Elderly Man Got Injured During Work But Couldn’t Get Compensation As Company Didn’t See Him as ‘Employee’

In a law-by-law country like Singapore, you can be assured that if you get injured during work, you’d be compensated accordingly. In fact, we’ve even done a video about this topic that you should really check out (and also subscribe to our YouTube channel, pretty please?):

That is why so many NSFs injured their teeth (???) and had to remove their wisdom tooth every few weeks before they ORD.

But what if you’re merely a contractor—i.e., outsourced?

Then you could be on your own.

Even if your so-called “boss” is your friend.

Elderly Man Got Injured During Work But Couldn’t Get Compensation

According to Shimmin Daily, Mr Lee allegedly worked in a carpentry company.

Allegedly, because there’s no official black-and-white to prove that he worked there.

The boss is his friend of two years, and Mr Lee was paid every week even with CPF.

Not sure how that works, because pay can be made every week but CPF is usually contributed on a monthly basis.

But of course, just like any relationship, it doesn’t turn sour until shit hits the fan.

Last year in December, Mr Lee injured himself while operating a machine. It cut four of his fingers, and it was so serious that his bones were crushed.

It appears that he was alone as he immediately ran for help and his neighbours (yes, not anyone from his company) called the ambulance for him.

He has to go through a surgery and hospitalised for 5 days, leaving him with tens of thousands of medical bills.

It’s unknown if he’s covered by his personal insurance.

However, he couldn’t claim for work injury because technically speaking, he’s not an employee there.

Boss’ Sister: Mr Lee Isn’t an Employee

Shinmin Daily managed to contact the boss’ sister, and she said, “Mr Lee is not my brother’s employee and is a contractor. My brother’s company has a furniture manufacturing factory, and when there’s work, he would give it to Mr Lee. Mr Lee will then use the factory to complete the work.”

Ah, there’s the lack of black-and-white comes into play. Is Mr Lee working for the company, or just using the company’s factory for his own work?

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Nevertheless, according to the sister, his brother had tried to resolve the issue amicably, but that didn’t work out.

She added, “My brother initially offered to pay for the medical bills, but Mr Lee wanted to lodge a complaint with the Ministry of Manpower.”

Moral of the story? The world is like carrot cake. Get every damn thing in black and white; there’s no in-between.

Intend to be a Driver

Mr Lee is still recovering and said that he still felt pain in his fingers occasionally, and his doctor mentioned that another surgery might be needed.

He has been a carpenter since young and now that he might not be able to be one soon, he intends to be a driver, though he’s open to other jobs.

Erm, safe-distancing ambassador, perhaps?

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