant is unable to refund the aid provided for necessary expenses specified in the preceding paragraph in a lump sum due to financial hardship, the applicant may apply to the central competent authority for an extension of the repayment period or for installment payments.
Data Source:Ministry of Labor / Law Source Retrieving System Labor Laws And Regulations