In brief

On 21 February 2025, the Ministry of Labor released the revised “Guidelines for Preventing Illegal Harm While Performing Duties (4^th Edition).” The revised guidelines emphasize the establishment of an investigation team within three days for suspected illegal harm incidents, with specific team compositions based on organization size. The scope has been expanded to include personnel supervised by workplace managers, applying the same guidelines as for employees. The 4^th edition also specifies potential workplace harm behaviors, including violence, bullying, sexual harassment, and discrimination, with examples of workplace bullying such as unrealistic work goals and excessive or trivial task assignments.

Background

On 21 February 2025, the Ministry of Labor released the revised “Guidelines for Preventing Illegal Harm While Performing Duties.” The revisions emphasize internal complaint mechanisms for suspected illegal harm and expand the scope to include workers under supervision. Workplace bullying is explicitly included, and employers must establish investigation teams upon receiving reports. These changes serve as transitional measures before the Occupational Safety and Health Act is amended.

Key amendments

1. Establishment of the investigation team and handling internal incidents

If a suspected illegal harm incident is reported, an investigation team should be established within three days to handle mediation or investigation. For organizations with over 100 employees, the team should have at least three members, including two external professionals (legal, medical, or psychological backgrounds). For 30-100 employees, the team should have at least three members. For fewer than 30 employees, the employer and employee representatives can form the team, with external assistance if needed.

2. Expansion of scope

The new edition expands the scope to include personnel directed or supervised by the workplace manager. According to Article 51, Paragraph 2 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, organizations should apply the same guidelines to these personnel as they do to their employees.

3. Specification of potential workplace harm behaviors

The 4^th edition provides examples of behaviors that may constitute workplace harm, including workplace violence, bullying, sexual harassment, and employment discrimination. Specifically, for workplace bullying, continuous behaviors such as “supervisors giving unrealistic work goals to employees or assigning other tasks to hinder their progress,” and “supervisors assigning excessive work, trivial tasks, or no work at all to specific employees” may constitute workplace bullying.