SINGAPORE: A young woman is pleading for advice online after discovering that her mum is being bullied into working overtime for free.
On Monday (Dec 1), the woman shared in a post on the r/askSingapore forum that her mum’s work usually ends at 5:30 p.m. (as stated in her employment contract), and she normally reaches their house around 6:00 p.m. However, ever since her new boss joined the company, her mum has been coming home past 8:30 p.m. almost every day.
“Her new boss wants everyone in the department to get their work finished, but it’s nearly impossible because for every report completed, five more appear.”
The new boss has also allegedly threatened her mum by saying, “Don’t be surprised if your appraisal is low.”
When the woman asked her mum whether she at least gets compensated for those long hours, her mum told her that neither she nor her colleagues receive any overtime pay at all.
Feeling helpless and unsure of what steps to take, the young woman asked the community what she could do to protect her mum from being taken advantage of.
“A job is only a job. No need to sell your life for it.”
In the discussion thread, one Singaporean Redditor urged her to start with the basics: “Check the contract and the MOM Employment Act. Don’t care about the appraisal. The way they threatened her means they already plan to give her a lower grade. If it can be done tomorrow, do it tomorrow.”
Another commented, “Just go home on time. If a bad appraisal comes, just keep appealing it, and even if she stays back and does the work, a bad appraisal may come anyway.”
Others, however, felt the healthiest solution was to leave. One user wrote, “There is always a better job elsewhere, but she has to spend time searching for it.”
Another remarked, “Such a sadistic manager only behaves like this because they know the employee is afraid of losing the job. A job is only a job. No need to sell your life for it. It’s time to move on and find a better working environment. Such sadists will get their day.”
According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), employees covered under the Employment Act are entitled to overtime pay. This includes non-workmen earning a monthly basic salary of S$2,600 or less, as well as workmen earning up to S$4,500 a month.
For any overtime work, employers are required to pay at least 1.5 times the employee’s hourly basic rate. All overtime payments must be issued within 14 days after the end of the salary period.
