Edis Felić: The Host Does Not Want to Pay the Waitress 4000 State Kuna

That there are all kinds of people among us is confirmed by the story of the fate of a waitress I stumbled upon while ‘scrolling’ through Facebook. It was shared by a Facebook user, but he did not want to say who it was about, I assume because the waitress herself did not want to. The ‘boss’ behaved inhumanely towards her, while also deceiving the state.

So, the lady says she worked as a waitress in a café for two years until the moment it had to close due to the pandemic, which forced her to stay home just like all her colleagues. Of course, she continues her story, the café owner duly submitted a request to HZZ for job preservation support, which she realized by reviewing the list of companies that utilized that government measure.

That is her money, but instead of paying it to her, the café owner thought differently and kept it for himself. He considered it absurd that she expected him to deposit money into her account because she did not deserve it since she did not work that month. That was not enough for him; he even got angry at her when she asked for her money and, moreover, he allegedly insulted her and ended his monologue with a threat that he would make sure she would not find a job anywhere else. It surely was not easy for her to hear those words, especially since such behavior from arrogant business people has been decreasing in recent years, not because they have become more civilized, but because there has been a shortage of workers, including waiters, in the labor market, so even rude ‘bosses’ have pulled the brakes.

‘Unmerited’ Salary

A wolf changes its fur, but never its character, our elders said, so as soon as the café owner felt that the old ‘good’ times when workers were plentiful were returning, he decided to at least partially recoup his undeniable loss over these two months from his employee. In doing so, he is evidently so arrogant and rude that he consciously steals from others because he knows very well that he is obliged to pay her money.

The waitress realized that her ‘boss’ would not pay her salary; moreover, he threatened her, so she quit. It does not state whether there is a notice period, but it is defined by the Labor Law and lasts depending on the length of employment in a company, yet her ‘boss’ told her that she would not receive her papers until she uses her annual leave and that he would only pay her for that annual leave. Why will he pay her annual leave? Well, simply: according to his logic, she did not work in April and ‘did not deserve a salary’, and now she is going on vacation and can receive a salary for that because it is a time when you do not work, but you deserve a salary. The man is actually trying to squeeze money from the state, and it is questionable whether he will even pay her that annual leave. But the real reason is that he took money from the state to preserve her job, and because of that, he cannot fire her for another month because that is a condition for receiving support to save jobs.

What Are We Waiting For?

The waitress asks the general public what to do. First of all, she should not quit because that would mean that the café owner is not guilty for the termination, but she is, so he could retain the right to support, i.e., not return it to the state. Secondly, she should report him (allegedly, according to her, inspectors do not want to do their job, which I am not sure about) and sue him because she will surely win in court. I do not know what she is waiting for. Not only will she achieve her right to the salary she actually deserved, but this will also correct the injustice towards other employers who correctly pay salaries to their employees. It is precisely because of people like this café owner that people lose faith in the honesty of employers, and therefore employers are largely labeled in society as exploiters, even though that is not true.

This is not the only case; in conversations with entrepreneurs, one can hear that there are more. Indeed, these stories only appear here and there. So, fortunately, there are not many, but the authorities should certainly check whether taxpayer money has gone where it should.

POST SCRIPTUM

Last weekend, I jumped to a place by the sea that I often visit, and every time I have the opportunity to talk to the owner of the restaurant that also includes the café. He was worriedly shaking his head while telling me what troubles him, and when I asked him what he did with the waiters (he has four in the pre-season), he told me that he did not fire any of them, but he requested HZZ support. Of course, he paid that money to the waiters. He says he would have made a mistake if he had fired them because, if nothing else, the café will somewhat mitigate the consequences of this crisis. Moreover, he says, it is precisely because of fairness that he has become closer to his employees!

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