SINGAPORE: A new father took to social media on Thursday (Aug 6) to share that he was “slapped with a PIP” as soon as he returned to the office from paternity leave.
In a post on the r/askSingapore forum, the father said he was called in by his managers shortly after returning to work and told he was being placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). According to him, they tried to soften the blow by telling him to “treat it like a new job scope.”
He said the PIP cited attendance issues, something he admitted he had expected, and also introduced a fresh set of responsibilities under a different role within the same department.
The news could not have come at a worse time. With a newborn at home and his family relying entirely on his income, he said the possibility of losing his job had left him feeling overwhelmed.
“I know I’m still very junior, only 3 YOE. However, the idea of losing my statutory benefits, my paycheck if there’s a sudden decision to terminate me—it’s all suddenly piling on, like the whole world is crumbling down.”
Feeling backed into a corner, he sought advice online, asking whether he should try to survive the PIP or start looking for another employer.
“How do I move forward from here? Just ride out the PIP? Start looking for new jobs, but I’ll lose my government-shared parental leave benefits?”
“I’m stressed, I’m lost, I’m going to lose it,” he added.
“Best to just find a new job while you are on PIP”
In the comments, many Redditors advised the post author not to count on surviving the PIP and encouraged him to start looking for another job while he still could.
One user commented, “PIP is basically the company trying to fire you but doing it gently. Just perform as per normal within limits. And start sourcing for a new job.”
Another wrote, “Sometimes companies may discriminate against ‘paternity leave’ way more than ‘maternity leave’ even though they provide it. Did you properly discuss it with your manager before you took your paternity leave?”
“Sometimes I wonder why they even allow paternity leave in the first place…and yet the government wants us to increase the TFR rate..with this kind of mindset among employers. Best to just find a new job while you are on PIP to play safe. You are already marked by your department heads/managers.”
A few others, however, felt he should not let the matter slide and encouraged him to document everything in case he needed to escalate the issue.
One user said, “Paternity leave is covered by the government; it’s not paid to you by the company’s profit. If you were placed into PIP solely because of PL and subsequently dismissed, you’ve got a high chance of winning this case.”
According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), employees who believe they have been unfairly dismissed may file a wrongful dismissal claim with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM).
Such claims should be filed within one month of the employee’s last day of employment.
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