School said medical notes weren't the right format, tribunal disagreed
Tribunal Magistrate Joel Tan ruled on 12 August 2026 that a Singapore international school forced a cancer survivor to resign, ordering $20,000 in compensation.
The case involved an administrative assistant who had worked in the school's music department since 2008. She was diagnosed with stage 3 nasopharyngeal cancer in July 2024. After months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, her oncologist certified her fit to return on 26 June 2025 and recommended light duties for ongoing side effects, a view an occupational therapist supported, citing fatigue and reduced hand function.
She returned to campus on 7 August 2025 and initially worked two days a week from home with her line manager's agreement. That arrangement broke down once the department head raised internal concerns that her absences were disrupting daily operations. At a meeting on 7 October 2025, the school's high school principal revoked the work-from-home arrangement immediately, said her medical documentation was insufficient because it was not a formal Light Duties Medical Certificate, and sent her for an independent fit-for-work assessment.
That assessment, on 21 October 2025, found she could not lift loads over five kilograms and recommended a four-day week with one day from home for two months. Human resources pressed the examining doctor by email to confirm the home-working advice was optional, and he eventually withdrew it. At a further...
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