Lili
advices for unpaid wage
Hello,
First of all, I apologize because I do not speak German.
Let me tell you about my issue. I applied on May 3rd to an internship offered by a start-up based in Berlin Alt Moabit. When I applied for the internship, the offer stipulated it was paid, no matter if it the internship is voluntary or compulsory. I got the internship. I accepted the offer and the date of the internship was supposed to be June 6, 2017 - September 8, 2017.
On May 9, the manager and one of the employer asked me to work part time in their company before the beginning of the internship, which I did. They asked me to write how much time I work so they can pay me later.
On June 8, two days after my arrival in the company, they told me I will not get paid because my internship is mandatory. I found it hard to understand, especially given the fact they previously asked me to work part-time (they did not pay for this) and the internship offer said "a fair paid internship for at least 3-6 month (compulsory or voluntary)". The offer can still be found on the Internet.
When they told me the internship was not paid, I got scared as the money I thought I will receive was supposed to pay for the accommodation, public transportations and food. I would have never applied to the offer if the sentence " a fair paid internship for at least 3-6 month (compulsory or voluntary)" was not written. I wanted to leave but instead, negotiated with the manager to be paid the minimum amount written on the internship offer when I applied for it.
So I signed the new contract but the manager and employers were clearly unhappy with the situation. They tried to contact my school to explain that mandatory internship are not supposed to be paid in Germany. One week later, they laid me off as they did not want to pay me. This was the 21st of June, 2017.
I went back to my country since it happened. As things stand today, I do not know if I will be paid for anything. I really need the money as I invested all I had in the internship (I paid for the plane to arrive in Berlin, I paid for an accommodation during the length of the internship - which lasted less than 3 weeks instead of three months, I paid for the food, transportations). In a nutshell, I lost nearly all my money for nothing. I summoned them to pay me but now I want to take legal action. Unfortunately, I cannot afford a lawyer.
So today, I need someone to explain me what are my rights, and tell me if the company, did anything illegal, especially in not mentioning they did not plan to pay me, on contrary to what was written in the job offer. I also wanted to know if this kind of situations often happen in Germany and how can I deal with it.
I apologize for the long explanation and hope you were able to understand the situation. I also hope you will be able to help me and tell me who to contact.
I thank you for your prompt attention.
Best regards
First of all, I apologize because I do not speak German.
Let me tell you about my issue. I applied on May 3rd to an internship offered by a start-up based in Berlin Alt Moabit. When I applied for the internship, the offer stipulated it was paid, no matter if it the internship is voluntary or compulsory. I got the internship. I accepted the offer and the date of the internship was supposed to be June 6, 2017 - September 8, 2017.
On May 9, the manager and one of the employer asked me to work part time in their company before the beginning of the internship, which I did. They asked me to write how much time I work so they can pay me later.
On June 8, two days after my arrival in the company, they told me I will not get paid because my internship is mandatory. I found it hard to understand, especially given the fact they previously asked me to work part-time (they did not pay for this) and the internship offer said "a fair paid internship for at least 3-6 month (compulsory or voluntary)". The offer can still be found on the Internet.
When they told me the internship was not paid, I got scared as the money I thought I will receive was supposed to pay for the accommodation, public transportations and food. I would have never applied to the offer if the sentence " a fair paid internship for at least 3-6 month (compulsory or voluntary)" was not written. I wanted to leave but instead, negotiated with the manager to be paid the minimum amount written on the internship offer when I applied for it.
So I signed the new contract but the manager and employers were clearly unhappy with the situation. They tried to contact my school to explain that mandatory internship are not supposed to be paid in Germany. One week later, they laid me off as they did not want to pay me. This was the 21st of June, 2017.
I went back to my country since it happened. As things stand today, I do not know if I will be paid for anything. I really need the money as I invested all I had in the internship (I paid for the plane to arrive in Berlin, I paid for an accommodation during the length of the internship - which lasted less than 3 weeks instead of three months, I paid for the food, transportations). In a nutshell, I lost nearly all my money for nothing. I summoned them to pay me but now I want to take legal action. Unfortunately, I cannot afford a lawyer.
So today, I need someone to explain me what are my rights, and tell me if the company, did anything illegal, especially in not mentioning they did not plan to pay me, on contrary to what was written in the job offer. I also wanted to know if this kind of situations often happen in Germany and how can I deal with it.
I apologize for the long explanation and hope you were able to understand the situation. I also hope you will be able to help me and tell me who to contact.
I thank you for your prompt attention.
Best regards
Antworten (15)
All your apologies are accepted. Have a good time anyway, good bye.
Dear Lili,
welcome to this Wissens Community, and I apologise for Dara’s rude comment.
Unfortunately you have come to the wrong place.
This platform ist established primarily to advertise shonky products and dubious financial services in addition to the giving of space for users to insult each other.
Under no circumstances should you seek legal advice here as it can’t be given. Should it still be given it would be worthless as so many other contributions.
I wish you luck with your further endeavours and remain
yours truly,
Swan
welcome to this Wissens Community, and I apologise for Dara’s rude comment.
Unfortunately you have come to the wrong place.
This platform ist established primarily to advertise shonky products and dubious financial services in addition to the giving of space for users to insult each other.
Under no circumstances should you seek legal advice here as it can’t be given. Should it still be given it would be worthless as so many other contributions.
I wish you luck with your further endeavours and remain
yours truly,
Swan
Dear Lilli,
1) Read your contract. Your employment contract should specify clearly your salary or hourly wage or any other compensation (travel and living). If your pay rate has changed since you signed your contract, look for documentation to verify that change, such as an email specifying your new pay rate, or pay stubs showing that your pay rate changed.
2) Gather supporting documents. To demonstrate to your employer that you have been underpaid, and to ultimately bring a successful lawsuit, you will need to present evidence of how much you should have been paid, how much you were actually paid, and how much money you are owed.
Gather your:
Time cards;
Pay stubs;
Bank statements (showing direct deposits);
Any communications with your employer regarding pay, such as an email confirming a raise; and
Your employment contract.
3) Do the math. Calculate how much you are owed by multiplying each hour you worked by the applicable wage (minimum, overtime, or your contractual wage). Then subtract the amount you were actually paid from the amount you should have been paid to find the still-outstanding unpaid amount.
4) Speak with your employer. Before threatening or filing a complaint, ask your employer for your unpaid wages. Your employer's failure to pay your full wages may have been the result of an accounting error or a misunderstanding. If so, your employer may be happy to voluntarily pay you the discrepancy. Call, set up a meeting, or send a friendly email or letter (as opposed to a demand letter). Try not to take an argumentative tone before your employer gives you a refusal.
5) draft a demand letter
Determine where to send your letter. A demand letter lets your employer know that if they do not respond, you will take legal action. When addressing your letter, send it to the person or department responsible for paying your wages. For example, if your supervisor is not responsible for paying employees, then address your letter to someone in management.
Demand letters can be very effective, because they demonstrate that the problem is not going to simply go away if the employer ignores it. You can also use the demand letter in court to show that your employer was made aware of the wage violation and that you tried to resolve the issue out of court.
A demand letter sent by an attorney may be more effective at getting the employer's attention. Consider hiring an attorney to draft a demand letter for you.
6)Set a deadline. Let your employer know that if they do not respond by a specified deadline, you will take legal action to claim the money you are owed. For example, "If I do not receive a response by Friday, July xx, 20xy, I will take legal action to pursue my claim."
Cheers
BH
1) Read your contract. Your employment contract should specify clearly your salary or hourly wage or any other compensation (travel and living). If your pay rate has changed since you signed your contract, look for documentation to verify that change, such as an email specifying your new pay rate, or pay stubs showing that your pay rate changed.
2) Gather supporting documents. To demonstrate to your employer that you have been underpaid, and to ultimately bring a successful lawsuit, you will need to present evidence of how much you should have been paid, how much you were actually paid, and how much money you are owed.
Gather your:
Time cards;
Pay stubs;
Bank statements (showing direct deposits);
Any communications with your employer regarding pay, such as an email confirming a raise; and
Your employment contract.
3) Do the math. Calculate how much you are owed by multiplying each hour you worked by the applicable wage (minimum, overtime, or your contractual wage). Then subtract the amount you were actually paid from the amount you should have been paid to find the still-outstanding unpaid amount.
4) Speak with your employer. Before threatening or filing a complaint, ask your employer for your unpaid wages. Your employer's failure to pay your full wages may have been the result of an accounting error or a misunderstanding. If so, your employer may be happy to voluntarily pay you the discrepancy. Call, set up a meeting, or send a friendly email or letter (as opposed to a demand letter). Try not to take an argumentative tone before your employer gives you a refusal.
5) draft a demand letter
Determine where to send your letter. A demand letter lets your employer know that if they do not respond, you will take legal action. When addressing your letter, send it to the person or department responsible for paying your wages. For example, if your supervisor is not responsible for paying employees, then address your letter to someone in management.
Demand letters can be very effective, because they demonstrate that the problem is not going to simply go away if the employer ignores it. You can also use the demand letter in court to show that your employer was made aware of the wage violation and that you tried to resolve the issue out of court.
A demand letter sent by an attorney may be more effective at getting the employer's attention. Consider hiring an attorney to draft a demand letter for you.
6)Set a deadline. Let your employer know that if they do not respond by a specified deadline, you will take legal action to claim the money you are owed. For example, "If I do not receive a response by Friday, July xx, 20xy, I will take legal action to pursue my claim."
Cheers
BH
Thank you Swan for your answer.
I was not aware of the nature of the platform.
Best regards.
I was not aware of the nature of the platform.
Best regards.
Thank you BH for the informations you gave me. It is very helpful. I wish you all the best.
Best regards,
Lili
Best regards,
Lili
Lilli,
you are more than welcome.
I hope you will have much better opertunities in the future, ironing out your bad experience and memories caused by the internship in Berlin.
Second,
the Wissens Community is not as bad as described by Swan.
Some exceptional characters but not more and less as somewhere.
you are more than welcome.
I hope you will have much better opertunities in the future, ironing out your bad experience and memories caused by the internship in Berlin.
Second,
the Wissens Community is not as bad as described by Swan.
Some exceptional characters but not more and less as somewhere.
"opportunities" For the sake of correctness. ;-))
... still two further markings:
"not more OR less" und "... anywhere else" ;-)))
"not more OR less" und "... anywhere else" ;-)))
Dear solitude32,
Thank you so much for your valuable feedback and helping me to improve.
Again what learned (-;
Thank you so much for your valuable feedback and helping me to improve.
Again what learned (-;
Dear Alien13,
Thank you so much for your valuable feedback and helping me to improve.
Again what learned (-;
Dear Lilli,
Please ignore my second sentence with regard to the Wissens Community
Just learned it is not correct at all!
Thank you so much for your valuable feedback and helping me to improve.
Again what learned (-;
Dear Lilli,
Please ignore my second sentence with regard to the Wissens Community
Just learned it is not correct at all!
hubsi, keep cool.
No comment needed.
Ich bin echt stolz auch euch, wie ihr alle auswärts könnt. Und wenn es nur der google-Übersetzer ist.
Allerdings frage ich mich, wen ihr damit beeindrucken wollt. Heute kann jeder das Sprachgenie heraushängen. Wie viele Sprachen übersetzt google doch gleich? Wie wäre es denn dann mit Mandarin?
Allerdings frage ich mich, wen ihr damit beeindrucken wollt. Heute kann jeder das Sprachgenie heraushängen. Wie viele Sprachen übersetzt google doch gleich? Wie wäre es denn dann mit Mandarin?
Klappt wirklich mit goog**le.
Ich habe mal "Geh scheißen" eingegeben und es kam
"go to shit " oder 去拉屎 --> Qù lā shǐ
raus.
Ich habe mal "Geh scheißen" eingegeben und es kam
"go to shit " oder 去拉屎 --> Qù lā shǐ
raus.
@bh_roth
Wenn mein Englisch so schlecht wäre, dass ich für solche Kleinigkeiten ein Übersetzungsprogramm benötigt hätte, hätte ich den Post nicht geschrieben, sondern wäre mal lieber ganz schön still geblieben :-)
Wenn mein Englisch so schlecht wäre, dass ich für solche Kleinigkeiten ein Übersetzungsprogramm benötigt hätte, hätte ich den Post nicht geschrieben, sondern wäre mal lieber ganz schön still geblieben :-)