A chiropractor has been left with little to no recourse after allegedly being owed more than $64,500 by a clinic he worked at for six years.

The clinic, which has multiple outlets across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, the UK and Europe, specialises in spinal and nerve-related issues.

Speaking to Stomp, the chiropractor, who only wants to be known as L, said he completed his contract with the clinic in late August 2024.

“According to my employment contract, I was entitled to three types of income: 1) Base salary 2) Performance commission and an 3) End-of-contract bonus (EOB) to be paid six months after the contract ends,” he explained.

L said that about six months before the end of his term, the company began pressuring him to renew his contract.

“In June 2024, they paid my last salary. However, they did not pay my salaries for July and August, claiming that the amount for those two months of pay would instead be used to cover my income tax. I agreed to this.”

The company officially acknowledged that he had completed his contract and reported his income to IRAS, he added.

“My total reported income from January to August 2024 is approximately $214,000. This includes about $150,000 in regular income and $64,000 as the end-of-contract bonus.

“The company paid my income tax using my unpaid July and August salaries and paid me the balance.”

In September 2024, L said he enquired about his EOB and was told he would receive it by March 2025.

He also submitted necessary documents and was informed that they were under review.

As the March deadline approached, he followed up regularly — even sending daily reminders from the last week of the month. But there was no response.

“The company avoided my messages, citing reasons such as management being unavailable or on vacation,” he claimed.

“At the end of March, I told them that if the payment was not made, I would take legal action. They did not respond.

“In early April, I posted a story on my Instagram to seek advice and help from my network.”

In screenshots of his Instagram Stories seen by Stomp, the chiropractor asked if anyone knew how to resolve his issue and wrote: “Please help me.”

On April 4, L received a text message from the clinic.

In the message seen by Stomp, the company denied withholding his salary and acknowledged that the amount in question was his EOB, which they said would be paid six months after his contract ended.

“The finance already told you in email black and white that this will be paid. Did they say it will not be paid?” the message read.

They also said the bonus was taxable and claimed that L had misled others.

They requested that he “apologise and rewrite the truth” within 24 hours or “we have no choice but to proceed to sue you for defamation”.

L told Stomp that he enquired with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) about his case but did not make a formal report.

He does not meet the criteria to lodge a salary claim with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM), which requires a complaint to be filed within six months of leaving employment.

L has already passed his March deadline.

While he can file a claim with the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT), the cap is $20,000 — meaning he would have to forgo the remaining $44,000.

L said he hopes to get advice and support by sharing his experience.

Clinic responds

A spokesperson for the clinic shared with Stomp “a chronological order of events” starting from April 7 and said: “We drafted a letter for the ex-employee to acknowledge to remove his post on social media which are found to be all baseless allegations. E.g. we did not owe him wages. There was an EOB to be paid to him six months after the end of his contract.

“A cheque was signed by us on April 7, but the ex-employee refused to acknowledge it and requested to review and redraft the letter.

“On April 10, the ex-employee reverted with his own drafted letter.

“On April 15, the company responded to the ex-employee that both our letters be signed but he refused again.

“On April 21, the company reached out to the ex-employee for a meeting to discuss the matter and shared our willingness to redraft our letter, but he refused the meeting.”

Ex-employee hits back

L pointed out the clinic had been ghosting him until he posted about his situation on social media and tagged MOM in his posts.

He added: “Therefore, the April 7 date claimed by the company omits all previous causes.

“My legal counsel said that the drafted letter was against me, so I asked for time to review it when I met with the company.

“The company told me in that case, I would not be able to get the cheque. I said I would hold off on signing for my own legal security. They immediately took the cheque back so I did not get it.

“I subsequently revised the mutual agreement to be fair to both parties and sent it to the company, but the company didn’t agree to it and is delaying the EOB payment.”

On April 15, the company “suggested” to L that he sign the original agreement.

L told Stomp: “On April 21, they suddenly requested a meeting and since I had difficulty bringing a lawyer, I requested a written conversation.”

The clinic replied that they are “reviewing and rewording the agreements” and would keep him posted.

The matter remains at an impasse.