SINGAPORE: A fresh grad took to social media to share that a recruiter has been pressuring her to sign a contract that would penalize her with one month’s salary if she left her job within the first three months.
In her post on r/askSingapore, she mentioned that she had already signed the employment contract and was in her first week at her new job when the recruiter unexpectedly presented her with this “additional contract.”
“The reason why I find this to be an issue is because in the first week that I was working, I’ve already noticed that management/higher ups tend to be quite condescending towards my supervisor/people in my department and openly berating them,” she explained.
“I’ve overheard them saying things like ‘how come you don’t know?’ and ‘I don’t know how I am going to teach you all how to do this, you guys learn on your own’.”
To add to her stress, she discovered that almost everyone in her department communicated in Mandarin, leaving her struggling with the language barrier.
While she was willing to learn the language, she feared she might end up “becoming a punching bag” for her coworkers and bosses if she didn’t learn it fast enough.
“I’m not very used to speaking mandarin in general so there’s already quite a few terms that I’m not familiar with and I already feel like I am being ostracized by my colleagues,” she explained further.
“My friend suggested for me to just ignore the recruiter and not sign the contract since I’ve already secured the employment; however I’m not too sure if I would be allowed to do that,” she added.
“I would appreciate it if anyone can give any input on this situation or if they have any similar experiences,” she asked for advice.
“Don’t sign anything with the recruiter, it’s not how it works.”
In the comments section, the Redditors thought it was fishy for the recruitment agency to ask her to sign such a contract.
One individual mentioned that the only recruiters who do this are the shady types that place foreign employees and take a portion of their pay.
He added, “They receive commission from the employer, not the employee… It’s really nasty of them to try and scam a fresh grad.”
Another explained, “The recruitment company is paid after 3 months, if you leave before that, the recruiter has to send in a replacement. It is not necessary to sign the contract with the recruiter.”
A third individual commented, “Don’t sign anything with the recruiter. It’s not how it works. As for the work culture, it sounds pretty toxic SMEish. the words are all too familiar.”
Should job seekers have to pay for recruitment services?
According to recruitment agencies, Reedglobal and CGP Singapore, job seekers do not have to pay recruiters anything.
Typically, it’s the employer who covers the cost of recruitment services. They pay the agency to hunt down and secure the right candidate, and this fee is paid once the candidate has been hired and starts working.
If a recruiter tries to get you to pay upfront or pushes you to sign an “additional contract” that says you have to cough up a month’s salary if you quit within three months, it’s a red flag.
That’s not how things usually go in the industry, so it’s smart to question why they’re asking for that before you agree to anything.
Moreover, numerous Singaporean job seekers have shared on online forums that they have encountered this “penalty clause” many times before. Apparently, some recruitment agencies do insert this clause from time to time.
However, these job seekers said they did not agree to such demands and had the clause deleted before signing the contract.
One Singaporean shared, “I just told the agent I don’t agree to these terms, since anyways I also accepted the offer from the employer liao.
Agent says ok she can waive. Like the others said, if you find something you do not agree with, bring it up to them. If you can strike off, strike off. Else, can negotiate.”
Another Singaporean offered advice to those who come across such a clause, saying:
“Just delete that clause and refuse to sign the contract if the clause is not deleted on grounds that the clause is not a market norm. Ask the recruitment agency whether they had inserted the clause with your employer’s knowledge and consent.”
Read also: “I’m starting to draw the line now” – Man grows tired of financially supporting his single parent
Featured image by Depositphotos
