Employment being transferred to new owner on sale of business

Information and questions about the Law in Spain and Andalucia.
AkoAko
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Employment being transferred to new owner on sale of business

Postby AkoAko » Tue Jun 06, 2017 8:55 am

I understand that when an employer even one employing only 3 people sells their business the new owners are obliged to take on the existing employees . My employer told me verbally that she was closing the cafebar in 10 days and intended to sell it , i have worked there for 22 months , she was very vague about the prospective buyers and didn't know their name or even if they lived locally , only that my employment would end at 4pm on May 31st , it was one of the 4 days i was contracted to work and have done so for the over a year sinse my contract was upgraded to indefinite .

My final day was in the middle of my normal working week and early that day i was given my nominal up to and including that day May 31st . I informed her that i should be paid 15 days in lieu of written notice , and 40% of 20 days per year for each day worked as i was contracted for only 16 hours a week ( 40% of full time employment ) , she asked me to Whattsapp her what i needed which i did immediately and as she was next to me at the time she read it so i asked if that was alright and she said yes ok and that i would get the paperwork the following day or the Friday . It was unusual that i was given my Nominal up to date , i normally get them weeks later , this one was actually prepared in advance , also strange that her lawyer was unable to produce that but not the end of work contract or Finquito .

For the past week the only information i have had has been in the form of Whattsapp messages saying my paperwork will possibly be done on one day or another , i suspect my employer is delaying everything until the sale has gone through as the Facebook page my ex colleague has been updating firstly informed of the bar closing and re opening under new ownership the following Monday 5th , this was followed by a further post a few days later saying it had been put back until the Wednesday 7th and the latest post says Grand opening June 12th .

The cook and his wife have been retained and have met the new owners as they came into the bar the day previous to my last day , it was on one of the days i dont work , from their description i realized i have met them myself but only as customers a few weeks previously , i recall they were very pleasant and gave me a generous tip , that was the only time i have had any contact with them .

My employer is certainly not short of money so i know thats not the reason for the constant delays and I now have good reason to believe she intends to say my employment ended voluntarily and chose not to transfer to the new owners and i dont have any way to prove anything to the contrary . The procrastination in giving me any paperwork it appears is so that the sale can go through before i have the opportunity of speaking to the new owners i assume thats because they have been mislead into thinking they dont have to employ me thinking i have quit , knowing that was untrue could delay the sale .

If my termination document states i left Voluntarily then i loose around 260 euros unemployment a month but more importantly our Medical cover would end and as my husband has a serious illness its imperative we retain this , i have spent the last week looking for any type of employment on any basis in order to protect our Medical cover .

If anyone has found themselves in our situation or has any advice on what i can do then i would be so grateful .

Gasman
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Re: Employment being transferred to new owner on sale of business

Postby Gasman » Tue Jun 06, 2017 12:17 pm

Have you gone to the Empleo office as yet? I would suggest that you go to them and explain your current situation as it is NOW. Don't wait for the paperwork that may never come... I suggest that you write down the steps that you have taken so far - asking for the documents, asking for clarification of the terms of the end of employment - and then ask the advice of the person at the Empleo what you rights are, what you should do so that you can sign on for unemployment status. This will give you ammunition to tackle the previous owner and introduce yourself to the people at Empleo who may turn out to be your best friends if this turns into a fiasco! Show Empleo your Indefinite Contract and your Whatsapp messages.
You may also find useful information and procedures to follow on the Empleo website and virtual office online. You will probably have to make a Cita Previa online too.

AkoAko
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Re: Employment being transferred to new owner on sale of business

Postby AkoAko » Tue Jun 06, 2017 1:02 pm

Thanks Gasman , i have access to the SEDE ( UNEMPLOYMENT ) through a Clave and made a Cita Previa which was early the day after my termination June 1st . i registered as being unemployed and was then sent to the other area of the office to make a claim , the guy was very helpful but the upshot was that if i didn't get my Certificado De Empressa then they could get it for me but it MUST say NONE VOLENTARIO or i would be classed as leaving my employment and making myself unemployed and as such lost all entitlements to moneys or Medical cover , there was nothing they could do to help , he explained their job was only to process everything from documents and information available , he was sympathetic however he explained that they were not in any way involved in the rights or wrongs , that was between us and the Employer .

Have been on to the SEDE Website many times to view my documents to ascertain what my employers Lawyer filed and so far there is nothing showing , the last Certificado De Empressa received by them was over 2 years ago .

The Whatsapp messages give nothing to support the true nature of my termination , the Latest one last night says only " The lawyer is going to print the documents tomorrow and will meet up Wednesday earliest " were reasonably sure the sale went through this morning .

Gasman
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Re: Employment being transferred to new owner on sale of business

Postby Gasman » Wed Jun 07, 2017 9:35 am

I don't suppose the new owner is looking for a part-time worker and you could fill the post??!!
Its not looking good, is it? It seems to leave the previous employer with a lot of power over your situation - there must be some way of confirming the terms of your dispatch - perhaps someone else who has more dealings with Spanish employment regs will come on and advise.
Good luck anyway.

AkoAko
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Posts: 219
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Location: Spain

Re: Employment being transferred to new owner on sale of business

Postby AkoAko » Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:47 pm

Worked out really well in the end , found out who the lawyer for the business was and as it happened we used him ourselves many years ago and was struck by how straight he was and such a stickler that things had to be done correct or we would be asked to find another lawyer , he wouldent take short cuts , everything had to be done by the book so we decided to see him personally and made an appointment .

We decided not only to ask for the document we needed but read up in advance of everything financial that should have been entitled to and presented it to him , was presently surprised that he confirmed we were correct and asked for our email address , the following day we received an email asking to go and see him the following night . When we got there he gave us the documentation duly signed by employer , the following day got a phone call to go and see employer , everything we were due was listed and we were paid the total of a few hundred euros in cash and asked to sign a form to confirm so .

Took paperwork to SEDE and everything was in order and made a claim , a week later found an even better job , same money but far more pleasurable .

Passed on everything learnt to the other two employees and surprise surprise they got a phone call and everything due to them also . If the employer had not tried to circumvent things to save money and made an offer of half what it cost then it would have been accepted .

Karma or what .

TinaTapas
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Re: Employment being transferred to new owner on sale of business

Postby TinaTapas » Tue Jul 18, 2017 10:34 am

Great to hear this has turned out so well and hope your husband is feeling better

Gasman
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Location: Huelva province

Re: Employment being transferred to new owner on sale of business

Postby Gasman » Tue Jul 18, 2017 6:47 pm

Excellent outcome - well done. And finally a good lawyer exists!!

AkoAko
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 219
Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 7:06 pm
Location: Spain

Re: Employment being transferred to new owner on sale of business

Postby AkoAko » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:40 pm

Yes it was a series of several fortunate events so a lot of luck was involved in that it was that particular Lawyer plus the employer had only been using him a short time and that we knew him to be a bit of a stickler to doing things right .


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