SINGAPORE: A Singaporean employee took to social media to share concerns about a “toxic manager” who allegedly threatened to report her to senior management and HR if she refused to work on weekends.
Posting her experience on Reddit’s ‘Ask Singapore’ forum, she explained that she had already resigned and was serving her one-month notice period. Despite this, her manager continued pressuring her to clear backlogged tasks, even though they were not particularly urgent.
Initially, she was “willing to work on them on a piecemeal basis”,’ but as her more pressing responsibilities increased, she informed her manager that she could no longer accommodate the non-urgent tasks. In response, her manager instructed her to come into the office on weekends to complete them.
“They then asked me to come into the office during the weekend… I was very shocked by that comment, as they said I was selfish and should have completed them [the tasks] long ago,” she said.
“If I do not come into the office on the weekends, they will report me to the big boss and HR. I was very angry when I saw this comment and was wondering if I could instead report them to HR for being unprofessional. I would appreciate any advice. Thanks!” she added.
“HR is not your friend.”
In the discussion thread, several commenters advised her to stand her ground and politely inform her manager that she would not be working on weekends.
Others recommended that she keep a record of all interactions with her manager, especially written messages or emails, as these could serve as evidence if she decided to escalate the issue to HR or the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
Some pointed out that forcing an employee to work on weekends without prior agreement could be a violation of employment regulations.
One commenter wrote, “Lol that company siao ah? If it was already stated clearly from the start that the weekends [are] not part of the official working hours in the written contract, then don’t care about them.
“What are they gonna do? Fire you faster when you’re already leaving? Sue you when you didn’t break any terms in the contract?”
Another added, “It’s very obvious that they already taking advantage and targeting you and just want [to] make your life as difficult as they can the moment you submit your notice. So even if you never comply, they wouldn’t make good reference checks regardless, so there’s no point in working so hard.”
A third commenter reminded her, “You are not obligated to work outside your normal working hours. Furthermore, you are serving notice. Gather evidence and report to HR if there is a clear abuse of power.
“The worst they could do is make you leave earlier. They still have to pay you notice regardless and that is provided what you said is the truth and no workplace misconduct from your end.”
According to the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), if an employer dismisses someone for poor performance or misconduct, they must conduct a proper inquiry and provide supporting evidence, such as performance reviews or other documents. If they fail to do so, the dismissal could be deemed wrongful.
Employees who feel they were unfairly let go or that proper procedures weren’t followed can file a claim with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) within one month of their last working day.
Read also: My manager lied to get me fired—Is this office slander?
Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)