SINGAPORE: A Singaporean employee is allegedly being pressured by his superior to resign, with the threat of tarnishing his reputation with future employers if he doesn’t comply.
Concerned about the potential harm to his career and his reputation, the employee’s friend decided to reach out for support and advice. He took to social media to share the troubling situation and seek guidance from other Singaporeans who might have faced similar challenges.
According to his post on r/askSingapore, his friend was summoned to a meeting where his superior criticized his work as ‘subpar’ and outright called him ‘rubbish.’ He was also told right then and there that his role had been made redundant and that he would need to resign without any compensation.
“If he doesn’t resign, he would be put in Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) because of subpar work. Superior also threatened to badmouth him to future employers for his subpar work, so it’s best that he goes quietly. HR asked him when he would be resigning,” he said.
His friend also revealed that other employees at the same company are receiving similar threats and being pressured to resign.
“This company has announced cost cutting project and doing reorg. And seems like making some people resign without giving out proper retrenchment benefit!” he expressed.
“Any suggestions on what they can do? Some have decided to quietly resign as they see no better way out. I just wonder whether any company here can do something like this quietly to people’s livelihoods and get away scot-free!”
“Report to MOM. You can’t just tell people to resign without any good cause.”
Many netizens were appalled by the revelation. Some argued that threatening to badmouth employees to future employers might constitute criminal intimidation, workplace harassment, and defamation. They emphasized that such actions could severely impact an employee’s career and well-being, and should not be tolerated in a professional environment.
In light of the situation, some suggested that the affected employees gather evidence of these threats and seek legal counsel to address the situation. They advised that employees should document any communications related to the threats and pressure to resign, as this could be crucial in building a case for legal action or complaints to relevant authorities.
Others recommended that the employees consider filing complaints with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) or the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP).
One netizen said, “Report to MOM. You can’t just tell people to resign without any good cause. If it’s performance based, understanding is need to set some performance milestone for the guy to try and meet.
“If role is redundant that means retrenchment. No way pressuring ppl to resign is the right thing. But please make sure your source is really legit and truthful before pointing fingers.”
Another commented, “Based on the post, your friend are being forced to resigned because the company no longer can afford to keep them. Meaning the company isn’t doing well, hence, employer starts to force employees to resign.
“How do define subpar work? Or how does employer define rubbish work? They are just finding all kind of excuses (such as PIP) to make ur friends to resigns for whatever reason. Your friend can try to lodge this to MOM or TAFEP but Singapore is pro employer.”
On the other hand, a few netizens expressed skepticism, suggesting that there might be a possibility that the employee’s friend indeed had subpar performance.
One netizen asked, “Maybe your friend really subpar? Takes two hands to clap. Either the firm or your friend subpar. Just advise your friend to leave.”
Another remarked, “One sided story, maybe your friend’s performance is not up to standard.”
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