Taiwan principally guards against physical and mental harm suffered by employees in the course of performing their duties through its occupational safety and health legislation. The principal requirements are as follows:

(1) In order to prevent employees from suffering unlawful physical or mental infringement caused by the acts of others while performing their duties, an employer is required to adopt violence prevention measures, such as the identification and assessment of hazards. 

(2) An employer with 30 or more employees is required to formulate a policy on measures for the prevention of sexual harassment and workplace bullying. Upon receipt of a complaint of such conduct, the employer must provide, or refer the complainant to, consultation services, medical treatment or psychological counselling, social welfare resources and such other services as may be necessary. 

An employee diagnosed with a mental health condition is entitled to take leave in accordance with the rules governing sick leave. Specifically, where the employee has not been hospitalized and the subject case does not involve any occupational injuries or disease issues, the employee is entitled to 30 days of sick leave per year at half pay. Once that entitlement is exhausted, it is common in practice for the employee to draw on annual leave or personal leave, or to negotiate a leave without pay with the employer.

As a general rule, an employer may not unilaterally suspend an employee from duty, or require the employee to take leave, merely on the basis of a suspected mental health condition. However, in the case of certain categories of personnel whose mental health may affect public safety, such as aircraft pilots, the employer must suspend the employee from duty where he or she fails to pass the physical examination administered by the Civil Aviation Administration (which includes assessment for psychiatric conditions).

As a general rule, an employer may not require an employee suspected of having a mental health condition to seek medical attention or to undergo an examination. However, in the case of certain categories of personnel whose mental health may affect public safety, such as aircraft pilots, where a pilot exhibits a sudden psychological or behavioral abnormality, the employer of the pilot must report the matter to the Civil Aviation Administration immediately so that a psychological examination may be carried out. Depending on the severity of the pilot's condition, this may take the form of psychological testing, a detailed psychological examination, or an assessment conducted by a medical center.  

Partially covered.

The National Health Insurance covers psychotherapy but not psychological counselling. In addition, an employer with 500 or more employees must, at the request of the complainant or the victim of workplace sexual harassment, provide at least two sessions of psychological counselling.

Where a mental health concern develops into a diagnosed mental disorder and there is a sufficient causal relationship between the performance of the duty and the resulting disorder, such disorder constitutes an occupational disease. The insured events arising from such an occupational disease, namely medical treatment, temporary incapacity, permanent disability, death and disappearance, fall within the scope of benefits payable under the occupational accident insurance.

Where an employee's mental health condition has been assessed by a professional team and the employee has obtained a disability certificate, the employee becomes entitled to disability welfare benefits.

A person with disabilities is a person whose bodily structure or function is impaired to the extent that it affects his or her activities and participation in social life, as determined by the assessment and evaluation of a professional team, and who has obtained a disability identification. As the criteria for disability certification encompass psychological and emotional functions, among other matters, certain mental health conditions may be recognized as a disability.  

(i) An employee with a mental health condition may be dismissed only on the same grounds as any other employee. Where such an employee is clearly incapable of performing his or her duties, is absent without leave for three consecutive days, or where any of the other grounds enumerated in Articles 11 and 12 of the Labor Standards Act is made out, the employer may terminate the employment contract. However, where the mental health condition constitutes an occupational disease, the employer may not terminate the employment contract during the period of medical treatment.

(ii) For other reasons:

The termination must not be discriminatory. Where the termination is linked to the employee's mental health condition, it carries a risk of being held unlawful and invalid, and of attracting liability for employment discrimination.

An employer is required to retain records of workers' general physical and health examinations for seven years; longer retention periods apply to records of workers engaged in operations posing a particular hazard to health.

Apart from the foregoing records, an employer may collect, process and use a worker's mental health information and medical records only with the worker's written consent, and only to the extent necessary for a specific purpose.

All of the foregoing information constituting  personal data must be kept confidential.

An employer may not discriminate against a job applicant or an employee on the ground of disability, whether physical or mental. 

On this basis, the Ministry of Labor takes the view that an employer who declines to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee with disabilities must have a legitimate reason supported by evidence, and notify the employee accordingly. The courts have further held that an employer must provide reasonable accommodation before dismissing an employee with disabilities, failing which the dismissal may be unlawful.

Mental health conditions are protected under anti-discrimination laws. Where an employer subjects a job applicant or an employee to different treatment in employment on account of a physical or mental impairment or functional limitation, that constitutes discrimination.

For example, where an employee has bipolar disorder amounting to a disability and the employer refuses the employee's application to return to work following a period of unpaid leave on the ground of that mental condition, the refusal constitutes discrimination.