Where should I post?

incognito

I have a legal/employment question related to Irish and international law, that I am hoping somebody can help me with, but there doesn't seem to be a legal advice section on boards.ie so where should I post it?

I understand that nobody wants to hand out legal advice, no matter how sure they are, especially if they are currently studying law. However, I am not seeking legal advice just opinions/advice, so would it be OK to post and if so where should I post...

silverside

I reckon just post it here. As long as you are not being nasty or libellous, no harm done, but the quality of advice you get might vary...

fragile

OK, here goes..

I am currently working in an IT company that is going through a very rough phase, to illustrate here are some facts:

* The company was only able to pay me 9 months wages last year

* Half of the staff have quit and are currently in the process of suing the company

* The company owes a lot of money to staff/suppliers etc..

Now, I am not looking for advice on whether I should continue to work with the company or sue them, I have already received bucket loads of advice in that area. I am however looking for advice in one particular area...

I have been told that if a limited (LTD) company continues to operate past the point where its debts outvalue its assets, then the whole LTD thing becomes irrelevant, and the personal assets of the CEO or owner can be legally siezed to pay debts in the event of liquidation of the company, is this true? if so, is this an Irish or EU law?

Now the next problem, the CEO and major shareholder of the comapny are both Japanese, while the company is an Irish registered company. If my above statement is true, can this law be used to seize personal assets of the CEO/owner in Japan?

My biggest concern at the moment is getting the money that the company owes me, and especially where I stand in the event of the company going into liquidation (there are essentially no assets to speak of)...

fragile

Bollox, damn browser cache, so much for posting anonymously :-) ah well, anybody got any informed advice...

Borzoi

Don't forget the golden rule of suing: Never sue a target that has no money.

The best thing you can do is to walk away and get another job - the sooner the better.

Yes, the directors could be considered to be trading recklessly ( that is liabilities exceed assets) but that is unlikely to be persued, especially by a liquidator. Best thing that could happen realisticly would be that a liquidator was appointed, and you get minimum redundancy - maybe a little of what you're owed too. But that could take months if not years from after the company ceases trading.

But then again I'm not a lawyer, and you'd be mad to liten to what I have to say:D

eth0_

Yeah definitely give a lawyer a ring, it won't cost you anything for him to tell you whether it's worth your while proceeding.

Kobie

Might be best to walk away & put it down to experience. Sueing will probably cost you more than you get. Perhaps joining in with the other ex-employees as a sort of class action thing might help, but basically you're so down the food chain that you'll probably never see a penny. In these sort of situations it's the investors & creditors that get looked after first & the employess get whatever scraps that are left (i.e. none).

fragile

Originally posted by Kobie
In these sort of situations it's the investors & creditors that get looked after first & the employess get whatever scraps that are left (i.e. none).

In the case of the liquidation of the company, employees wages are given top priority over debtors, shareholders etc...at least that is my understanding of the liquidation process under Irish law, if anybody knows better please feel free to correct me...

fragile

Originally posted by Kobie
Might be best to walk away & put it down to experience.

I am not walking away and putting close to €9,000 down to experience :mad:

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by fragile
I am not walking away and putting close to €9,000 down to experience :mad:

The odds of getting any money out of a company that is going bankrupt are very slim. I had a friend in a similar position but the Irish company was part of a bigger company. Unknown to the staff at the time the Irish branch at some stage became independent just before it went bust. The parent company writing off all its debts to the Irish branch and then, severing all links. So when it went bust there was no money. My friend is still trying to get 10K punts out of the parent company and thats 5 or 6 years later. Its never going to happen though. A few of ex employees have hired someone to sue the parent company. But I don't think its got very far in 5 years.

casper-

Originally posted by fragile
I am not walking away and putting close to €9,000 down to experience :mad:

Not to be a stick-in-the-mud, but as other people have already hinted, you might want to seroiusly start thinking about that as a possibility you have no control over.

I've seen this happen at home a lot; even though you meniton that employee wages are given top consideration, I highly doubt that's how it works in the end. Depending on who the creditors are, there's a good chance they have lawyers who know how to get at the money first.

I hope you do get your 9,000 back though, it is a lot of money to lose

fragile

Originally posted by casper-
Not to be a stick-in-the-mud, but as other people have already hinted, you might want to seroiusly start thinking about that as a possibility you have no control over.

I know, im just not ready to give up just yet (very close to it though)

I've seen this happen at home a lot; even though you meniton that employee wages are given top consideration, I highly doubt that's how it works in the end. Depending on who the creditors are, there's a good chance they have lawyers who know how to get at the money first.

This is also very true

I hope you do get your 9,000 back though, it is a lot of money to lose

even worse than losing the cash is knowing that I did four months of work involving long hours trying to satisfy unrealistic demands for nothing :mad:

I think im going to get in contact with a solicitor and get his/her opinion on what my options are, thanks to everybody for the advice

Kobie

I'm sure there are also some official agencies you can talk to - legal affairs commision, or employee rights board or something. It'll be cheaper than a solicitor (i.e. free). Anybody know whats out there?