An employer has taken to social media to call out a former employee and her mother for allegedly making unreasonable demands despite the daughter barely contributing to the workplace. The controversy began when the mother initially secured a job for her fresh graduate daughter, only for the young woman to quit after just four days—without notice.
The employer, a baking business owner known as nikmujahidah, shared the ordeal on her Threads account. According to her, the position was for a two-month Hari Raya production project, and the terms were made clear during the interview. Given the effort required to train someone with no prior experience, she imposed a condition: if the employee resigned within the one-week trial period, she would not be entitled to any payment. The daughter reportedly agreed to this arrangement.
However, just four days into the job, the new hire decided to leave, citing fatigue, long hours of standing, and constant discomfort. What followed was unexpected—the mother of the former employee reappeared, demanding a four-day salary on behalf of her daughter. When nikmujahidah reminded her of the agreed-upon terms, the mother threatened legal action.
Screenshots of WhatsApp exchanges between the employer and the mother further supported the claims. The messages revealed that the mother had been the one to initiate contact and set up the job interview for her daughter. But once the young woman had left the position, the mother returned to argue that she still deserved to be paid.
Nikmujahidah maintained that her business operates on a project-based payment system rather than daily wages. Moreover, since the employee had quit before the Hari Raya production even began, she had not contributed to the actual work for which staff were hired.
Reflecting on the experience, she advised fellow business owners to be wary of hiring individuals who rely on their parents to handle their job applications, “The lesson here? Don’t offer jobs to candidates who need their mothers to negotiate employment for them.
“Otherwise, situations like this arise. The mother even scolded me for not informing parents about the salary conditions,” she wrote.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but this is a business, not a school where we update parents on everything. We communicate directly with our employees. The contract outlining all terms was supposed to be signed after the trial period, but she quit before that could even happen.”
This incident raises broader questions about professionalism in the workplace. Should parents be involved in their adult children’s employment matters, or does this undermine their independence and credibility as job seekers?
