Wah, this kind of blur sotong boss story really confirm make your kopi go cold one!

Imagine slogging your guts out until your bosses give you an “excellent” performance rating, only for a brand-new director to waltz in like he owns the coffeeshop and decide you don’t fit his “grand vision”—purely because you committed the absolute crime of wanting to give birth and take legal maternity leave.

The Plot Thickens (and Blood Boils)

The saga features an executive referred to as “C”, who had been working hard since April 2021. Fast forward to March 2023, a new director by the name of Mr. EC steps into the picture.

During a one-on-one lunch, C responsibly updates him that she’s expecting a little one due in October. Did he say congratulations and hand her a tissue? Nope. Instead, things took a weird, shady turn.

By July 2023, C’s performance review was glowing. Even Mr. EC himself agreed her performance was good, with her previous director praising her “healthy growth mindset” and impressive ability to tackle multi-disciplinary projects. But behind the scenes, the wheels were already turning.

Hospital Stays and Unwanted “Quick Chats”

By September 2023, things got heavy. C was 36 weeks pregnant and landed in the hospital with high blood pressure and pregnancy complications.

You’d think a medical emergency would earn a worker some peace, right? Think again.

While C was laid up in a hospital bed trying to keep herself and her baby safe, the company’s HR and management started hounding her about her leave plans.

On October 4, after persistent prodding, she had a phone call with Mr. EC—which, thankfully, her sharp-thinking husband recorded entirely.

During that call, Mr. EC dropped the ultimate masterclass in zero-EQ corporate speak.

He told her straight up that she didn’t fit into his “new vision” for the team. His brilliant, patronizing solution?

“My preference… is that I feel it would be cleaner to terminate after the maternity, right, rather than leave things up in the air, and so that you can also be fully focused on your family time…”

Aha! Translate that from corporate-speak: “We want you out because you’re having a baby, but we’ll ‘allow’ you to collect your maternity pay so we look legally safe.”

He even had the cheek to suggest that if she really wanted to crawl back after giving birth, she’d have to go through a fresh interview and beg for whatever scraps of an open slot might be left.

What the Law Says About Pregnancy and Dismissal

In Singapore, the law takes a very dim view of companies trying to push out expecting mothers.

Under the Employment Act and the Child Development Co-Savings Act (CDCSA), female employees are legally protected:

• The 3-Month Rule: If an employee has served her employer for at least 3 continuous months before receiving a notice of dismissal, she has strict maternity protection against retrenchment and dismissal without sufficient cause.

• Strict Prohibitions: Under Section 81 of the Employment Act, employers are explicitly prohibited from giving notice of termination while an employee is on maternity leave, or timing a notice of termination to expire during her maternity leave.

• The Definition of “Sufficient Cause”: Dismissing a pregnant employee is only permissible if there is “sufficient cause” (such as proven, severe misconduct established through a proper due inquiry).

Disliking someone’s absence due to hospitalisation or maternity leave—both of which are legal employment rights—does not constitute sufficient cause and amounts to unlawful, discriminatory wrongful dismissal.

Enter the Tribunal: Karma Comes Express

Naturally, C wasn’t going to take that lying down. After being forced into resignation, she brought the case to the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT), and District Magistrate Lee Li Choon did not play play.

The magistrate listened to the recorded call and saw right through the company’s wayang. She pointed out that C’s stellar performance appraisals completely contradicted Mr. EC’s flimsy excuse that she didn’t fit his vision.

The real culprit? Pure, unadulterated discrimination against a mother for daring to exercise her legal employment rights to hospitalisation and maternity leave.

The tribunal hammered the company hard, awarding C a sweet S$19,800—covering three full months of gross salary for the wrongful dismissal, plus another three months’ pay purely for the emotional distress, anxiety, and deep insensitivity thrust upon her during her confinement period.

The Takeaway

If there’s any grand lesson to be learned here, it’s this: don’t ever play punk with working mums, and always keep your digital receipts!

Treating an expecting mother like she’s a disposable office stapler violates Singapore labor protections and makes for an extremely expensive mistake.

As for Mr. EC’s “grand vision”? Well, it certainly cost his company a pretty penny.

Time to sip that kopi in peace, knowing justice was served!

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