Singapore employee questions S$15 fine after SME boss penalises him for being 13 minutes late
A 13-minute delay came with a S$15 price tag. The employee is now asking whether that price is legal. This article ( Singapore employee questions S$15 fine after SME boss penalises him for being 13 minutes late ) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News .
A Singapore employee questioned the legality of a S$15 fine imposed by his small business employer for arriving 13 minutes late to work. The employee, who worked for a company with just two colleagues and a senior boss, had previously been warned about arriving late, including a previous instance where his friend was fined S$15 for being 15 minutes late.
Seeking advice on the r/asksg forum, the employee explained that he could not afford to pay the fine immediately, as he had bills to clear and needed to wait for his first pay. Several forum users argued that the employer could not legally impose such a fine, citing the need for a minimum hourly wage and the lack of a contract clause allowing for fines.
Some suggested the employee should fight the fine by complaining to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), while others advised him to simply leave the company. The MOM clarified that employers can make salary deductions for late arrivals, but the deduction must be limited to the actual period of absence.
Written by urgent.news from The Independent Singapore's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
