Intern alleges sudden firing, no pay for week of work

One of the most painful lessons I learned as a founder wasn’t about product or revenue. It was about power—and how easily we abuse it when we think no one’s watching. An intern doesn’t cost much. They’re temporary. Eager. Replaceable. That’s how most founders see them, even if they won’t admit it out loud. Which is exactly why a story like this one should scare every single operator reading it.

Here’s the quick version: A Year 3 polytechnic student in Singapore took to Reddit last weekend to describe how, after just one week into her internship, she was fired without notice, removed from all company group chats, and left unpaid. When she approached her school for help, her lecturer told her to “grow up.” When she asked for her internship contract so she could file a claim, he refused to give it to her. She was told she was “doing too much.”

It wasn’t about the S$100 she was owed. It was the fact that no one—neither her school nor her employer—acted like she mattered. But she does. And if you’re a founder, so do your interns. Because how you treat them is how your company is training itself to behave. Let’s break down what went wrong, what it signals, and what founders must do to fix this before the damage is permanent.

Part 1: The Internship Illusion We All Pretend Works

In theory, internships in Singapore are structured, school-mediated, and meant to be learning opportunities. In reality, they often become cheap labor pipelines—especially in early-stage companies.

Founders love interns because they’re flexible, affordable, and seemingly low risk. You can hand them research, social media, packing work, QA tasks—anything too time-consuming for your core team.

But here’s the lie we tell ourselves: that because they’re students, the usual rules don’t apply. That unpaid overtime is okay. That last-minute dismissals don’t require feedback. That not issuing pay on time won’t matter. Because, we think, “It’s just an intern.” This is exactly how systems fail. Not with malice—but with minimization. And when those systems break in public—as they did here—your brand’s reputation isn’t the only thing at risk. Your leadership maturity is, too.

Part 2: What Actually Went Wrong (And Why It’s Not Just “A School Issue”)

Let’s put aside the viral emotions for a moment and look at the mechanics:

• A student started her internship and worked full hours for five days.
• She was made to wait every morning because her boss showed up late.
• She was asked to stay overtime daily, unpaid.
• After raising concerns to her lecturer, she was suddenly removed from all company communication.
• No explanation. No conversation. No termination protocol. Just ghosting.
• Three weeks later, she still hadn’t been paid.

When she tried to pursue it through school channels, she was told: “It’s only S$100. Why so urgent?”

Founders reading this: replace “S$100 intern” with “junior hire” or “freelancer.” Still sound okay? Because the core issue isn’t the role or the amount. It’s the erasure. She was removed from the system without acknowledgment. No offboarding. No accountability. Just silence.

This is the behavior of companies that lack process. But worse—it’s the behavior of leaders who haven’t built respect into their systems. The lecturer’s response (“show some empathy for the company”) suggests a deep cultural rot: the idea that youth equals silence, and power means you get to decide what counts.

Part 3: The Founder Mirror No One Likes Holding

This isn’t a school problem. It’s a startup culture problem. Too many early-stage companies treat interns like trial widgets. No onboarding. No mentorship. No plan. And when something doesn’t work, they disappear them. But that tells your team something dangerous: that people without power don’t deserve process. That mistakes don’t require explanation. That silence is a valid HR strategy.

Let me be blunt. If your company is ghosting interns, your company will eventually ghost full-time staff. If you’re denying pay to a student, you’re one step away from mishandling vendor invoices. If your team thinks “it’s just an intern” is a justification for cutting corners, your leadership integrity is compromised.

You don’t build trust by raising a seed round. You build it in how you close the loop on every single contract—no matter how small. That includes the intern who worked for five days.

Part 4: Your Internship Program Is Your Company’s Moral Audit

I’ve reviewed dozens of early startup hiring systems across Southeast Asia. Here’s what I see too often:

• Internship roles with no clear scope or supervisor
• Ghosting when interns underperform or ask too many questions
• “Trial projects” without formal agreements
• Payment delays of 30+ days, if at all
• No exit interviews or references provided

Now ask yourself: What kind of culture is that training your team to normalize? If your company can’t handle a five-day internship with fairness, transparency, and dignity—what makes you think you’re ready to scale a 15-person team? How you treat interns is how you rehearse leadership. You want your team to be accountable? Start by honoring the smallest contract on your books.

Part 5: The Structural Gaps Startups Must Close—Immediately

Here’s what a real internship system should include, even for a team of three:

1. Clear Contract or Offer Letter:
   Even if routed through the school, provide a written document outlining scope, expectations, compensation, and duration. Include termination protocol.
2. Named Supervisor and Weekly Check-In:
   Interns shouldn’t be left floating. They need a single point of contact and a scheduled weekly sync—even if it’s 15 minutes.
3. Midpoint Feedback + Exit Conversation:
   Halfway through, ask: “What’s working for you? What’s confusing?” At the end, have a real offboarding moment. Don’t just let them fade out.
4. Timely Payment:
   No excuses. If your company can’t process S$100 on time, you don’t have a cash flow issue—you have a credibility issue.
5. Pathway to Reference:
   Make it clear what it takes to earn a reference letter. Interns value this more than perks. Offer clarity, not empty praise.

You don’t need a full HR team to do this. You just need principles.

Part 6: The Hard Truth We’re All Avoiding

Let’s call it what it is: internship labor exploitation in Singapore is quietly tolerated—until someone posts on Reddit. Too many schools protect their industry relationships more than their students. Too many employers confuse cost-saving with culture-shaping. Too many founders think junior talent “should be grateful.” This isn’t sustainable.

Gen Z workers are documentarians. They record. They share. They speak up. And the next time your company mishandles an intern, it may not just be a Reddit post—it might be a media headline. The intern in this story said it best: “It’s not even about the money anymore. It’s about the principle.”

And if that principle still sounds like a minor complaint to you, ask yourself: What would your company do if this happened tomorrow? Would your intern know who to turn to? Would they even have your company’s email saved? Or would they be erased, too?

What I’d do differently—and what you can still fix?

If I could go back to my early founder days, I’d throw out the word “intern” and replace it with “junior professional in training.” That’s the mindset you need. It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing right.

Here’s how I’d build it now:

• Every intern gets a Day 0 welcome doc.
• Every team lead gets a reminder: “They’re students, not staff. Teach more. Expect less.”
• Every exit includes a short call: “Thanks for your time. Here’s what we saw. Here’s what you can take with you.”

It doesn’t cost money to be decent. But it costs reputation to be careless. And in a world where everything gets screenshotted, archived, and posted—your silence can be your loudest signal.

This isn’t about a single school. Or a single intern. Or S$100. This is about whether the next generation of workers feels seen. Whether early-stage founders are building teams—or extracting labor. Whether the culture we say we value is something we’re actually willing to operationalize. Because if your culture only works when no one asks questions, it’s not a culture. It’s a cover-up. And you’re one Reddit post away from being exposed.

The harder truth is this: silence is structural. Ghosting is taught. Every time we ignore the small breaches—late payments, vague contracts, dismissed concerns—we're reinforcing the idea that entry-level labor is disposable. But it’s not. It's the ground your future team is built on.

Startups don’t scale with headcount. They scale with trust. If your interns don’t feel safe to speak up, your juniors won’t either. And eventually, your seniors will stop defending you. Fix it now—before someone else makes the story go viral.