The main obligation of the employee is to perform work and that of the employer is to pay their salary. Pursuant to Article 1315 of the Civil Code, it is therefore incumbent upon the employer who claims to be released from his obligation to provide proof of payment of the salary to the employee.
The employer may provide proof of payment of wages:
- in the case of a bank transfer, by providing a copy of the bank debit notice showing the recipient, the amount paid and its purpose (i.e. that it is wages);
- in the case of cash payments, by means of a copy of the receipt, duly dated and signed by the employee, stating the amount paid and the purpose of the payment.
Case law shows that an employee's signature on a salary slip only serves as acknowledgement of receipt and acknowledgement of the contents of the salary slip by the employee, but cannot be considered as prima facie evidence of payment of wages. However, if the salary slip bears, for example, the words ‘Received the amount of ...’ accompanied by the employee's signature, this could be accepted as proof of payment of wages.
However, if the salary slips only state ‘received’ with the employee's signature, without any reference to the salary or the amount thereof, they are not considered valid proof of payment.