SINGAPORE: A jobseeker has revealed that a prospective employer rescinded his job offer after its HR director discovered he had previously taken his former employer to court over a wrongful dismissal.
Sharing his experience anonymously on Reddit’s r/singaporejobs forum, the man said he had been “wrongfully terminated by his ex-employer” before taking the matter to the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT), where he won his case.
Applying for a new role
Following the ordeal, the man applied for a new position. As part of the application process, he was asked whether he had ever been terminated from a previous job. He answered “Yes.”
The interview itself appeared to go remarkably well. The man said he was so confident about his chances that he felt the role was practically his after the panel spent time getting to know him and even introduced him to other members of staff.
Three of the interviewers reportedly stayed behind for another hour after the formal interview, showing him around the workplace and discussing what he should do on his first day.
“On your first day, hor… remember to do this and that,” they reportedly told him.
Two days later, though, one of the interviewers contacted him to ask whether he could attend another interview, this time with the HR director, because of his previous termination.
“During the interview, the HR lady kept trying to find issues with my ex-termination. I was fully transparent, as it was a clear-cut case where no fault lay with me,” he recounted.
Two days after that, the interviewer called again with the outcome: the HR director had rejected his application.
The explanation given to him was that the director had checked his credit report and found what she described as “undeclared bad debts and unpaid loans”.
According to the man, the explanation did not quite add up.
“The call was very vague — along the lines of ‘loans over 2 years ago unpaid, not sure the amount, not sure the exact date, not even sure which bank is owed the money, but I’m told you owe money to several banks. This is final and goodbye, all the best,’” he wrote.
He said he was baffled by the claim, questioning how he could have forgotten about outstanding loans that had supposedly remained unpaid for more than two years.
“How would I not know if I have loans… and over 2 years ago the debt collector would have been banging on my door, LOL,” he added.
Two new offers raise questions
More recently, the man said he received two job offers, one from the government and another from a financial institution. Both employers allegedly carried out credit checks and cleared him.
He said the results gave him further reason to question the explanation provided by the previous employer.
“I got two offers, one from the government and another from a financial institution. I cleared both their credit checks,” he wrote, adding that he even paid S$8 to obtain his own credit report and found no problems.
“I have a perfect credit score,” he said.
As a result, the man believes the real reason behind the withdrawn offer may have been his decision to take his former employer to court.
“I’m like 99.1% sure the HR director just didn’t feel comfortable with someone who had taken their ex-employer to court before. It was a good company, and I really would have loved working there. But oh well… I won, but at what cost?”
‘Shame on them for rejecting you’
Rather than dwelling on the missed opportunity, several Redditors encouraged the job seeker to see the rejection as a blessing in disguise.
One commenter told him he had “won” anyway, since he had dodged a workplace that might not have been a good fit for him.
“You dodged a bullet,” they wrote. “Send a thank-you note to that HR lol. I’m sure the current one is already better than the previous offer.”
Another commented, “If an employer fears you suing them over wrongful termination before getting hired (based on your history), they’ll find ways to stop you from coming on board. It is also potentially foretelling that in the future, they might do the same thing to you. You don’t truly know the events in the future, but the current reactions should be a hint to their possible intentions in the future.”
A third added, “Congrats. Happy for you. Shame on them for rejecting you. All the best and a smooth journey ahead!”/TISG
Read also: ‘I’m really sick and tired’: Singaporean, 46, hits wall after 8 job interviews
