Laid off or 'managed out'?

IN 2018 and 2019, Kate (not her real name) received glowing annual workplace appraisals which stressed how she repeatedly "went the extra mile", "integrated well" into her role and demonstrated leadership in her various duties. For her performance, she also received a bonus of about 3 months' salary for each year. Things took a drastic turn in 2020, she tells The Business Times. Her annual performance assessment in April last year called her a "misfit" in her role at the company and claimed business stakeholders were frustrated with her shortcomings.

In July, Kate was told she was one of the poor performers at the company. She was offered a choice between being placed on a 3-month performance improvement plan (PIP) which could ultimately result in termination if her performance did not improve within that period, or to resign with a lump sum payment amounting to 3 months' base pay and access to the company's outplacement services.

"The word retrenchment was never used, it was an agreement to resign," she says. "I spent close to 3 years in (the company), but was never informed of any poor performance or problems before this."