Help!!!

[Smithy]

My wife and family relocated in May of this year for an exciting new job in tropical Singapore! I had only been out once before in February for an interview and was pretty much taken in by the island itself and the geographical location etc. etc. I resigned my position in a major UK publishing house, sold the house, car and we moved into a serviced apartment while we looked for permanent abode.
The alarm bells started to ring at work when my company refused to pay for my wife and son's air ticket from England! I was maybe (definitely) naive, but I was never aware of these 'Expat Packages' the vast majority of expats have over here. My employer not surprisingly never made any reference to them and just offered my a basic salary, plus minimal relocation costs - but hey we didn't really come for the money, we wanted to see some of Asia and we knew it would be a
fantastic experience for our 8 year old.
We moved into a condo and put our son in an international school, my wife was looking for a job and things were trotting along nicely. The only blot on the landscape was work, it was extremely disorganized, had old technology which desperately needed updating and 90% of the software was illegally purchased at
Sim Lin Square! As the months went by after various rejected business plans, due to lack of funds, things were looking a tad bleak. I had several meetings with  my boss to discuss the situation, there seemed little point in my being there if I can't change anything, develop new business or even buy legal software applications. He agreed and fired me! So now I find myself, unemployed three weeks before Christmas in Singapore - not exactly what I planned. My ex-boss has offered me the absolute minimum in terms severance pay. Is this legal without a written or verbal warning? He has to repatriate me, but probably won't pay for my family (again). Could anyone give me any help?

[Iceman]

Please tell me the company you're talking about is not Ikom...

If it is, then I know someone who went thru the same thing, got a new job and won an action against them in court.

Start with finding a good lawyer (who gives free advice) and then let me know if you need more.

[different kind of help]

I know a v good way for you to get the free legal advice you need, govt help and possibly a new job but the only downside is publicity -- I recommend you contact the newspapers, Straits Times or the tabloids and no doubt if the whole story sounds as terrible as that, they will take great delight in running the story and getting in touch with your ex-employer. Then they'll either contact a lawyer and ministry of manpower for ocmment or the latter will try to get in touch with you if you have a valid case against the company. Your story has an interesting enough twist: foreign talent screwed by Singaporean company. I'm not being cruel you understand, I think it's really crappy and hope that your other expriences of Singapore are more pleasant but I reckon that this could be your best ticket. the government would nat take kindly to Singapore building up a reputation like this

[BoardManager]

I would suggest that you refer to the Employment Contract. Most (thinking) bosses would not put themselves out - unless he is a) confident he is doing it correctly and safely;
b) there are grounds to do so, eg there was a breach of contract;
c) he is of an unsound mind.

The other thing to do is to consult a lawyer. They are the best persons to help. It will cost a little, but proper advice is what you need. At least they will advise course/s of action to
a) get redress;
b) maximise monetary, 'mental and emotional' claims;
c) otherwise minimise your losses and exposure.

Playing it up through the newspapers may backfire, so be very careful.

Email me at manager@expatsingapore.com or call 2266 062 and I can recommend a lawyer.

[This message has been edited by BoardManager (edited 06-12-2000).]

[Iceman]

I agree with the BoardManager about holding back on the publicity - it's my game and you find most publishers here are actually international companies.

Most importantly it sounds like they are treating you unlawfully - ergo the lawyer.  Also, if you've got good skills there's a load of media jobs about in this town at the moment, just go straight the publishing houses you want to work for and see what's available...

[Smithy]

Iceman,

Thanks for your reply, I will contact a lawyer. Do you have any contacts in any of the publishing houses here? or do you now of anyone that does?

Many thanks.

[jane c]

Smithy

Sori to hear about your situation. You may wish to check out www.asiaone.com.  This is the Singapore Press Holdings website where you can get email addresses of the editors for the major publications in Singapore. Good luck!