Reader JA asks if it's legal for an employer to demand compensation if an employee quits their job partway through their contract.
"What about if someone wants to quit their job and break their contract early (say, midway through) but the contract says that if the person doesn't give 30 days notice then 'the contract shall be terminated only if he pays in a lump sum, the amount equal to the wages for the remaining term of his contract within 30 days from the day of the termination'? Is this legal?"
According to Article 16 of the Labor Standards Act, "An employer shall not make a contract which fixes in advance either a sum payable to the employer for breach of contract or an amount of compensation for damages."