Can my employer sue me?

[Porkie]

hmm.. have no intention of signing... cos i need to clarfiy with the company what's their prupose of backdating.. does it mean to them that i currently do not have any appointment contract cos if thats the case then joining the client's would b very straightforward with no strings attached because it's a loophole that the company didnt get me to sign a new appointment letter upon joining back.

But if its the opposite case they insist that the old appointment letter is still effective just that they have made some amendments n hence a new appointment letter is out then it will b a different case.

wadever it is.. isnt the 1st situation better? so that in future whem im with the client's company, we could still have business dealings since relationships are not srained... wherelse if this job hopping incident souring our r/s it wont be beneficial to the consutancy either cos he might lose his business in the future with the client. Furthermore, the client is also aware of my current situation n he actually agrees that i shouldnt sign n if he were in my shoes, he wont have signed either.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Frankly, I wouldn't sign it. But then again, I'm willing to go the distance if need be just to prove a point. Most aren't, and who can blame them.

^^^^

Re-read my first sentence above.

[Porkie]

Yeap ! Agree !

[Porkie]

has been some time since this appointment thingy has been going on n now is the critical time for bonus n salary n so here come my boss's evil tactic. he actually on hold my salary n bonus. Others all gotten their salary on 28th Jan and half month bonus while me... due to not signing the new unreasonable contract, my salary was only given today and no bonus too. *sad*

[ecureilx]

has been some time since this appointment thingy has been going on n now is the critical time for bonus n salary n so here come my boss's evil tactic. he actually on hold my salary n bonus. Others all gotten their salary on 28th Jan and half month bonus while me... due to not signing the new unreasonable contract, my salary was only given today and no bonus too. *sad*

I think I lost the plot - now that your boss knows you are planning to jump ship, he held back your bonus ?? Or did I miss something ???

And I thought you are anyway leaving, and that's called "RISK" and if you are jumping ship for a higher pay, why blame your soon-to-be ex boss ???

[Porkie]

my boss cannot confirm if im leaving he just purposely came out wif this new contract thingy to test water and to ensure all staffs are on his side b4 he distribute the bonus. if not why come out new contract prior to bonus time, he's a stingy guy la anyway he not giving full bonus just partial only and the leftover still got another round of bit by bit too, he always uses this tactic of holding on to ur bonus n slowly distribute to ensure his staffs dun leave. So mean. But bonus is based on last yr's performance how can he hold back?

[sundaymorningstaple]

I'll bet you he gives the bonus out of his own pocket as well doesn't he. No CPF deduction, not reported to IRAS either I'll warrant. I know several employers who do that.

[Porkie]

nope. he uses the company's fund la... he where got so noble to use his own money. he n the other partner can buy new car together somemore is not cheap cars... den when it comes to bonus everytime sure lotsa of excuses 1 la.. last yr bought new car den bonus says company never earn $ and he bought the car from his own savings... if we workers never work he where got money? his business is relying on us 1 leh.. his is not retail business. somemore still wanna lie say he only top up not much for his new car after selling off his 5 yrs old jap car. now is he purposely dun wanna pay bonus to those whom are not signing the new contract 1 la.. he already said so clearly over the phone that day that the contract will play a key consideration to our bonus n its so obvious now that i didnt sign i only received my salary n no bonus n its much later than the rest of my colleagues.

[ecureilx]

nope. he uses the company's fund la... he where got so noble to use his own money. he n the other partner can buy new car together somemore is not cheap cars... den when it comes to bonus everytime sure lotsa of excuses 1 la.. last yr bought new car den bonus says company never earn $ and he bought the car from his own savings... if we workers never work he where got money? his business is relying on us 1 leh.. his is not retail business. somemore still wanna lie say he only top up not much for his new car after selling off his 5 yrs old jap car. now is he purposely dun wanna pay bonus to those whom are not signing the new contract 1 la.. he already said so clearly over the phone that day that the contract will play a key consideration to our bonus n its so obvious now that i didnt sign i only received my salary n no bonus n its much later than the rest of my colleagues.

are you working for this guy, whose surname is Lim ?? Sure sounds like an ex-boss of mine, who used to do such silly antics ..

Anyway, as an employee, what the boss does is none of your business - he maybe director in another company, or he is part of an illegal mafia, or a drug dealer in his part time, or who knows, he maybe the missing Italian Gangster quitely living his life here .. or his wife maybe the owner of the car - been there, seen that .. I know a guy, who is a Sales Manager in a company, living in a Bungalow house, and drives a Jag, and does it mean he has to reveal where he got his money or share with others ??

If you are so distressed that your boss is using your bonus to buy himself a new car - I have one solution - FIND ANOTHER BOSS No, I am not kidding .. you should stop, take a look at yourself, and find another job ..

And which part of the law says Bonus is compulsory ?? The companies I worked for, except one, had the policy of individual bonus - so based on your performance, attitude and willingness to learn / upgrade yourself, one guy may get 3 months bonus, and the next - ZILCH ..

Life sucks, doesn't it ???

[Porkie]

if he has a clear conscience he wont have to lie to the employees how he bought his car la... somemore hide here n there... scared ppl see his new car so lied he didnt drive that day but then still kena spotted by other colleague that he "beep" his new car while walking towards it. He even bother to think of a very long excuse of how he bought n the amount he gets to offset... isnt he making everyone more curious... even though bonus is not compulsory but now his point is he is not giving for those whom are not signing the contract. so this is unfair... its obvious he is threatening the staffs wif their bonus. if he has no intent to distribute the bonus den should b everyone doesnt get it now its not...

[sundaymorningstaple]

Porkie,

Is your bonus spelled out in your employment contract/letter? If not, here's the scoop:

In Singapore, there is no law to force any employer to pay a year-end bonus unless......

It's written out in your contract specifying the amount either in dollars or percentage of basic salary, OR

You are part of a Union Shop and AWS (Annual Wage Supplement) is written into the collective agreement of the Union agreement with the employer.

AWS is going the way of the Dodo. Most employers are moving away from that antiquated system as it is a relic from colonial days and not conducive with today rapidly changing economy.

Otherwise, any bonuses are optional and totally discretionary on the part of the management. Yes, they can use the carrot & stick approach with employees. It's not illegal, even though it is unethical. The only thing you can do is complain with your feet by leaving the company or signing a contract that screws you anyway. Basically, I don't know why one would WANT to work for that kind of company, unless they just are able to find a job elsewhere.

But, there you go. The ball is in your court.

[Porkie]

SMS,

ya i know bonus is not compulsory ma.. boss purposely use the bonus to make employees yield to his call. He only revealing how petty and mean his character is... but surprisingly almost all employees signed the new contract... but when they have the intention to leave that time they will realise they r foolish to sign... esp when their situation is same as mine...

[ecureilx]

if he has a clear conscience he wont have to lie to the employees how he bought his car la... somemore hide here n there... scared ppl see his new car so lied he didnt drive that day but then still kena spotted by other colleague that he "beep" his new car while walking towards it. He even bother to think of a very long excuse of how he bought n the amount he gets to offset... isnt he making everyone more curious... even though bonus is not compulsory but now his point is he is not giving for those whom are not signing the contract. so this is unfair... its obvious he is threatening the staffs wif their bonus. if he has no intent to distribute the bonus den should b everyone doesnt get it now its not...

You big story writer ??

[ecureilx]

The only thing you can do is complain with your feet by leaving the company or signing a contract that screws you anyway. Basically, I don't know why one would WANT to work for that kind of company, unless they just are able to find a job elsewhere.

Couldn't have said it better .. and the more you whine to your colleagues, you never know which smart / polically inclined one is busy passing this info to your boss and futher reducing your chance.

if you need the job, just bite the bullet, and don't bother where the boss gets his money for his car etc. etc.

Or find another job

I was caught in a similar situation, where all those who signed were transferred to the new company, and those who didn't were terminated effectively as the old company was liquidated (another scam by the then boss I was working for .. ) and the new company terms were not as good as the old one- 9 out of 10 - including me - signed .. and that shows how much they needed the job than fretting about what the boss is doing with his mega profits ..

[Porkie]

no more guessing or discussions required, have consulted a lawyer's opinion...