What interns can do about bosses behaving badly

Polytechnic student Sarah (not her real name) is doing her final-year internship at a media company that had her cleaning the toilet and picking up trash.

Things took a turn for the worse when she and her fellow interns were made to work about nine hours daily for a week-long event without any lunch or dinner breaks.

The 21-year-old also said when one of the interns made mistakes that she felt were “minor”, such as forgetting to amend specific data in document submissions, that intern had up to $100 docked from the salary for each mistake made.

“I’ve had my fair share of internship experiences and by far, this has got to be the worst,” Sarah said.

Many Singaporean young people pursue internships to gain relevant industry exposure and fulfil academic requirements, but not all have positive experiences. 

“Any employer who crosses the company’s employee policies and violates (the student’s) internship contract can be deemed to have crossed the line,” said career counsellor Gerald Tan from Avodah People Solutions, which offers career guidance and job transitioning support to individuals and organisation employees.

While some interns do encounter harsher superiors, he said bosses should not be allowed to hurl vulgarities at their interns.  

But he added that it is important to “differentiate whether there is a valid reason for the reaction of the company representative”.

Other experts The Straits Times spoke to said the wage deductions Sarah’s fellow intern experienced are “potentially illegal”, but this depends on each situation.

In response to queries from ST, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Manpower said students under school-arranged internships are typically not covered for employee protections under the Employment Act, and they should seek help from their schools if they face unfair treatment. 

In the case of those pursuing internships outside of their curriculum, an employer can legally make deductions from the intern’s salary only if it can be shown that the loss of money to the employer is “directly attributable” to the intern’s “neglect or default”.

Deductions are limited to no more than 25 per cent of the intern’s salary or the cost of damages, whichever is lower. 

When asked if she tried to speak to her bosses, Sarah said: “Any attempts to have a mature conversation (with them) regarding any unfair treatments often led to vulgarities and raised voices.” 

Ms Clarice Chan, director of Aureus Consulting, a firm providing education, career and life coaching services, believes that interns should take action to protect themselves in such “toxic” situations.

“Interns (in such circumstances) should keep a log of the dates and times of (pay) deductions, the reasons given and the amounts, as well as note the dates and times of verbal abuse and what was said,” she said.

With this documentation, interns can seek resolution through external channels.

“Students (under school-coordinated internships) can talk to school supervisors who can advise on school policies, potentially intervene, or guide them on official complaints. Those pursuing their own internships can file a complaint with the Ministry of Manpower,” Ms Chan said. 

Mr Jeremiah Wong, lead career developer in career counselling and coaching at Avodah People Solutions, said schools have several “fail-safe mechanisms” to help students deconflict such situations. 

“In such situations, students can ask their school supervisors to come down to the job site itself to inspect the situation, or at least give a call to the company to hear the employer’s perspective. In the worst case, (schools) can blacklist the company,” said Mr Wong.

In May, Sarah approached her school internship advisers for help, and the school swiftly took action by blacklisting the company for future internship programmes.

Currently, she intends to “mentally push through” and continue her internship at the company until August, to fulfil her polytechnic graduation requirements. 

Mr Wong, who is also an associate lecturer at Republic Polytechnic and the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said that for most polytechnics, students who drop out of their final-year internships typically need to “remodule” their internship, as it is a mandatory module for graduation.

But this should not stop student interns from seeking help should they face troubles during their internship, he said.

“Internships are (supposed to be) a safe learning environment for students to learn before they work in their first job in the future. If they feel threatened in the workplace, they should seek help from their school supervisors immediately,” he said.