Can I turn down a job after signing a contract?
 

Hi, I'm a 24 years old Singaporean and I'm in a big dilemma now. I have had 6 offers in the past 1 month since I resigned from my last job in March. I feel that I'm at the age where I have to choose my next job very carefully because I'm not that young anymore and I'm going into my mid-20 soon so the next job I am going for will be the focal point of my career.

I received an offer from this company, after 4 rounds of interview. My last drawn salary is $8,000. They offered me $7,000 and I was still hesitating to sign the contract, because I was hoping to get an offer which match my last drawn and I was also waiting for an offer from another company, which I went for the interview and I thought it went pretty well, the feedback I got from the hiring manager was that they are really keen to hire me but they need to have an internal discussion first, because the role I'm applying for doesn't really suit me, so they are going to create a new role for me.


However, I was pressured by my mum into signing the contract from the first company because it's a very well-known local company. I went ahead to sign thinking that I will most likely won't hear back from the other company anytime so soon and I want to commence this month. However, they just got back to me with a very attractive offer, which is even higher than my last drawn.

How bad it is to renege on my word and turn down the job after I have already signed the contract? What will be the legal implications that I will face? I understand that I will be blacklisted by the first company and will never hear from them again. At the same time, the second company is my dream job and my first choice, not to mention, they are offering a considerably higher salary.

24 years old, earning 8k and still being coerced by your mum???? what a joke.

Why are you jealous? I'm her only daughter.

Calm down..bitterness and jealousy won't get you anywhere.

You are 24 now, 3 years ago in 2 threads (i.e. 21 yo) you claimed you were a diploma educated seasoned professional with 6 years exp in social media marketing working for a famous Hollywood agency dealing with high profile celebrities (i.e. 15yo start working in social media advertising in 2007 when it was not even in existence as an industry).

In addition to being a super high profile Hollywood upstart, you were also busy offering freelance web designing services and applying for entry level executive job in A*Star.

So a super highly independent old bird, worked with Hollywood celebrities with a total 9 years work exp since the tender age of 15 suddenly gets 6 offers within 1 month and most amazingly gets pressured by mama to sign a contract in a local company.

CSB.

://forums.salary.sg/income-jobs/2932-web-designer-how-much-should-i-charge-my-client.html

://forums.salary.sg/income-jobs/2846-how-much-does-social-media-executive-manager-earn.html

Yes, I have been programming since the age of 10 so I'm not a typical average Joe who goes through more than a decade of education, and only start working after graduating. I have been working since my secondary school days, programming and freelancing for a living. It's interesting you pointed out the last thread I posted 3 years ago, because it was A*STAR that provided me the trajectory in my career.

At A*STAR, my job was to build an IT start-up eCommerce company, (funded by A*STAR but I'm not actually working for A*STAR if this makes any sense) which is targeted to Hollywood celebrities. I built the website and the entire marketing infrastructure. Our business took off after 6 months and the founder and I (co-founder) were offered a large sum of money (in the millions) by an investment holding company in the US, so we sold off some shares in the company. I still have a 20% shares in the company, which is quite a lot of passive recurring monthly income, due to the revenue we generate from the business.

I'm trying to look for a job which can match or is higher than my last drawn salary which is why I posted this thread. Anyway let's not derail this thread.

Good, I was doubtful when i saw this thread at first but you've cleared things up. Obviously someone like yourself would be in demand by companies but the expectations would be sky-high, i.e. they would expect you to continue contributing innovative solutions.

With regard to your question about reneging, you will be liable to pay compensation if they decide to sue you, legally speaking. Generally if an employer decides to sue you for not taking up the job, they would claim about 6-8 months worth of salary from you. Nothing is for sure since it is ultimately up to the courts to determine how much you have to pay. 8 months x $7,000 = $56,000. The company may or may not decide to sue you.

Blacklisting is a given.

Other than this, nothing stops you from leaving. Go ahead and take up the second job if you think it's worth it.

Yes, I'm in huge demand by many companies because of my ability to bring in innovation solutions and technology and most importantly, increasing traffic/sales to their brand or websites to get more business. Without wishing to brag, every companies I have worked for have a 150% increase in their sales within just the first two months.

I have read through my contract and it doesn't state anywhere about being liable to pay up to 6 to 8 months of my salary. It states that if I join and if i want to resign, I have to pay 1 month of notice or 1 month of salary in lieu. Maybe, what you mentioned is what is going to happen to me if they were to sue me. I honestly doubt they will sue me because I have a very good relationship with the key people in the company, I know them personally early on in my career. However, I risk burning bridges and being black-listed, which I think for just an increment of $1,500 a month, might not be a wise move because the IT start-up circle in Singapore is very connected to one another. But due to my credentials and my monthly passive income, I really don't have to short-change myself and take a lower pay now.

I have also made it clear to the hiring manager during my interview in the first company, that my salary expectation is to match last drawn or higher, which she told me they can't offer me that high. I just regret signing the contract as going back on a verbal agreement is still better than a written agreement.

Yes I am coming from a legal perspective, i.e. if they sue you for breaking the contract. 6-8 months is just an estimate from my experience, such things will not be stated in your contract but it depends what the court thinks is the loss that the company suffers from your reneging on the contract. Of course, given your relationship with the key personnel the company may just decide not to sue you at all.

I guess your key consideration should be whether other companies in the IT start up circle would blacklist you because of this incident. I doubt it, since many of these companies are profit-driven and they are competing with each other anyway.

The company may choose to sue you and it will be up to the courts to decide on compensation. More importantly, your reputation will take a hit. I for one don't take kindly to people who renege on their word, especially for higher $$. Who is to say you won't sell me or my business out for more $$?