Hello all,

2 days ago, I have been laid of by the owner of the company. I have worked there for 6 years with exceptional performance however my director quit last month and now the owner wants me out as well.

However, in my contract i have a 3 month notice and included in the contract is provided accommodation and meal.

When he told me am fired, he forced me off premisses, and banned me from anywhere. also today i got to know from the landlord that he informed him that he will not pay my letter anymore. he even did not pay the rent for this month yet! and now my landlord is threatening me.

I believe this is a breach of contract, but am scared to be left on the streets now and not sure how to proceed. any advice/help is highly and much appreciated!

Thank you

As far as I'm aware you need official termination in the form of a letter from the company ending your contract. There also needs to be agreement that instead of working your notice you take "garden leave". As far as I can see he must still pay your salary, accommodation and compensate you for meals for the next 3 months. He can bar you from the premises (happens all the time at my husband's firm due to security), but he's still obligated to pay what he owes you.

Look for a good employment tribunal lawyer because this will probably get nasty. If there is a union at the company contact them for advice as well.

Option 1)
Termination with notice period of x months, but garden leave (as in: you receive a salary but are not required to work in return): allowed any time, but needs to be agreed to in writing.
Your employer can also indeed ban you from premises and shut down your phone, computer and everything else (usually for reasons of security and/or confidentiality).

Option 2)
Termination without notice and no garden leave: not allowed unless there was a severe breach of contract (think stealing, harassment, fraud). This option also requires multiple warnings.

If 2) does not apply (and be very honest on this one), what he is doing is not allowed. He is obliged to pay you for three months and that includes accommodation or whatever else was agreed to in the contract.

Only real option is to get legal help immediately.

I would contact UNIA immediately. Unless you have a different union.

http://gav.arbeitsrechtler.ch/Gastge...2017_A2016.pdf

OP, bear in mind that, unlike other some other countries, in Switzerland any employer is allowed (with very few exceptions, such as during an apprenticehip) to terminate any employee's contract (and vice versa) with no advance warning and also without having to give any reason. Both parties are free in this. As long as the party giving notice adheres to the terms of the notice as set out in the contract, then nothing unlawful has been done.

OP, did your employer present you with any papers to sign before you left the premises?
If so, what did they say?
And did you sign them?

Thank you so much for all the support.

- He did not present any paper what so ever, and did not sing anything what so ever. therefore am so freaking lost

- When I asked why are u firing me no reasons was givin, however he announced to the staff due to poor leadership! - keep in mind i was never under his direct supervision, nor ever had a review. nad have been staff of the year, a year ago.

- Also my previous director is suing him for negative reference after 10 years of service!

any suggestions for a good employment lawyer in luzern, or zurich?

Thank you

Is the rental contract, for your accommodation and meals, made between you and the landlord? Or between your employer and the landlord?

If that contract is not in your name, then ask the landlord to speak to your employer directly.

ON my employment contract is mentioned that accommodation and meals are provided.

However 2 years ago he forced me to put my name on the rent agreement with the landlord...

So they contacted the landlord today saying they will not pay anymore - even he was late for September

You have a 3-month notice period during which the employer should continue to pay your salary. It is good news that you were not asked to sign anything. I wanted to know that because sometimes employers try to avoid paying during the notice period by asking the employee to sign away their rights.

This can hurt! It is never nice to hear, later, that someone has spoken badly. And it can feel so unfair when you know that last year you won that award! If I were in your shoes, I would probably be annoyed, sad and scared, all at the same time.

Even so, I hope you understand the hard reality that the employer is allowed to terminate an employment contract at any time. Even without any reason. In THAT part, the employer has done nothing against the law.

Since you know this, I presume you are in touch with your previous director. Can you and he not perhaps use the same employment lawyer? That might speed things up, and keep the costs down, for both of you.

I agree with the advice given earlier in the thread, that if your industry is part of any union, you should ask the union office for advice, first.

As I see it, the only thing your employer owes you by law is:

• your salary according to your contract, for the months of the notice
• your accommodation and meal costs (either those exact ones you pay to your landlord, or some other amount you and he can agree on)

@Zanzino
don't forget to register at the unemployment office without delay! The benefits there are calculated from, at the very earliest, the day you register.

You should also immediately start to look for another job, and the RAV (unemployment office) will require of you to demonstrate that you are looking. Therefore, keep a fat file of every attempt you make, including copies of ads you've read, proper notes of any phonecalls you make, hours you spend working on your cv and contacting potential reference people, all the letters of application you send, whether electronic or on paper, etc.