1️⃣ Your boss asks you to overtime. You say “No.”
⚖️ It depends.
📒 If your employment contract, company policy and law allow it, and there is genuine business need, refusing without a valid reason may amount to insubordination.
2️⃣ Your boss transfers you to another branch. You refuse.
⚖️ It depends.
📒 Many employers have the right to transfer employees, especially if the employment contract contains a transfer clause and the decision is made in good faith.
3️⃣ Your boss asks you to work on a public holiday. You decline.
⚖️ It depends.
📒 Some industries operate on public holidays. If the employer is entitled to require you work and complies with the applicable legal entitlements, refusing without a valid reason may become an issue.
4️⃣ Your boss asks you to help another department for a week. You reply, “That’s not my job.”
⚖️ It depends.
📒 Employers can usually assign reasonable duties that support business operations. A job description is a guide, not always a complete list of everything you may be asked to do.
5️⃣ Your boss tells you to falsify a report. You refuse.
❌ Generally, this is NOT insubordination.
📒 Employees are expected to follow lawful and reasonable instructions, not unlawful or unethical ones.
Insubordination isn’t simply saying “no” to the boss.
The real question is whether the employer gave a lawful and reasonable instruction in the first place.
If the answer is yes, only then do we ask whether the employee had a valid reason for refusing.
In that order.
xoxoxo, AuntyHR
