Romanian truck driver wins over €200,000 after years of being paid just €200 a month

Belgian transport company H. Essers has lost a legal battle lasting more than a decade against former employee Stefan Popescu, according to libertatea.ro. The Court of Cassation upheld earlier rulings ordering the company to pay the man more than €200,000 in unpaid wages.

Working in Belgium, paid from Romania

Popescu was hired as a truck driver but was formally employed through a Romanian-registered subsidiary of the company, even though his actual work took place in Belgium. Under his contract, his salary matched Romania's minimum wage — around €200 a month — plus a tax-free daily allowance, initially €40 and later raised to €45.

This arrangement meant he did not receive social contributions at the level required in Western Europe, was not entitled to paid leave under Belgian rules, and his future pension calculation was distorted.

From driver to lawyer

Recognizing the unfairness of the pay scheme, Popescu kept working while studying for entrance exams and enrolling in law school. After graduating, he sued his former employer in a Belgian court, demanding his income be recalculated according to the rules applicable to his actual workplace in Belgium.

The company argued that using a subsidiary in Eastern Europe was a legitimate business model. However, lawyers demonstrated that the company's operations were in fact coordinated solely from its headquarters in Belgium.

Court ruling

A labor court found that the case amounted to social dumping and ordered the Romanian subsidiary to pay around €200,000 in compensation for unpaid wages. The Belgian company appealed, but the Court of Cassation delivered the final verdict, ruling that an employee who consistently performs work on Belgian territory must be paid according to Belgium's wage-rate system, regardless of which country the employment contract was signed in.