EP Expiry Change of Employer

[143SG]

Hi All,

Please advise me on the below - I started working in an Inv Bank in Singapore last year on a EP filed by a recruiting agency based in Singapore and I was on their payrolls. I worked there for 2 months until something bad happened & I had to rush back to my home land/country on some serious family emergencies to take control of the things at home since I was the only child in the home.. The situation was so serious that I could not stay back in SG to complete my notice period with this agency as well. This has not gone down well with the agency and they have been pestering me to pay approx 12k SGD as penalty for leaving without serving notice. I do respect this but my family situation was of utmost important at that point in time and I had to rush back. Even after I had left Singapore, this agency never cancelled my EP and kept demanding the money by making calls/mails to me. They pressurized me to pay them but 12k sgd is not a small money for a middle class guy like me & hence I said I could not pay this amt to them.This agency had been v bad treaters of their employees, and I don't want to join them back.Now this EP is going to expire in another couple of months. Can I re-look at Singapore and get/earn a new job with a different employer & expect to arrive in Singapore through this new firm's EP.

I really expect some expert opinion here. Please let me know of all the possibilities....

This should help me a lot...

[sundaymorningstaple]

So, let me get this correct. You did a runner without notifying your employer or asking for unpaid leave. You left your employer in the lurch, especially considering the levies for S pass workers is not $470/mo additional cost to the employer. You left without filing an IR-21. You left without getting tax clearance. As an HR manager with approximately 90 S passholders, it is my feelings that they should hang you out to dry. You should be banned from Singapore permanantly as obviously working here means nothing to you, nor do you seem to have any ethics.

Had you been my employee, I would have filed a police report as soon as I found out. Any employee who leaves without discussing it with the employer, doesn't deserve to be allowed to work in Singapore. (Which I did to one last week if you want to know the truth - he got his bonus and left two days later). Good employer or bad employer, you have your own reputation to think about. When you next potential employer asks you why you left you last job, what are you going to tell them. The truth or are you going to lie to try to cover up your actions. As far as your 12K fine is concerned, don't bother trying to get another job in Singapore as you will be subject to civil action if you broke the terms of your contract. If your contract had a 3 or 6 month termination clause or equivalent Salary in Lieu of, then you are legally obligated to pay it, regardless of the reasons for leaving.

Good Luck - you are going to need it. Burning bridges is never a good idea.

[zzm9980]

OP,

Did you consider contacting your HR for temporary unpaid leave? You're not the first person to ever have had a family emergency. I know it's too late for you now, but hopefully someone else researching this in the future will think about it.

For your own situation? No sympathy from me. The last thing Singapore needs is another person too lazy/ignorant to ask questions or do minimal research on their own, then expect to get forgiven for it.