Wage claim – no salary or too little salary?

If you are in paid employment, your employer must pay you your salary periodically, usually once a month or once every 4 weeks. Fortunately, this usually goes well and without problems. However, a situation may arise in which you have a wage claim against your employer. This may be the case in the event of dismissal, absenteeism due to illness or an industrial dispute between you and your employer. It is also possible that your employer does not pay your salary after you have resigned or been fired. Didn’t receive a salary or does your employer pay too little salary? Start a wage claim.

No salary received and employer does not pay

If for whatever reason your employer refuses to pay your salary, he is in default and you can start a wage claim. There are very few grounds for suspending payment of salary. If you refuse work, this is allowed, or if you do not cooperate in a reintegration process after illness. But only in an extreme situation. Some employers use non-payment of salary as leverage, but judges rarely rule that this is justified. Some employers are not afraid to suspend salary payments in order to put pressure on an employee. This is obviously not decent and therefore it is certainly worth fighting. Didn’t receive a salary ? Register your wage situation for free .

Received too little wages

Your employer is obliged to pay you the salary that has been agreed in your employment contract or to which you are entitled under the Collective Labor Agreement . Your employer who pays too little salary is therefore in default and you can challenge this via us. It is, of course, advisable to first talk to your employer and persuade him or her to transfer the correct salary amount to you. to make. If this does not happen, you can count on our sound legal advice and assistance to ensure that you get what you are entitled to. Register your wage situation for free .

A wage claim after dismissal

If you resign or get fired, your employer must always pay you your salary until the day before the resignation takes effect. You are also entitled to salary over the outstanding period if you are immediately dismissed due to culpable behaviour. Your back wages after discharge not only includes the salary for the current period as well as your accrued entitlement to holiday pay, a 13 e monthly or other periodic payments. In addition, leave hours not taken must of course be paid out. Your employer must submit this final statement to you within a reasonable period of time, preferably on the date on which you would have received your regular salary if there had been no dismissal.

A wage claim in the event of illness

If you are ill, your employer must continue to pay your salary for a maximum of 2 years after you reported sick. This is regulated by law. Your employer may therefore never stop the salary payments, not even if he is of the opinion that you are not ill and must come to work. This is only allowed if an independent judgment by an occupational health doctor shows that you are fit for work and you still refuse to resume work. Even then, your employer must give you advance notice that it intends to suspend salary payments if you do not report to work by a certain date to resume work. If your employer nevertheless decides to no longer pay your salary, you can submit this wage claim in the event of illness to us and have a letter sent to your employer in which the wage is claimed.

A wage claim after bankruptcy

If the company where you are employed goes bankrupt, the employer is often unable to pay your salary until the moment of dismissal. The UWV takes over the salary payment if a company is in suspension of payment or if the last salary period cannot be paid after bankruptcy. But if you already have an older claim because your employer already failed to meet its obligations, you must file it as a claim in the bankruptcy. Get proper legal help if this applies to you.

The settlement agreement, what does this mean?

If your employer wants to fire you, a so-called settlement agreement is often drawn up. This sets out the agreements regarding the dissolution of the employment contract. This concerns the salary still to be paid during the dismissal period, whether or not you are still working during your notice period and, if so, what these activities entail. Think of completing projects or transferring tasks. The settlement agreement must also state which payments are still to be made. Think not only of the salary, but also of holiday pay, leave hours, profit distribution or other bonuses. A settlement agreement is also widely used in a labor dispute.
The settlement agreement in case of illness

If you are ill at home, your employer may wish to dissolve the employment contract by means of a settlement agreement . This is strongly discouraged. When you sign an agreement, you often lose your right to disability insurance if it turns out that you can no longer resume your work and become fully or partially incapacitated for work. So if you are sick at home, never be pressured to sign a settlement agreement. And if you want this, always have it checked by someone who understands employment law.

A wage claim after a labor dispute

In the event of a conflict at work , you will usually be suspended. This means that you will no longer be able to access your work and therefore will no longer be able to do your work. In the event of a labor dispute, it is important to let your employer know as soon as possible that you are available to resume work. This is called willingness to work. In that case, your employer can never blame you for being sent home and not having heard anything since. A good employer or personnel officer also maintains contact with a suspended employee. If the labor dispute leads to the termination of the employment contract, your employer must pay your salary until the day on which the employment contract is terminated.

A wage claim in the event of instant dismissal

If you are dismissed with immediate effect for seriously culpable conduct, this does not mean that your employer no longer has to pay your salary until the day of the dismissal. When the 16 e is discharged from the month your employer is required simply to your salary over the period of the first e to 15 e of the month to pay off for you. Built up holiday pay or 13 e month just needs to be paid to you. If your employer refuses this, you can challenge this with the help of our legal assistance.

When does a wage claim become time-barred?

A wage claim lapses after 5 years. It is therefore important that you take action in good time if you believe you are still entitled to wage arrears . If your employer does not pay your salary or if your employer pays too little salary, it is important to take action as soon as possible. The judge will certainly take into account in the decision how quickly you sounded the alarm when it turned out that you had received too little or no salary. If you wait a year or more without good reason, this may lead to a lower award by the court. An employer owes a fine and interest, but in particular the amount of the fine can be reduced by the court if there is reason to do so.

Make sure to keep all relevant documents

A successful wage claim stands or falls with being able to submit the supporting documents. Do you have a wage claim against your employer and do you want to collect it? In that case, make sure that you can submit all relevant documents that can serve as evidence and substantiation of your claim. This concerns, for example, the following documents:

– Your most recent payslips, at least the latest
– Your employment contract
– An overview of open leave hours
– The Collective Labor Agreement if applicable
= Evidence of mutual agreements made between you and your employer, for example with regard to overtime or allowances
– Correspondence between you and your employer about the wage claim that has arisen

If you can submit these documents, where applicable, we can immediately get to work for you to ensure that your wage claim is resolved quickly, either through amicable means or by going to court. Do you need help because you have a wage claim against your (former) employer? Please contact us so that we can help you immediately.