Students Demand Unpaid Wages From Job Agency ViaOns

Last winter season, Computer Science student Aaron Serpilin was taking a trip through Sweden by himself. He worked numerous months to be able to manage the journey. As he discovered himself in the remote arctic village of Abisko, he couldn’t afford to return to the airport. He worked for the money, however states he wasn’t paid on time. “It was annoying having to ask my household for 2 hundred euros to not get stuck on the North Pole”, he states.

Similarly, an UvA trainee treated his girlfriend to a vacation in Spain last summer. He says he was assured he ‘d be spent for his deal with time. Instead, he had to ask his family for cash and his girlfriend chipped in too.

Ghosted

Both trainees feel like they have actually been made the most of by task agency ViaOns, and they become part of a bigger group of VU and UvA students who are all attempting to get paid. They used the company due to the fact that it was a convenient method to get fairly well-paying hospitality jobs. ViaOns (which means ‘through us’ in Dutch) links employees to business such as dining establishments and bars. The wages are then supposed to go through ViaOns to the employees.

The trainees apparently got their money in the start, although there might be a few weeks in between doing a shift and earning money. But they say that at some time, the hold-ups became worse, and the students wound up being owed large amounts of money for months on end with no reliable indicator of when or even if they would get anything. “I do not understand whether they’re putting it in crypto or investing it elsewhere. It’s a secret to me why they do not pay their employees”, the UvA student states.

When it comes to Economics and Business Economics student Martin, he says he started asking for his cash after awaiting more than a month. ViaOns told him they were still awaiting the restaurant to spend for his shifts. As another month passed, Martin decided to stop working altogether until he earned money. “I was calling like twice a day stating: bro please, I need the cash. I got ta spend for food and my rent.”

Martin states he was frequently ‘ghosted’ when requesting for his cash, or he would be informed that they were still waiting on the restaurant. However, the restaurant assured him that his shifts had already been paid to ViaOns. He declares the company still owes him over 1,000 euros. WhatsApp screenshots shared by the trainees depict a great deal of one-sided interaction between the trainees and ViaOns, with the students sending out pointer after reminder that they’re waiting on pay from a long period of time earlier.

Legal action

Serpilin worked three days each week for numerous months to save up for his trip to Sweden. He says he talked to ViaOns before traveling and was assured he ‘d get his money on time, once in Sweden, he says he was ghosted and a lot of his plans were cancelled due to the fact that he could not spend for them.

Despite this awful experience, he continued to work with ViaOns and did get some payments, however it would frequently take a long period of time and due to the delays he states he was essentially broke, waiting on numerous months of pay. He spoke to good friends who were in the same boat as him and discovered a debt collection agency ready to assist them get the cash.

With time, the number of trainees trying to get their cash increased to sixteen. The students discovered each other through their own networks, implying they are not necessarily the only ones impacted. More recently, they’re speaking with an attorney and dream to pursue a legal case, which has changed their technique of utilizing a collection firm.

Societal issue

Providing the trainees with legal assistance is a bit tricky according to lawyer Dylan Schreurs, who has actually looked into the case and is talking about prospective actions with the included students. “I think it’s a societal issue that these are all trainees who truly require this money, but can’t look for [subsidized] legal help because they’re viewed as freelancers”, Schreurs describes. “They’re really falling through the cracks.”

The lawyer thinks the trainees have a really strong case and says that even if the dining establishments did not move their earnings, ViaOns would still be obliged to pay the trainees. But he also thinks the case could be bigger than just getting the trainees their lost wages, as he thinks ViaOns may be wrongfully treating individuals as freelancers rather of salaried workers. “That would suggest they have actually been utilizing very cheap labour while getting rich from it without contributing to our social security systems”, states Schreurs.

Getting loans

According to an Excel file they made, the group of sixteen trainees is owed over 13,000 euros. Serpilin is awaiting the biggest quantity: nearly 4,000 euros. He states he needed to get loans to spend for groceries and rent. “There have been a lot of days that my friends go out and I either join them without getting anything, or I simply do not go due to the fact that I can’t afford it.”

Most of all, he would describe the scenario as awkward. “How do you inform your friends or household that you work three days a week, but then unexpectedly you require to loan cash to spend for things? I work every weekend and have absolutely nothing to show for it.” Martin felt a comparable shame when asking his workplace on 3 different celebrations if they have actually paid ViaOns.

Playing favourites

The 3 trainees that spoke with Ad Valvas seem like the money has actually been taken from them. “It feels extremely deliberate on their part”, says Martin. The UvA trainee likewise thinks that the business plays with its workers. He claims to be knowledgeable about particular individuals earning money before others for the exact same shift.

If someone starts ‘being frustrating’ about not earning money in time, the UvA student says the company will toy with them and keep stringing them along. “I’ve noticed that if you’re local and you’re their pal, you’re not going to experience many issues.”

But international students who end up leaving the country might be less likely to get their cash back. Among them is still owed for dealing with King’s Day in 2024 and has considering that moved to another nation, the UvA trainee states.

Ad Valvas has been in touch with ViaOns, but ViaOns has actually not yet answered our concerns or supplied a statement. Should they still supply a reaction, it will be included to this article.