Twelve Cupcakes slapped with SG$119,500 fine for underpaying employees

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Singapore-based confectionery company Twelve Cupcakes has been fined SG$119,500 for underpaying seven employees, according to multiple media reports including The Straits Times and Channel NewsAsia. The company was convicted under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act on 15 counts of underpaying its employees in 2017 and 2018.

Citing court documents, The Straits Times reported that all seven employees were S-Pass holders at the time of the offence. It is added that that while the staff monthly salaries ranged from SG$2,200 to SG$2,600 each, Twelve Cupcakes only paid the employees amounts ranging from SG$1,400 to SG$2,050. Subsequently in May 2018, the company reportedly paid them full salaries, but told them to return a part of it in cash. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Twelve Cupcakes for a statement.

Twelve Cupcakes is currently owned by an Indian tea company, Dhunseri Group. It was bought over in 2016 for SG$2.5 million from its founders, local radio DJs Daniel Ong and Jamie Teo. Although the company is convicted for offences after the company was sold, Ong and Teo were also reported to have allowed the chain to underpay the wages of their foreign employees between 2013 and 2016. According to The Straits Times, there were also instances involving some workers who, for periods between 2012 and 2013, did not receive any income.

Twelve Cupcakes was founded in 2011, and boasts to have its cupcakes baked fresh daily by hand with eye-catching presentations. The brand currently has 35 outlets across Singapore, and sells other confectioneries such as cakes, cookies, and mini cupcakes.