'Is it wrong to be pregnant?' Woman claims Mr Coconut fired her because she was with child

It's a joyous occasion when one is expecting a baby - but not so much if it means one loses their job.

Charissa Tan may have experienced just that. She was let go a day after she told her manager that she was pregnant, Tan shared in a Facebook post on Jan 18.

"Is it wrong to be pregnant? Is it a crime to be a woman?" the 29-year-old questioned.

According to her, she began working as a customer service officer at Mr Coconut in November last year when she suffered a series of health issues.

In mid-December, Tan contracted Covid-19, causing her to fall sick for a week. She took unpaid leave for this period and returned to office, managing to clear her backlog within two days.

She also felt ill on a separate day, resting her head on the table.

A staff member from human resources checked on Tan, telling her to go home if she was unwell because their bosses wouldn't like to see them lying down on the job.

She soldiered on until work hours were over, only finding out she had a moderate fever when she got home.

On Jan 16, Tan informed her manager about her pregnancy, which she herself only found out about five weeks prior.

She had chosen to keep quiet about her pregnancy during the first trimester due to superstition, she shared with AsiaOne.

Her manager had asked if she wanted to continue working, which she did, because she needed the income to support her family.

"She (Tan's manager) told me she would speak to the bosses, then she told me… that she would keep me updated," Tan said. "The next day, I was terminated."

According to Tan, her termination was due to "poor performance", fragile health conditions and having a "subpar body posture at work".

No warning before being fired, Tan says

In her Facebook post, Tan also said that she "was not told or given any kind of notice regarding her work performance" while she was working at Mr Coconut.

"Is it really wrong to get pregnant? Would I have been able to keep the job if I was a man?" she asked.

Speaking with AsiaOne, Tan shared that she feels "devastated" and suffers from restless nights every day.

Although she wants to get a new job as soon as possible, she doesn't feel that it's possible because she's not in the right state of mind for it.

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"I don't think I'm mentally prepared to answer these questions professionally without any emotion attached… that counts during interviews," she admitted.

She's also approached the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) and is trying to resolve this issue through them.

While the investigation is ongoing, she must cooperate with TADM, and a new job would also get in the way, she explained.

Meanwhile, Tan is also seeking therapy in hopes of better managing her emotions.

Although Mr Coconut has contacted her directly to seek her co-operation in their own investigation, Tan has chosen to rely solely on TADM.

She explained: "I just feel that it's not the right course of action for me to assist with their investigations without the presence of TADM."

Invitation to partake in investigations remains open: Mr Coconut

Responding to queries by AsiaOne, a spokesperson from Mr Coconut shared that they invited Tan to provide clarifications on her accusations on Tuesday (Jan 23).

"To our surprise, contrary to her public statement on wishing to deal with these allegations transparently, Tan suddenly refused to co-operate with our investigations," the spokesperson said.

"We respected her decision. In reply, we expressed our disappointment and assured her that our invitation for her to partake in our investigations and present her side of the case remains open."

Mr Coconut assured that they intend to continue their investigations and deal with the entire process - including mediations with TADM - "openly and with all documents/information made available to the public".

ALSO READ: Unveiling the hidden injustice: Pregnancy discrimination in Singapore

khooyihang@asiaone.com