Does anyone have any eperience of not being paid? My employer hasnt paid me for October and I'm now starting to get nervous that I may not get paid at all. I am still turning up to work but that can't go on indefinately. He keeps saying the money will be in the bank but never appears. On top of this there are a lot of other people chasing him for money - daily betreibungs etc

Whats the correct procedure? Some one told me to start off with a registered letter but should I first complain to Gemeinde or RAV office or what ?

Any help much appreciated.

Ah yes, this happened to a friend of mine in China. He briefly took his former boss and the secretary hostage...and assured them, that nobody will go home until he will get paid. Worked like a charm...what the proper procedure is here...not sure, but the registered letter does sound like a good start.

Sorry to hear about your current predicament. Can't advise you directly but this search "not paid" came up with a number of similar threads that should hopefully give you some pointers on what to do next.

Good luck!

The boss should have paid you by the 1st November, sending a registered letter is polite, but will not get you very far.

You should go to the Betreibungsamt near your home and file a claim. Take a copy of your work contract and your permit.

http://tel.local.ch/en/q/Basel%20(Re....html?rid=WK6Y You will have to pay a small fee, which is added to his debt.

Doing this will ensure that when the company goes bust, you will be first inline for a payment. Start looking intensely for another job!

I was also not paid but due to a disagreement about my contract (whilst pregnant). Anyway I went to the Labor Court. (Arbeitsgericht) (As suggested I took with me a friend who spoke German). They told me to send a registered letter giving my employer a reasonable amount of time to pay (in my case they suggested 1 month but I think you could say two weeks). Then if they do not pay you have to take claim to the Justice of the peace (Friedensrichter) which is at the gemeinde office in the area where your employer is based (not your own gemeinde).

Good luck.

I often have to wait, I just got paid for August & September last week. It's not allowed, but can happen. If the company goes bust you will get the last 3 months of salary & pension contributions for sure.

I have personal experience, this is not in theory.

registered letter is the way to start but won't have an effect.
Betreibungsamt perfect way to go.
Also check, if he paid your SVA and Pensionskasse and hasn't just taken your bit from your wages... happens more than one would expect...

if he realy is one of the sort I suspect he is, you will need a lot of patience but don't back off!

I've been there and in hindsight I would have stopped turning up at work and looked for another job.

Thanks for the replies - will keep thread updated on any progress. One of the people working here has already gone down the friedenschriche route

Is this a statutory thing or does it depend on the liquidation value of the company?

Nice idea, but then if you are dismissed for not working, the RAV will fine you 6 weeks pay as you caused your own dismissal.

Definitely get another job, and then start immediately.

Technically, if the employer says he want's to pay, but has no money, the shop is bankrupt.
It's really high-time then to look for a new job - one that actually pays.
As Betreibungen are already flowing in, it is only a matter of time until your office-chair will be auctioned off by the bailiff...

I've been there, too (in Germany) but I really liked what I was doing so I waited till the end. I had savings (which I burned through), no debt and lived very frugal. Wouldn't be possible in Zurich these days.
Another problem is that employee-loyality does not count a bit in these days.
If you wait too long, future employers will ask themselves, why you didn't jump ship earlier.

It's a Statutory thing, some form of government insurance .

I don't know anything about the RAV - but is it not possible that the employer has terminated/breached/otherwise ended the contract already by not paying? Turning up for work and not getting paid is not really "employment"...more "volunteering".

Well I got paid today so problem postponed for another 14 days - ho hum

I wouldn't try that in Switzerland.

I went to collect a key from a tenant and was charged with "Hostage Taking" with a few other charges.
Experience of Judicial System in Switzerland