Timeline of activities for reminder procedures involving labour courts  

A reminder procedure involving labour courts requires the following steps:

[Image]  Writing a payment reminder yourself
[Image]  Issuing a court order through the labour court
[Image]  Online request of court order
[Image]  Issuing an enforcement order
[Image]  Compulsory enforcement
Writing a reminder yourself  

Remember to issue the court order immediately – If the stipulated payment deadline has expired, you can directly have a court order issued provided that your employment contract stipulates a deadline for payment of e.g. wages or salary.  

Your reminder - It is also possible to send a reminder notice or dunning letter to the debtor yourself in which you remind the debtor to pay the amount owed and also set a new time limit (5 to 10 days). You should clearly indicate a due date by which the payment must be made (e.g. September 7, 2006). However, these actions are only suggested if you can assume that the debtor will pay as a result.

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Issuing a court order through the labour court
Application for a court order - If you wish to apply for a court order from a labour court, the automated dunning procedure cannot be applied. This is because it is the labour courts and not the courts responsible for dunning that will issue the labour-related court order.  

Applying for a court order through the labour court can be done in 3 ways:

  • Application using forms bought at a stationary shop
  • Declaration for memorandum at the nearest labour court
  • Application by retaining legal services (e.g. labour union representation) or through an attorney (e.g. an attorney from our law offices)

Processing by the labour court – The labour court checks the completed application (e.g. if all necessary information is complete, or if the default interest has been calculated correctly). The correctness of the claim is not verified at this point. The labour court then issues the court order and sends it to the debtor in default. Now the debtor has the opportunity to settle the debt or file an objection against the court order within one week.

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Online request
Online request of court order issue by the labour court – With the help of our website, you can request our law office online to issue a court order.

The following steps are involved in issuing a court order by the labour court:

  1. Complete the appropriate online forms to request our office to issue a court order, providing:
    - information about yourself
    - information about the debtor (normally your employer)
    - information about your claim
    - other relevant information
    .
  2. Fax or send us the following documents by mail:
    - the labour contract or other documents that provide proof of your claim
    - reminders (if available) which you have already sent to the debtor
    - a power of attorney that we shall act for you
    .
  3. The information form you complete is transferred directly to our office. We verify your information and documents and clarify any outstanding questions or issues with you.
    .
  4. Once all the necessary information and documents are available, we apply for a court order which is sent to the labour court with jurisdiction in your area.
    .
  5. Once the court receives the application, the court order is issued and sent to the debtor.
    .
  6. We inform you as soon as the court informs us that the court order has been issued and delivered to the debtor. We also check incoming payments for your claim on a regular basis and will take further action if you instruct us to do so.

[Image]  Form entry

Follow this link to view more information on the costs which arise in reminder procedure involving labour courts:
[Image]  Costs for reminder procedure involving labour courts

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Issuing an enforcement order
How to proceed – If the debtor does not pay after receiving the reminder and does not file an objection, the creditor can apply for an enforcement order at the labour court one week following expiration of the time limit. This order is then issued by the labour court and sent to the debtor. The debtor once again has one week for payment or to file an appeal. 

Execution warrant - If the debtor does not pay or file an objection following expiration of this second deadline, the applicant receives a ”title“, or execution warrant. With this title the bailiff can perform garnishment of the debtor’s assets. It is also possible to garnish bank accounts or wages.

Debtor’s objection – If the debtor files an objection, the dunning procedure will become a lawsuit, since your claim is now in dispute by the debtor. In this case, a lawsuit will determine whether and to what amount your claim is valid.

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Compulsory execution
Compulsory execution - With the help of the enforcement order it is possible to begin enforcement proceedings to collect outstanding claims, provided that the debtor has not yet paid.

The following execution measures are available:

  • garnishment of personal property (garnishment of moveable objects, e.g. cars, house contents etc.)
  • garnishment of bank accounts
  • garnishment of wages and salaries
  • garnishment of real estates

Additional detailed information is provided at:
[Image] compulsory execution

All information is presented to the best of our knowledge. We assume no responsibility for its correctness!

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