Help required on offer letter clause

[bin_dev]

,i am writing this regarding on clarification of a clause in my offer letter.

I signed an offer letter from a company, which contain following condition

"Tenure: Your employment with us would commence in the month of Jan 2020 and would be for a period of one year after which would be extendable based on the need. If you accept the offer letter of xxxx- and fail to join on the joining date, then this employment offer may be withdrawn, and you would be liable to pay one (1) month’s gross salary as compensation.".

But unfortunately my health condition get worst and need immediate medical assistance . i informed my situation along with my health report . but the company now forcing me to join ,if i failed to join ,then i want to pay the money .


i haven't received any confidential information, signed any contract ,payment or any kind of benefits from the respective company even i never landed in Singapore.also i noticed that they applied EP but its status is 'pending' .



i would like to know ,
1.) can company take legal action against me or i should pay amount to the company as per the agreement.?
2.) How long an employer can keep EP application 'active', will this cause any issue of my future travelling to Singpore.
3.) Will MoM reject the pending EP after a certain days ?.


your reply would be great because this is stressful situation and i am suffering pain both physically & mentally .

[PNGMK]

It would be quite difficult to force you to pay if you haven't started employment. You may need a solicitor to write a letter back to the company if you don't proceed.

[sundaymorningstaple]

All employment contract in Singapore are not valid until and employment pass has been issued. An IPA (In Principle Approval) is not an Employment Pass until you go through final formalities. AS you have not yet received the IPA, you have no legal obligation to them whatsoever. As PNGMK mentioned, you could hire a solicitor to write a letter to the Company. Me? I wouldn't waste the time or money as the Offer Letter is not a contract and as noted, even if it was, it's validity does not start until the Work Pass has been issued.