Lessons from January Practice

⚘ Don't trust verbal agreements. It doesn't matter what you're discussing: creative fees, salary, or pay rises after the end of the probationary period. Put everything in writing and don't start work until the agreement is written down and signed.

⚘ Unpaid leave. The employer may not take unpaid leave by force, and if they cannot provide work, they must declare a stoppage of work or terminate the employment contract. A new member contacted us and we helped him recover his unpaid leave and one month's severance pay. Before we contacted the employer, they claimed that the company does not pay holiday pay at all and even demanded that the employee reimburse them for the cost of training and worn-out work equipment.

⚘ Business travel allowances. The procedure for payment of travel allowances must be clearly stated in the employment contract. For the first time, we concluded a formal conciliation agreement before the Labour Disputes Committee, in which our member was ordered to pay compensation for non-material damage, as the mission money was paid after the mission. The person had to spend time abroad without money. This settlement agreement also stated that the employer admitted their fault and undertook to amend the contracts of employment to include the payment of the travel allowance.

⚘ Employment of foreigners. We note that employers often avoid providing information in a language that the foreigner understands, including the employment contract, information on health and safety, and job descriptions. This leads to exploitation of workers, failure to guarantee minimum rest periods or overtime pay. We asked the State Labour Inspectorate to investigate a restaurant in Vilnius.

⚘ Employment contract ≠ service contract. If your employer offers you a service contract and avoids signing an employment contract, make sure that the service contract contains specific responsibilities, and weigh up the financial risks in terms of loss of holiday pay, personal tax and safeguards in the event of termination. Include these aspects in the service contract before signing it.