S’pore Redditor claims friend did not fairly compensate them for 6 months’ work, netizens question contract

Netizen asks if it is unreasonable to ask for more compensation after 6 months’ work

A netizen in Singapore took to Reddit on 1 Sept to ask if they were being unreasonable for feeling unfairly compensated by their friend.

In the post on r/askSingapore, the Original Poster (OP) shared that they worked for their friend for about six months.

However, they claimed they were paid minimally despite doing operational tasks for two businesses.

Many netizens stressed that the OP should have drawn up a contract to clarify the terms of their arrangement, including compensation, before agreeing to work for their friend.

OP performed different responsibilities for two businesses

The OP explained that they were brought in to help with operations across their friend’s two related businesses.

They believed the business had “significant potential” and that they could “eventually be compensated accordingly”. As such, the OP agreed to work for their friend.

Over the course of six months, the OP says they spent 80% of their time on one of the businesses. At the same time, they were also handling work for the other.

Their responsibilities included client-facing work, deal support, and pipeline building.

OP says redirection of tasks kept them from finishing projects

However, the OP soon faced some conflicts during the process.

They were told to prioritise client and deal-related work first, despite raising the need to make trade-offs.

Additionally, they were told to slow down or focus on one thing at a time.

This frustrated the OP, as this caused some of the operational projects they were originally brought in to complete to not be fully delivered.

Compensation did not meet OP’s expectations

Furthermore, the OP said their friend paid them “a relatively small amount” during those six months.

They said this was for a specific work they had done for the business where the OP only spent 20% of his time.

Their friend also told the OP they would not be paying them for the more extensive work they had done for the other business.

The OP noted that their compensation appeared to be tied to the projects they had completed, so their friend doesn’t “believe additional payment is owed” for those that were not fully delivered.

OP assumed they would be compensated for all tasks

The OP said they believed that they was “genuinely working for the business” during those six months, and stressed that they spent 80% of their time towards it.

At the same time, they were also repeatedly redirected toward more time-sensitive client work. The OP wrote:

I therefore assumed that my time and contribution to the business as a whole would be compensated, even if some of the original operational projects weren’t completed exactly as planned.

Finally, the OP asked: “Was it reasonable for me to expect compensation for the work I actually performed, given the amount of time spent and how priorities were managed?”

“Or is it reasonable for them to say that because the original operational deliverables weren’t completed,  they don’t owe me anything beyond what was already paid?” they added.

Netizens question if both parties signed a contract

Following the post, many noted that business should be separated from friendship.

They questioned if the OP had a contract in place to ensure that both parties’ expectations are aligned.

Meanwhile, others believe the OP’s friend is in the wrong and advised the OP to cut their losses and leave the business.

However, in a reply to a comment, the OP revealed that there was a contract, which states that they would not be paid until the deal closes.

This turned the criticism towards the OP, as they wanted to receive compensation when the conditions stated in the contract had not been met.

Also read: Redditor asks if AI degree is ‘worth taking’, sparks debate over ‘useless’ degrees in S’pore

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