SINGAPORE — Ten former employees of renovation firm Interior Times (Kings’) have alleged that they have been owed over $118,000 in commissions since August, and have since lodged employment dispute reports with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM).
Nine of the employees are interior designers who said they’d left the firm, a branch of Interior Times, in July and August. They claimed they were each owed between $2,600 and $30,700 for at least 10 projects.
The firm’s director, Jason Wang, disputed the commission amounts and said he has been attending mediation sessions with TADM.
He claimed the amounts said to be owed to the IDs were for projects that his firm is still finalising payments for.
In response to queries, a TADM spokesman confirmed it is assisting 10 people in their claims for unpaid salaries or commissions from Interior Times (Kings’).
One former employee has received payment following mediation, while the remaining nine cases are awaiting mediation, the spokesman said on Sept 4.
One interior designer who made a TADM report is Marilyn Kong, 50, who left the firm in early August. She said she did not receive her commission of about $8,200 when it was due in mid-August.
“I left after some contractors rejected my orders and work arrangements because the company was delaying their payments. This made it difficult for me to run my projects smoothly,” she said.
The interior designers said Wang did not respond to most of their text messages.
Wang told ST that he did not pay out the commissions as the company is still receiving invoices from suppliers. The firm’s designers are paid a commission of 50 per cent of the project’s profit when all the accounts are settled.
“I’m not running away. The commissions will be paid out once the projects are finalised,” he said.
Wang said the firm has refunded sums to 27 clients who wished to cancel their projects so far, amounting to a loss of $547,060. This has caused the company to miss its $4 million sales target for the last quarter of 2024, he added.
As a result, he plans to deduct a $3,000 incentive paid to each interior designer in May from what he owes them. This is because the incentive was disbursed with the condition that the firm hit its target.
After offsetting these amounts from their commissions, Wang claimed that six of the designers owe the firm money. The remaining four will be paid between $2,400 and $19,600.
The interior designers who said they were owed commissions have joined various subsidiaries under Conquest Design Group (CDG) — a company set up by a former Interior Times director, Kason Koh.
Koh, 35, said CDG will complete projects for home owners who wish to continue working with interior designers who have moved to his firm. It will also absorb the cost of any deposit already paid to Interior Times, he added.
Lim Jun Ji, 37, was among the IDs who moved to CDG in July. He said he was owed about $25,000 in commissions after he left Interior Times, and expressed a lack of confidence in the firm’s finances. Lim is currently running a subsidiary of CDG called 2J Interiors.
When asked, Wang disputed allegations about cash flow issues. He said some suppliers had submitted their invoices past the cut-off time, and had to wait for the next tranche to be paid.
Another ID, Samantha Neo, 29, said she was owed $30,700 in commissions across four projects. Neo said home owners in her two ongoing projects have requested to follow her to Empyrean Design Studio, which is under CDG.
One of the home owners under Neo told ST that they have received a refund from Interior Times, and that her renovation was not disrupted.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
