SINGAPORE: An HR representative, seemingly acting out of spite, arranged a 10-hour layover flight for an S Pass holder travelling back to Japan despite the availability of direct flights on the same day.
The incident came to light after the S Pass holder’s friend posted about it on r/askSingapore, a Reddit forum, on Friday (Sept 20), explaining that the S Pass holder had recently resigned from her position in Singapore and was scheduled to return to Japan the following week.
However, rather than being given a direct flight home, the HR department arranged a flight with a lengthy layover of more than 10 hours in another country.
This was done even though direct flights were readily available on the same day, which raised suspicions that HR might have done this on purpose to inconvenience the S Pass holder.
“She has reached out to HR for an explanation but hasn’t received a response. Are there any legal avenues she can pursue to address this situation?” the S Pass holder’s friend asked. “The HR is being mean,” she added.
According to the friend, there had already been tension earlier between the S Pass holder and HR due to a salary dispute. The company, which pays salaries biweekly, had previously pressured the S Pass holder to sign a warning letter related to a mistake that wasn’t her fault.
“HR initially stated they would deduct this amount from her salary for the first half of this month but then delayed it, saying the deduction would happen next month,” she explained.
“The problem is, she won’t even be in Singapore next month, making it difficult for her to dispute the deduction,” her friend added.
The friend then further explained that the S Pass holder had escalated the salary issue to Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM), which may have triggered the HR department’s petty response in booking a flight with such an inconvenient layover.
“There is probably a policy of buying the cheapest flight.”
In the comments section, a few Singaporean Redditors speculated that the HR might have chosen the flight with the long layover because it was cheaper than the direct options.
They pointed out that some companies, especially when dealing with employees who are leaving, may prioritize cost-cutting over convenience, even if it results in significant discomfort for the worker.
One Redditor commented, “There is probably a policy of buying the cheapest flight. Unless she can find a cheaper direct flight on the same day, then raise it up to them and see what they say.
She can book her own flight back if she doesn’t want a free one. Getting a lawyer involved in this just screams snowflake, not to mention she’ll be wasting her money.”
Another added, “I don’t think you can sue just because it wasn’t a direct flight. Doubt the employment agreement indicated that it’d be a direct flight back to Japan too.”
Still, a few believed that HR intentionally booked the inconvenient flight to make things difficult for the S Pass holder. One Redditor said, “Your friend could have angered them off at some point for them to pull this.
I’ve overheard my boss do it at a previous company. They can’t stand that employee and told the admin to book the cheapest flight with the most annoying layovers.”
What does MOM say?
According to the Ministry of Manpower, companies must only legally send back Work Permit holders.
Before they cancel a work permit, employers must give reasonable notice about the return trip and get tax clearance from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) at least a month before the employee’s last day.
They must also sort out any outstanding employment issues, like salary payments.
Employers must buy a plane ticket that includes check-in luggage and cover all transport costs to the nearest international port in the employee’s home country unless the employee agrees in writing to handle those costs themselves.
Featured image by Depositphotos