Mr Lee, a 64-year-old delivery driver, did not receive employers’ CPF contributions and company benefits including his medical and annual leave for the past 15 years.
He worked for two logistics companies (4 years and 11 years in each) and his employers treated him as a contract worker while hiring him on “contract for service”.
Under the Employment Act, people engaged in “contract for service” are independent contractors.
Independent contractors carry out their business on their own account. They are not covered under the Employment Act and do not receive company’s benefits.
What comes to mind are the Uber and Grab drivers who have the flexibility to decide when to drive and how long to drive in a day.
However, Mr Lee’s case is different.
He drove the company’s vehicle and wore the company’s uniform.
When he got injured while carrying out his work duties, his industry friends told him that it was illegal for his employers not to pay him CPF and provide him leave benefits.
Mr Lee admitted that he was skeptical about what his friends told him but still contacted Ministry of Manpower (through his friends’ help) to seek clarification.
MOM shared with him the difference between contract workers and employees and told him that he was an employee.
He then successfully recovered $60,000 and $70,000 from two former employers via MOM’s help.
Mr Lee hopes to share this story with more people so workers, who are suffering/have suffered the same fate as him, can approach MOM for help.
If you’d like to contribute your story to us, drop us an email at editors@sureboh.sg and we’ll review it. We read each submission that comes to us within two weeks of receiving it.
