Legal advice on vacation days and overtime
Questioner
Hello Our company was taken over by another company, and as a result I received a final settlement of the remaining vacation days and overtime for the month of December 2012. I received a pay slip about this by email, with the message that if no response is received within 48 hours, the pay slip will be considered as approved by me. My question is, can this 48-hour time limit be made mandatory, and can you no longer claim your rights after these 48 hours if an error is found in the settlement? I have also discovered a serious error, namely that I was paid out 40 hours too little, because I have 180 hours credited and they have paid out 141 hours. A difference of 39 hours. I have contacted the payroll administration several times (the company still exists, but the department I was with has been closed down). The payroll administration now claims (less than 1.5 months later, I actually raised the alarm after 3 weeks) that I was too late with the complaint and that they never received my hours list for the month of December, they previously claimed that the list was somewhere deep in the archive and that they could no longer access it! In short, what is the best way for me to act?Lawyer
This time limit of 48 hours is absolutely unreasonable. It is best to send a (registered) letter in which you claim the 39 hours too little, increased by the statutory interest and the statutory increase of art. 7:625 BW. Given the situation, I would not set a too long term for payment, e.g. 1 week. If they do not (want to) pay and can demonstrate to you that you are entitled to those 39 hours, you can consider going to the subdistrict court (with or without a lawyer) with your claim. You can contact me or one of the other employment law attorneys on this site for this, or, if you qualify for this because of your income, take a lawyer on a legal aid basis. The question remains of course whether this is all worth it now that it is 'only' 39 hours. It could well be that your ex-employer is also gambling that you will eventually leave it at that. Anyway, good luck and kind regards,Questioner
Thanks for the quick response. I will work on this and keep you informed of further developments. I'm afraid that the legal costs do not outweigh the amount I am still owed and that they are therefore gambling on that.Questioner
I have now spoken to the person responsible and he has looked into it on the spot together with me. We agreed on the number of hours and he offered to pay me the amount in tourist vouchers!! I don't know if that's wise, but I think that's the most feasible thing to do.Lawyer
Good that you took action and achieved results! After all, overtime is often difficult to prove. If you estimate that this is the most feasible option, I think you should do it. After all, the most important thing is that you have a (reasonably) good feeling about it. It is of course sad that an employer wants to get away with it so cheaply (no payroll tax, of course not allowed at all!), but on the other hand, the alternative for you (a costly lawsuit with evidentiary discussions and an uncertain outcome for both you and the tax authorities) is not at all attractive. I am normally quite principled in these kinds of things (especially when it comes to tax evasion), but I can very well understand the choice in your situation. However, I would like to advise that you try again to get a little more (VVV vouchers), arguing that the employer will get off very cheaply (in terms of tax). Good luck and kind regards,Questioner
The amount I receive is already slightly higher than what I was entitled to, indeed my ex-employer benefits from the fact that he now does not pay payroll tax. According to him, it was also very difficult to do it afterwards through official channels. But all's well that ends well, case closed (once I receive the VVV vouchers) Thanks for the advice on this.Neem de volgende stap
Blijf niet rondlopen met vragen over je situatie. Stel je vraag en krijg persoonlijk antwoord van een ervaren jurist.
Privacy is gewaarborgd.