# Employment law?



## gollfer (May 23, 2011)

Hi i have a wee problem and wondered if anyone can help?

I own a house Barcelona which i rent out to holiday guests and took on a couple last year to come and live and look after the house for me. They were south American and illegal, so i offered them free rent, including all bills with their own 2 bed cottage and garden and a 350€ a month cash. In return they looked after my house and kept it clean. 

They left last October to move to Barcelona City. I wished them well and gave them a 500€ thank you gift. 

I then received a demand from them saying i owed them minimum wage and they demanded that i pay them 5000€ in compensation. 

bearing in mind they resigned i considered this absurd. So i requested they send me a legal letter from a lawyer and i would look at it. They never did and three days after leaving my house was burgled with no forced entry, they stole my keys so one has to assume they were prime suspects.

After this and them burgling over 4,000€ of goods i thought i would never hear from them again, but to my dismay i have received a court summons because they are suing me in the Social/Laboral Courts for minimum wage and say i owe them €14000 

Does anyone have any experiences of this type of thing? Does anyone know of a good lawyer? Do you think they have a case against me?

cheers


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

gollfer said:


> Hi i have a wee problem and wondered if anyone can help?
> 
> I own a house Barcelona which i rent out to holiday guests and took on a couple last year to come and live and look after the house for me. They were south American and illegal, so i offered them free rent, including all bills with their own 2 bed cottage and garden and a 350€ a month cash. In return they looked after my house and kept it clean.
> 
> ...


You need to see an abogado asap! What could make this worse is that if you employed them, you may well be eligible to pay their social security during that period as well!!!??? Altho if they were illegal........ ?????? 

Jo xxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

gollfer said:


> Hi i have a wee problem and wondered if anyone can help?
> 
> I own a house Barcelona which i rent out to holiday guests and took on a couple last year to come and live and look after the house for me. They were south American and illegal, so i offered them free rent, including all bills with their own 2 bed cottage and garden and a 350€ a month cash. In return they looked after my house and kept it clean.
> 
> ...


absolute nightmare!!

if no-one local comes along with the name of a lawyer, you could do worse than contact the embassy The British Embassy in Spain

they have a list of reccommended english Speaking lawyers


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

A very messy one, as technically you were both in the wrong and have broken the law. What is your residential status ? Are you sure if their status is still 'illegal' ? Have you any proof that they stole your keys ? Even despite what an experienced lawyer may tell you, I would think long and hard before taking this one to a court hearing.


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## gollfer (May 23, 2011)

djfwells said:


> A very messy one, as technically you were both in the wrong and have broken the law. What is your residential status ? Are you sure if their status is still 'illegal' ? Have you any proof that they stole your keys ? Even despite what an experienced lawyer may tell you, I would think long and hard before taking this one to a court hearing.


Hi thanks for your comments. Just to make clear they are taking me to court. Yes i have witness statement they took a set of keys. My status is that i am UK resident living in the UK with a house i rent in Spain. I take your point, but im not sure if i have done anything wrong in that if i choose to let someone live in my house and pay them to take care of it, im not aware i am breaking any law?

its great to get independent views as it will help me see the other side of the judges thinking


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

gollfer said:


> Hi thanks for your comments. Just to make clear they are taking me to court. Yes i have witness statement they took a set of keys. My status is that i am UK resident living in the UK with a house i rent in Spain. I take your point, but im not sure if i have done anything wrong in that if i choose to let someone live in my house and pay them to take care of it, im not aware i am breaking any law?
> 
> its great to get independent views as it will help me see the other side of the judges thinking


In the eyes of Spanish law you are breaking the law by Employing both illegal immigrants to Spain (1) and then Employing them illegally, without providing them with a contract, social security, or paying taxes (2). It could, and probably will be argued that this was all done with your knowledge, and that this was a condition of their employment.


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## gollfer (May 23, 2011)

jojo said:


> You need to see an abogado asap! What could make this worse is that if you employed them, you may well be eligible to pay their social security during that period as well!!!??? Altho if they were illegal........ ??????
> 
> Jo xxx


Thanks Jo, i am searching for a lawyer, its a nightmare because im going to have to pay a lot of money to the lawyer regardless of the outcome. It just seems crazy, i have been robbed, threatened and now sued by a couple who were treated royally for two years, wanted for nothing, only worked at most couple of hours a day in a beautiful property, given work when many many people would queue up to take the job. Admittedly it was not alot of money, buy it was never about the money, it was about having a place to live rent free and having ample time to find other employment. Now they have got away with the theft because i have no proof, they could possibly win damages against me! Lets just hope Spanish justice prevails!


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## gollfer (May 23, 2011)

djfwells said:


> In the eyes of Spanish law you are breaking the law by Employing both illegal immigrants to Spain (1) and then Employing them illegally, without providing them with a contract, social security, or paying taxes (2). It could, and probably will be argued that this was all done with your knowledge, and that this was a condition of their employment.


i take your point again, but it could be argued they were never employed. They were given rent free living in return to care for my property. It depends on interpretation of employment law. I am not aware i am not allowed to invite people to live in my property. With regard to taxes, we do pay tax on our income and claim costs accordingly.

Thanks again for your comments


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