very complex query

Question

Hello, please advise, I have a very difficult problem. I work for an employer who has been very dubious since the beginning of her employment. In my employment contract I have a wage assessment for the minimum wage, 13,400 crowns, a surcharge for work at night 500 per month and a surcharge of 500 per month for work on weekends. We only agreed orally that as a driver I would go from Kroměříž to Jihlava every night, where I would pack the containers, pick up new ones and come back and get 1000 crowns for this turn, plus 100 crowns to help the warehouseman unload the packages from the truck. I also received this money in the form of bonuses and bonuses to the agreed salary of 13,400, so my income was about 20-30 thousand. But the problem occurred when I resigned. The working hours lasted from six o'clock in the evening to seven o'clock in the morning, which is 13 hours, 5 days a week. I was only allowed to report in the work report the hours spent driving and unloading the truck, so that the working time did not exceed 8 hours a day. In addition, I was sent several times after such a night shift in the afternoon to Slovakia or Romania by van so that I could go without a driver card, so my working hours exceeded 16 hours a day. After I resigned, my employer inspected the truck I was driving and, in addition to a few cosmetic defects, found a scratched fuel tank. He wants to pay for this damage. I acknowledged all the damage, as a driver I have insurance, of course. The damage is cosmetic in my opinion, but the employer insists that he will have to buy a new tank. The price of the new tank is between 20 - 40 thousand crowns. I was presented with an agreement in which the employer's estimate for damages was 60,000 crowns. At the same time, the agreement stated that the final price would be supported by an invoice and that I agreed to deduct the price or part of it from the payment. I had to sign this agreement and sent it to the insurance company, as well as all other necessary documents. At the insurance company, therefore, they are only waiting for the employer's documents. So far, the car has been driven with this damage for two months now. Even another driver has caused similar damage to the damaged tank - scratches - right next to mine, but the employer does not demand anything from him. In any case, my notice period ends at the end of May, and on May 23, 2017, I caused an accident at work unloading the packages. The employer did not provide me with protective equipment - a helmet - and a metal package fell on my head and broke my head. I am currently incapacitated for work and I am prevented from taking up a new job from June, as no doctor will give me the confirmation of the working capacity that any new employer will want. On May 24, 2017, I received a payment from my employer, which amounted to 1,116 crowns. I was told by telephone that the rest of my pay had been deducted from me as a deposit to cover the damage I had caused until the matter was resolved through the insurance company. So I can say without work, unable to work and completely without money. My question is, apart from putting the employer to the labor inspectorate, what can I do to sue him? What compensation am I entitled to? Who will pay me part of my salary in the event of incapacity for work at the end of the notice period? Should I report to the employment office immediately or after the end of incapacity for work? Can the labor inspectorate force the employer to pay me the money I am entitled to, or can it do so in court? I received 1,116 crowns for the payment, I can't afford a lawyer or court fees. I live in the same household as a girlfriend, who fortunately pays rent, collection, insurance and installments for the loan we have, otherwise I would probably end up on the street soon, despite the fact that I worked much more than I ever thought Labor Code could. Can I ask for some help in material need? What will I need for that? I have not yet received a payslip for this "payout", I have asked the employer in writing to return at least the legal part of the payout to which I am entitled. Thank you so much, if you find the time to answer my difficult question, the help will be unbelievable for me.              

Answer 1

Common practice of employers abusing naivety and lack of knowledge of the laws of their employees. Official minimum wage and a "paperless" bonus that is not written into the payout. The income, if the worker works, is higher, but there is a betrayal: for the health insurance company and the social insurance company, only the official income is paid, and the daily benefits and later the pension are calculated from this. Here, the affected worker pays a lower financial contribution for his naivety in the necessary time. And the employer? ... "I am nothing, I am a musician, you should have read what you are signing" ... On the contract and material liability - see the wording of your Employment Contract and the Material Liability Agreement. This way, you can only answer in general without further information. I recommend that you contact the labor inspectorate, the labor office, the social insurance company, the tax office ("isn't this a tax fraud?") And the bar association, which also has such "free" cases of assigned workers, immediately. By ignorance and non-enforcement of your rights, you not only harm yourself and your family, but you also make it possible to harm other people affected by these unfair practices by employers in the same way or in a similar way.