If you frequent any malls in Singapore, the chances are that you’ve seen the bright yellow stores of Flash coffee.
The coffee chain, known for it is a quick grab-and-go concept, sold coffee at relatively low prices and often had ongoing promotions.
However, the coffee chain suddenly closed all its stores in Singapore on 12 October 2023.
This not only left consumers shocked at the sudden exit but also employees high and dry.
It seems that Flash Coffee owes many of their employees salaries and CPF payments.
Here is more about what’s going on with Flash Coffee and these employees.
Union Confirms That Flash Coffee Is Late in Paying Out Employees’ Salary and CPF
By now, you could have heard about Flash Coffee’s sudden closure in Singapore.
After all, the news has been flooding social media platforms and news outlets all over the island since the information became public knowledge.
A viral TikTok video which showed a Flash Coffee outlet at Jurong Point closed earlier than expected and a sign that employees are “on strike” made rounds online.
In the notice about the “strike”, the Jurong Point employees highlighted that the coffee chain failed to pay them on time for multiple instances.
It was unclear if the claim had any truth to it back then since it was only a post which could have been put up by anyone.
But now, it seems like that was the truth, as a union in Singapore has confirmed that Flash Coffee owes its former employees salaries and Central Provident Fund (CPF) payments.
This union is none other than the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union (FDAWU).
According to its official website, the FDAWU, “represents employees in accommodation, food manufacturing, food retail and food services”.
One of its objectives is to “improve the working conditions of members and enhance their economic and social status”.
Flash Coffee is not part of the union, but it seems that the former employees have reached out to the FDAWU for assistance to get back their hard-earned money.
It seems that about 75% of the former employees’ money is still with Flash Coffee and has not been paid out.
This comes after Flash Coffee’s all 11 outlets in Singapore closed without much notice.
How terrible. Can you imagine working and not getting paid by your employer? We would be “on strike” as well.
According to FDAWU, the amounts owed by the coffee chain to employees also include encashment of remaining leave days.
Hopefully, the union will be able to get the coffee chain to cough up the amounts that they owe the employees.
Flash Coffee Gave Employees Almost No Notice About Closure
That said, it may be difficult for the former employees to get what they deserve if the company is indeed in financial trouble.
While the news about Flash Coffee’s closure only came out on social media a couple of days ago, it seems the employees were none the wiser.
At least they didn’t get the notice of the closure much earlier than the general public.
Employees of Flash Coffee reportedly attended a meeting on Thursday morning (12 October 2023) where it was announced that the company was undergoing liquidation and would have a provisional liquidator take over on Monday (16 October 20230).
According to Today Online, the provisional liquidator is BDO Singapore.
The staff were also told that their services would no longer be required from 13 October 2023 onwards.
That is quite a sudden departure from the company. Most of us have at least a month’s notice. Or, at the very least, two weeks.
It seems that the workers were also not pleased at being caught unaware of the coffee chain’s sudden closure.
The workers who spoke to the FDAWU said there were “no explicit plans to put up any coordinated action following companies’ sharing of the situation at hand”.
No wonder the workers went to a union for help.
Apart from being brushed off by the coffee chain as to the closure of the chain in Singapore, some employees also shared that salaries had been paid late for a while now.
Today Online spoke to a former employee of Flash Coffee, who declined to be named for the inside tea.
According to the former employee, who worked as a part-time barista for almost two years, salary payments were delayed at least three times over her tenure.
These occurred in December 2022, March 2023 and April 2023.
The delay spanned several days.
According to the former employee, she felt “frustrated” by the delays. This feeling was shared by her colleagues, who also experienced similar delays.
However, they decided to stick it out and continue to work despite the late payments.
The former employee further shared with Today Online that many of the full-time workers were Malaysians, so they were either too scared or felt unempowered to speak.
That must be bad not to feel like you have a voice in the workplace.
They seemed so repressed that even colleagues who were not adequately compensated for hitting sales incentive targets did not dare to speak up.
But it seems like trouble has been brewing in paradise for some time. According to the former employee, the coffee chain was not “making much money from their daily sales” which was a red flag.
They were also short-staffed at many outlets, with some staff solo-ing the whole shift during weekends. This led to breaks being missed due to a high volume of drinks to be made.
How unethical.
With more and more information surfacing as this scandal (or saga) unfolds, we’re sure to keep our eyes on this one.