If the employer has not paid the employee wages, this should be a reason for an immediate appeal to the court. In accordance with the existing legislation, non-payment of wages and benefits may also result in criminal prosecution.
Reasons for non-payment of wages and deadlines
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for an employer to fail to pay its employees. Such situations cause resentment among employees. At the same time, many do not even know how to punish the employer and whether it is possible at all.
In order to take any action, it is important to take into account the timing of the delay in wages and the most likely reasons. Administrative liability for non-payment of wages and benefits arises after 3 months from the moment the employee should have received the money.
In order to bring the employer to justice, you must write a statement to the Labor Inspectorate. Unfortunately, the specialists of this state structure are endowed with very limited powers. Inspection officers can only fine a legal entity for a very modest amount of money. The specialists of the Labor Inspectorate are not able to force the employer to pay wages.
Three months after the wages were to be paid, the employee has every right to contact the prosecutor's office or even the police. Before contacting you, be sure to find out the most likely reason for the delay. According to the law, criminal liability arises only if the employer had the opportunity to pay off the employee, but did not do it. In other words, it is necessary to prove the presence of selfish intent in the actions of the head of the enterprise. In practice, this is very difficult to implement.
It is recommended to contact law enforcement agencies only if the employee has good reason to believe that the employer is using his money or is not going to pay it at all.
Going to court
Currently, one of the most effective methods of dealing with an unscrupulous employer is to go to court. When writing a statement of claim, you need to state in detail all claims, as well as attach the necessary documents. You will need an employment contract, additional agreements, testimony.
If all employees of the company have not received their wages, they need to file a claim in court at the same time. This will make it much easier to prove your case.
In the statement of claim, it is necessary to indicate the amount that the employer is obliged to pay to the employee. In this case, compensation should be claimed for the use of other people's funds, as well as compensation for moral damage. Often the amount of compensation is quite significant, since this amount depends on inflation and the time that elapses from the moment when the wages were supposed to be paid until the date of the court decision.
In the event of financial disputes, the employee should not quit, since he can make claims to the employer only within three months from the date of dismissal.
