Am I In The Wrong?

Been having some issues with the agent company that I'm part-timing for.

Here's what happened:


Past few days, I've been having 2 ulcers, 1 on my tongue and the other under my tongue. It hurts like crap, and it's been giving me hell lots of problem when I eat or when I talk.

And thus I told my agent that there is a problem with me teaching because I can't talk properly at all. And since we have to give a good impression to the school, can they find a replacement for me?

Sadly, the agent told me that there is no replacement for me, because they've been unable to find one who can teach Microsoft Access as well as I can.

And now, the company's been questioning me, asking me why do I give them last minute situations, the last time being that I had a sore eye when I woke up.

But as a human, can you ever predict when are you going to fall ill? The reason why I am last minute is because it bloody happened over a couple of hours! Like my sore eye, I didn't have it the night before, but it appeared when I woke up in the morning! Luckily, it went off after I put some eye mo on. And then this time round, the ulcer was still bearable, but it just became really unbearable on saturday and sunday. The lessons are on monday, and when I told them on sunday, they say that I am very last minute again.

I understand that last minute situations are never good. I know that. But honestly, if I have a replacement with me, wouldn't that save alot of trouble, in the case where I'm ill and he/she can then take over me instead? For over a month, the company hasn't been able to find a replacement, but when this ulcer issue came up, they were able to find a replacement for me within 2 hours! Weird isn't it? It's either the company's not serious in finding, or that they've been trying to save money and hire just one trainer instead.


And then another issue now is that the company has completely lost faith in my commitment to the project. They then offered me 2 choices.

1) Carry on with the project, but they will keep SGD200 of my pay with them, and only pay me back at the end of the project.

2) Quit. Pay SGD200 as compensation, and then they will consult a lawyer as to whether they can keep my pay, which is SGD440.


Apparently, I'm the highest paid trainer in the company right now, with SGD20/hr. The rest are paid either SGD15/hr or SGD16/hr. And then today, after one month of teaching, the agent told me that preparing materials for the class is part of the job scope of the lead trainer of the project, which is me. Apparently, all other trainers who get paid SGD15 or SGD16 an hour prepare their own teaching materials too. This, after my agent told me before I signed the contract, that they will provide me with ALL the materials needed for me to teach the class throughout the entire project.

So, any lawyers out there who can advice me? Whether am I in the wrong, and whether do I have any chances of winning back my SGD440 if I chose the 2nd option? Do they have the right to keep part of my pay? The contract says this:

"The Trainer must abide by the timing and the work schedule given by the Company. The Company has the right to withhold payment for the assignment if it has been incomplete or done badly."

But up till last thursday, which is the day I submitted my claim form, I have never once did my job badly, or done it incompletely. In fact, I think that I've been a good trainer. I missed only 3 lessons, and that is because I have my mock exams, and the agent has already given me the permission to go for the exams. So why do they have the right to keep SGD200 out of my SGD440?