‘It seems incredibly unreasonable’: Singaporean employee pressured to sign addendum extending notice period to 9 months

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean employee working at a multinational corporation (MNC) in the financial sector is reportedly being pressured by management to sign an addendum that would extend their notice period to a total of nine months.

According to a Reddit post shared on Wednesday (Apr 9) by a friend of the employee, the original notice period stated in the contract was six months. However, after the company distributed its annual bonuses—which were described as “bad”—many employees began to tender their resignations.

In response, the company allegedly introduced a new policy requiring those who resign to serve a nine-month notice period. This consists of a three-month official notice followed by six months of garden leave, during which the employee remains on the payroll but is not actively working.

Questioning the legality and fairness of the move, the friend asked the online community, “Is it illegal for a company to impose a nine-month notice period? Is this even allowed? It seems incredibly unreasonable and not something commonly heard of.”

In the comments, one Singaporean Redditor responded, “It’s probably not illegal. Usually they give garden leave, which means you are paid during the notice period. That is ok. If you still need to work, then yeah, probably not.”

Another said, “9 months notice is unheard of for MOST INDUSTRIES. However, it’s not uncommon for quant firms and hedge funds as long as the employee is still being paid during the gardening leave period. In fact, I have personally heard of gardening leave of up to two years for large quant firms.”

A third wrote, “It is possible and not illegal, but you have the option of not signing the addendum. They should have a discussion with the current employees before rolling it out. Your friend can ask the HR or boss what happens if they don’t agree and sign. At most resign or let go? Since it is gardening leave, it means you are paid to literally do nothing, just not allowed to work on and be updated on current information.”

The Ministry of Manpower (MoM) states that any changes to a work contract must be mutually agreed upon by both the employer and employee. Once an agreement is reached, it is important to sign a new contract to avoid any misunderstandings or conflicts. If an agreement cannot be made, either party has the right to terminate the contract.

Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)