#TalkBack: can your employer make you retire?

Now, talk back with Daniel Martin on CNA 938. Do you know your rights? If your company says it's time to retire. Welcome in everybody to talk back. Maybe you've not fought about it, maybe you've not planned for it. Or maybe you think your company will be just telling you in your best interests. What is available for you? But that wasn't necessarily the case for 63-year-old employee in Singapore who is one more than $26,000 in Singapore dollars at the Employment Claims Tribunals. You see, his employer terminated his employment without notice just a little while after he turned 63, which is the retirement age. So he'd asked about the Reemployment Options. There's the Reemployment Contract. That can be negotiated as well. He was offered a six-month roll at Lower Pay and given a non-negotiable one-week deadline to decide which he rejected. Now, the Tribunal found that the company had not met its legal obligations in handling his retirement and Reemployment. When or if you come to that point where you have a sit-down HR or your superiors and they say, "Okay." Many things can happen. Sometimes there can be structural things that are mentioned like Reemployment, like the idea of a contract, less a pay, fewer days in the office, but still performing a function. Many people wouldn't like that as a stepping stone into the retirement wall. The structural things that can be mentioned sometimes there's emotional blackmail as well. Like you might anecdotally hear bosses mention things like, "Don't you think it's time to retire?" Probably time to make way right for the newer younger people. Yeah, I think you want to go and enjoy life, right? I mean, stuff like that. I don't know the quality of saying stuff like that as well. So it's a good thing I brought on a lawyer until today's edition. My question is, do you know your rights? When your company says "retire," join the discussion. How you'll say it's talk-back with Daniel Martin. Call in 669-11938 or WhatsApp 963-11938. Many of you might not have thought about it yet. It's a scary thought, right? How this topic could be broached with you as 63 rapidly approaches for you or your loved ones? Samuel Yan is joining me, managing director of UN Law. If you have any questions for Samuel, you're also welcome to send them across. Now, UN Law practices, the UN Law practice rather includes labor and employment. Law Samuel, welcome to the show. Good to connect. Hello. Hi, Daniel. Good to hear from you again and good to be on the show again. I'm so glad to have you on board for this topic. It's right up your alley. First off, okay, we're not going to deal fully with this particular case. We're going to ask some wider questions for the audience. But let's deal with this case a little bit first. Fundamentally, how come this individual was able to win this positioning? What was the wrongdoing here? Well, that's a very good question. And a lot of us don't realize this. But if you are asked to retire, you must also receive a due notice. So if your contract provides for three months of notice, you are supposed to get three months of notice. So I would say that the wrongdoing here is that there was an, of course, an allegation for wrongful dismissal. And there was a non payment of the EAP or the employment assistance payment. So when you add it up altogether, it works out to be the $20,000 plus that you were talking about. It is interesting to note that the EAP maxes out at $14,750. And in the end, our 63-year-old guy was actually paid the equivalent of two months' pay and the EAP. Got it. Okay. So those were some of the technicalities. And of course, you can read out more about it on CNA.Asia right now. Samuel, let's talk about the wider issue. Reaching retirement age as you're approaching 63. Does that automatically mean your company can tell you okay time to retire? Bye-bye. Well, Daniel, I think it depends on the industry. But generally speaking, no, hitting your retirement age doesn't mean that you have to retire. What can happen at that point instead? Will something happen? Will most companies now opt for Reemployment Contract Options? So therefore you can possibly expect less to pay and you know, concurrently less hours as well. Yeah, I think where the re-re-re-re-re-re-employment act is coming from is that in some of the jobs that we have in our economy, you need to be physically and medically fit in order to do those jobs. Right. So if you're not medically fit, you can be a danger to yourself and to others. So in, yes, I will say that every employee is entitled to be offered re-employment when they hit the minimum retirement age. Right. So currently 64. However, re-employment is only offered to Singaporean citizens PRs and you must have at least served for two years before turning 64. So yes, your company can still love you when you are 64. But at the same time, you must also demonstrate that you have satisfactory work performances and you are medically fit to continue in the same role. Now interestingly enough, Daniel, there are some industries which are by law, okay, a contact with exam notification of 2011, exam from re-employment and these include of curiously enough. Kevin crew, soldiers, public officers in the police presence and our narcotics and basically public officers in a certain, I will say physical roles. Yeah, I can sense that that's the commonality there, which is the physical aspect of it. So those are not only those key ones, yeah. There are more, but of course in the interest of time, I wouldn't list them out for you. But they share similar common threads. Yes, similar threads. Interesting. Okay. So, earlier on I talked about things that a company might broach with you as you approach the retirement age. There might be the meeting where both parties, you, the employee and you, your employer start discussing the idea of a re-employment contract. Or what if there are things mentioned anecdotally by the wayside that seem to be pushing you away as well, like, time to retire. Aren't you looking forward to spending more time with your family? Don't you want to go and travel the world? Like, isn't that like, is there a legality associated with things like that? Then you're absolutely because before you reach a retirement age, the employer must actually start formal consultation discussions with the employee. In this case, yeah. So you must talk about your future re-employment options, job to go salary adjustments, etc. And three months before the re-employment, again, before retirement salary, if you qualify for re-employment, the employer must then issue you with a re-employment contract offer. At least three months before you turn 64. Is it so there is a formal process to it. So what about those, you know, those mentions, those key phrases, is there anything that can be done about that? Well, so if your employer starts telling you, oh, you know, Abaan, maybe it's time for you to go and enjoy time with your wife, go bali, or whatever. The culture is just a suggestion. Right, because at the end of the day, your employment is hopefully, I hope, for everybody, governed by an employment contract. And it has to go according to that employment contract. So when we talk about re-employment, okay, this is a statutory mechanism, and it requires a formal process. So if your employer tells you, oh, maybe it's time to take it easy, you know, maybe leave it to the younger generation. Well, put it this way, unless Ronaldo doesn't get picked for the Portuguese national team, he is still in with a shout to play at the next World Cup, right? I'm here and do my contract, says so. Yeah. But still, there was a way HR could step in. And you know, just like you can't ask certain questions during a job interview, whether or not somebody is planning to have a family, things like that. Likewise, you know, even these well-minded words can be interpreted as trying to make you voluntarily retire, even though you don't want to. Well, it is possible, but you know, Daniel, I'm going to use the lawyers favorite phrase. it more depends. Yeah, so at some times, yeah, it becomes a bit too intense, you know, it could be a form of harassment, but at the end of the day, it must be a formal process. If the company doesn't want you around, they must tell you, okay, sir, you have hit a certain age and I think you're no longer suitable for a job. Here's your notice. In fact, in most cases, if you look at your employment contracts, generally speaking, you are able to just receive a notice from your employer without any reasons given as to why you have served notice. Let's go to our WhatsApp hotline 96311938 Samuel again is joining me, managing director of UN Law. They practice labor and employment law. We're asking the question today, do you know your rights? When your company says retire, earlier on, you mentioned Samuel this idea of, you know, the technicality of if you are found suitable and fit for reemployment, then you'll be offered the reemployment contract. One of my listeners WhatsApp to cross with the question pertaining to that, saying, how do you challenge whether or not your company, let me rephrase that, up our phrase, how can you challenge your company's decision not to offer your reemployment contract saying that you are not fit. I feel that they use things like the number of MCDs I took as well as my claims on health insurance. I don't think that's right or justification if it was within my reason to take those. It was my company benefits after all. Is that a factor or a reason for to find me unsuitable for reemployment? I guess it's good to help you. Yes, let's do that. If you have MCDs, I mean, if you're entitled to take up to 14 days, have you taken them right? Of course, it can't be held against you. But if your medical leave, okay, is a result or a cause by the fact that you are injured by the processes that we should not have injured you, then that has to be taken to consultation or into consideration at the very least. If you are supposed to be walking, say, 10 clicks a day as part of your job, but every time after the 10 click, you go for MCD and you know, you find that I've planted a file share date or some other problem which prevents you from doing your job, then you do have to ask, are you medically fit to continue working in that particular position? Now, reemployment has its benefits in that your company can choose to redeploy you. It can be an entirely different scope of work, but you stay at work. In many ways, while they cannot claim MC per se as something to fire you, because you're entitled to take up to 14 days in most cases, you have to see what causes you have to look at it in context. And you know, Daniel, lawyer's favorite phrase, it all depends. So you have to look at what? If you look at the case where you matched out your MC as well as your hospitalisation and then additional needs, we will have a problem, right? Yeah. I mean, but not all jobs require full mobility. Again, everything also depends on the nature of the job. Oh yeah, certainly, certainly. I know of very astute lawyers in their 90s who are still added. I love that. And I think it's going there, Darius. Yeah, unfortunately, hello, you saw that in Japan. We're seeing that with our super agent population here in Singapore as well. Yeah. Some people are going to work because they want to, others because they have to, but to have to. Yeah. Another one, Daniel, let's go back to that point about about the listener who asked a question about being forced out. So, yeah, you know, internally, you can actually escalate it, you know, go through HR. If you are a unionized, talk to your union member representative, I mean, if it doesn't work, go to TADM, all right, talk about it. And you can also at some point launch and appeal to the minister of manpower. Okay, there are various channels open and you can go through them level by level. Interesting. Good. If you have a union, join it, please. It's a very good idea. Another one, it's coming to a 963 11938. I'm not planning on accepting the re-employment. I'm hoping to continue full-time employment. Is that a possibility after the retirement age or am I automatically defaulted into re-employment? Okay, that's a very good question because it actually takes two hands to clap. In some cases, where if your employer offered you terms that you find totally unacceptable, you may actually negotiate with your employer. If your employee, as an employee, you reject your re-employment offer. Guess what? Your employer can actually take steps to terminate you. If you reject the employment contract, steps because it takes two hands to clap. Yeah. But they must do so with proper notice. Now, what happened to our 63-year champ previously? Was that he was fired without notice? So there was a case for wrongful dismissal. It didn't stick to the letters and terms of the terms of employment, which would have provided for two months notice in this case. If for those of you that don't know what's in your contract, can you go and please go and ask your job? Yes, it's very important. The devil is in the details. But some people will find it out. They'll have a very long time ago. You know what I mean? They can't really find it if they're lifelong employee or something like that. Then how? Your HGR should have a copy of it. And are you still here to solve the design from 20 years ago? Let's say for example. Yeah, of course. Of course. If it's still a valid contract, you are held liable and you are held binding the terms and not updated to reform. You will keep getting your employee. So long as you keep getting your salary and you're still gamefully employed, it applies. But I mean the terms are not updated. It should be updated because you do get a lot of a salary adjustment or promotion or the emotion along the way. So that actually forms part of your employment docket with your HGR. If your HGR doesn't keep one, you know, it's high time they do. Okay. All these paperwork must be maintained in a reasonable way. Yeah. Unfortunately, a lot of us, when we, sorry, a lot of us, when we think on employment, we kind of thought of misplaced our employment contract over time. Yes. Yes. Right. It happens. Right. But your HGR ought to have a copy of it. That is good advice. No, your contract. I know sometimes it sounds like Googley Gook and you can't understand it. Sounds like Loyalies. Maybe find a lawyer and ask them and to explain some of the terms as well. It's worth paying that little consultation fee. Perhaps just to make sense of your employment contract, but get a hold of it. Be aware of your rights based on what is in the contract. Thank you all for joining me and with your questions and what's apps as well. And thank you to my guest Samuel Yuen, managing director of Yuen Law. This has been Toolback.