A story of an Indian student in Latvia

Pranav studies at one of the Latvian universities. He also works at one of the restaurants in the Old Town of Riga. He started to work before his job contract was signed as the employer promised to issue the job contract as soon as possible and pay for all the hours Pranav has worked even before the contract is signed. Also, Pranav worked overtime. His job contract was signed after 26 days of working. According to the law and Pranav’s contract, as a foreign student of a bachelor programme he cannot work for more than 20 hours a week.

Although it’s been more than a month since Pranav signed the job contract and every other employee has received their salary, Pranav has not yet received his salary. The employer requested Pranav to work over-time but did not get paid. For Pranav not to complain about not receiving salary on time, the employer paid him part of the salary in cash. Also later, the employer did not pay Pranav the full salary according to the contract, unlike other local employees, and requested Pranav to work unpaid overtime. Pranav was afraid to complain about the employer’s behavior, given that finding another job for a foreigner in Latvia would be difficult. However, a year later, when he had felt much more familiar in Riga, Pranav had found friends and realized that it was not acceptable and left the job at the restaurant.