Freelancers Left Unpaid by European Company: How Can We Get Our Salaries?

I have worked for a Denmark-based European company on a freelancing basis from India from June 2019 to 2020. Eleven months' salary is pending with the company. The company owner has mentioned that due to COVID-19, they are unable to transfer it at the moment. The company owners are currently not responding on WhatsApp or Skype. Some other freelancing employees from Africa have faced the same issue. Please advise on how to proceed.

Dear Ankur,

Before providing your professional services, did you make a legal agreement with the Danish company? If yes, what is the legal jurisdiction of that company? Did the company issue the Purchase Order (PO) to you? If yes, what are the payment terms?

Does the Danish company have an office in India? If yes, have they issued any PO or appointment letter to you?

As a freelancer, you have provided your professional services to the Danish company. However, do you have proof of your services? Has the company acknowledged receipt of your services? Was the client satisfied with the quality of your services, or did the client raise any quality issues?

Secondly, you have mentioned that you have worked with the Denmark-based company on a "freelancing basis." If the nature of your work was freelance, then how come you are eligible to get a "salary"? I ask this question because freelancers are typically paid on an assignment-to-assignment basis, whereas a salary is paid to employees.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

It is difficult to digest that you did not raise the issue of your non-payment of salary early on and waited for a good 11 months to address it.

You need to proceed legally against the company in terms of your contractual agreement after consulting with a lawyer. Due to several ambiguities in the situation, it is challenging to provide any valuable advice.

Freelancers working in India for foreign companies generally have written contracts stipulating all monetary terms, whether referred to as salary or otherwise, for a specific assignment that may even extend over a year at times. This practice is common among animation film artists working in India.

Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar HR and Employee Relations Consultant