On hindsight

So I am back to being unemployed.

Rereading my previous criticism of work, I do feel shame. Editing is a good job. And my editing job was not in the slightest demanding. It is just that I am, I guess. That and just a tad impatient on accellerating my career. I was bitter at being Bored and Ignored.

There were another factors which prompted my swift departure. I didn't mention earlier that there were discrepencies in the offer letter emailed to me when I joined the company and the letter handed to me for signing when I started work. Essentially some terms were changed and that brought to light several other clauses which I was in complete disagreement with.

For example, for the entire duration of my 6 month probation period I am not even entitled to medical or emergency leave. Hence, not only I don't get health care or insurance, if some misfortune befalls me and I don't turn up for work, my pay will still be docked.

Plus my notice period for termination was changed from 24 hours to 2 weeks. And I am not allowed to take a single day's leave until my probation is over. Most companies I know would pro-rate leave entitlements according to months of service. However at this outfit, anytime I need to take leave during this period, I go unpaid. I think this is too harsh.
Hence I had to quit my job as soon as I could because I had no intention of signing the employment contract.

Here is a bit of useful infomation for Malaysian workers.
For workers under a contract of service earning and below RM1500, their rights are protected by the Employment Act of 1955 which sets out the minimum provisions for wages, leave, days off, termination etc. However for those earning above RM1500, the employees' rights are derived primarily from the contract of employment and the safeguards of the Employment Act do not apply. There was an amendment to protect the category of workers earning between RM1,500 and RM5,000 per month but only in limited terms on wages, allowances or other cash benefits. Hence there is no going back after the siging of the contract.

I had an interesting last day at the office on Friday. Everyone was so nice to the girl who only lasted one week. I was hauled into the CEO's room to discuss my leaving. The company was understanding about my changing my mind about the job. While I didn't get to harp on the contractual terms, I did get to say my piece about feeling as welcomed as a UN weapons inspector in Iran. Naturally they were a bit defensive but I do hope I brought the matter to light for the benefit of the other new staff at the company who do not have the luxury of tending their resignations.