honestbee Owes $1 Million in Unpaid Salaries to Ex-Staff; CPF Also Stepping in to Take Action

By
George Yang
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If you’re a secondary school student who intends to study business, here’s a chance for you to time travel.

Because when you’re in poly or uni in the future, you’d most probably read about the case study of honestbee…but you can read it now.

Image: giphy

But what talking I?

honestbee, the Best-est Case Study on How Not to Run a Business

Of course I’m in no position to judge, but I’m definitely am in a position to see what went wrong.

A business can only survive with profits and not style; even if a business has an Instagram-worthy office, lots of promotions and many fancy benefits for its staff, it’s not a business if it doesn’t make money.

Like what those successful businessmen in Shark Tank often said, “Without profits, it’s just a hobby to feed your ego.”

Here’s everything that’s gone wrong with honestbee:

  • Everything looks pretty early this year, with them even opening an Instagram-worthy high-tech physical supermarket in the middle of nowhere
  • In April, the cracks of honestbee were revealed as they started to lay off people and stop businesses in several regions. Well, many regions.
  • In May, even the food delivery and laundry services are suspended in Singapore.
  • Several high-level executives quit (or was fired; you’d never know, would you?)
  • It’s soon revealed that the startup owed over $277 million
  • honestbee restructured with a new CEO in mid-July, and applied for some legal thingy to prevent creditors from suing them for the debts for six months so that they can restructure “peacefully” and pay off the debts after that
  • The “legal” thingy is still not approved as some creditors have objected to it
  • Turns out they have also owed the landlord of their physical supermarket rent, too, which is allegedly being paid for

And now?

Reports of unpaid salaries have surfaced.

And we’re not talking about two or three disgruntled ex-employees who think that they should be paid more.

We’re talking about 217 ex-employees, with total unpaid salaries of almost $1 million.

Heck, to think I thought that only the coffee there was expensive.

Court Affidavit Filed on 20 September 2019

Of course, the startup won’t just announce this news to the public for no reason.

In order for them to apply for that “legal thingy” to defer their debts for six months, they need to show documents.

And in it was the shocking revelation that 217 ex-employees are still unpaid, with the amount up to $1 million.

Out of these 217 people, 44 of them have filed claims with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management, the first step to do when your employer didn’t pay your salary.

If you’d like to know more about your salary (and how to file claim if your cheese pie boss refused to pay your salary), check out a video we’ve done:

Here’s what would eventually happen:

Image: tadm.sg

For your info, unlike those usual debts, whereby it’s a civil case between two parties, this is different: it’s an offence for any company not to pay salary, so it’s not just between the company and the person: MOM would step in.

And well, not only MOM.

CPF, too.

CPF Also Joined in the Party

If your employer didn’t pay your CPF, fret not: the trusty CPF will come to your rescue.

Just watch this video about CPF we’ve done (yeah, we’re really too free here):

In fact, they’ll take legal actions against your company, so you won’t need to do anything.

And that’s what happened to honestbee (though I think they’re so sick and tired of legal letters, they might just file them in a folder called “another legal threat”)

A spokesperson told The Business Times that the CPF Board is currently taking enforcement action against honestbee for not paying the July CPF of their employees.

Lest you’re not aware, it’s a serious offence to siam CPF contribution.

According to the CPF Board website, the penalties are:

  • Up to $5,000 court fine and no less than $1,000 per offence and/or up to 6 months’ imprisonment for 1st conviction
  • Up to $10,000 court fine and no less than $2,000 per offence and/or up to 12 months’ imprisonment for subsequent convictions

Yes, you’ve read it right: your boss could be jailed for not paying your CPF.

Don’t pray pray.

Chairman & Rich Man Brian Koo Resigns from Board

Brian Koo, a key investor and the temporary CEO of the startup when its previous CEO left, has suddenly resigned from the board.

honestbee’s social media has been quiet, with only their habitat by honestbee’s accounts being active.

If I were you and haven’t been to habitat by honestbee, I’ll suggest that you go there now.

You never know what’s next.

In the meantime, we’ll know on (or after) 4 October 2019 on whether honestbee managed to “defer” its debts, as that’s the deadline for them to submit all documents for the moratorium application.

Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:

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George Yang
Email: [email protected]