Keep Rachel out of jail
Donation protected
Dear Friends,
I am an Australian oboist and I have been working in Denmark for the past 6 years as a chamber musician in Esbjerg Ensemble. About 6 months ago, I was fined 50,000DKK/6,720€/10,000AUD for playing concerts with groups other than Esbjerg Ensemble and for teaching oboe.
Nowhere in any of the papers I received about my working permit for Denmark does it state that I am only allowed to work at Esbjerg Ensemble. Only if you twist the words can you get to the idea that I did something wrong. Further, as far as I am able to understand, changes were made in 2013 which I was not informed about. My papers were identical to before, with the only difference being the change from a letter C to a letter J. No one ever explained to me what those letters meant.
Fighting the fine in court resulted in a reduction of the fine to 15,000DKK/2,000€/3,000AUD, however I am also required to pay for all the legal costs which are approximately 10,000DKK/1,300€/2,000AUD. Altogether, including the travel costs for my lawyer, I am looking at 33,000DKK/4,400€/6,500AUD. If I do not pay, then I am faced with 12 days in jail.
My lawyer says that I have a very strong case and that I should have won and not had to pay anything. He also feels that I have been treated very badly. He strongly recommended for me to keep fighting, but I simply don't have the strength.
The judge's reasoning for his decision was that the woman from the work permit office said that it was not ok for me to play those concerts, therefore it was not ok. He reduced the fine because I did not actually work many hours, and also because most of the concerts were emergencies where someone was ill and I was the only qualified person available.
Still today it is unclear what I was "supposed" to do. It appears that I should have applied for extra permission for the extra concerts, although trying to find out how to do that is basically impossible and as far as I am aware only the employer can make such an application. When I phoned the permit office, they could not answer my questions. When I emailed them, they didn't respond at all to my first 2 emails, and then sent a non-answer to my third.
The whole experience has been a lot like starring in my very own Kafka novel.
If you would like to make a small contribution, I would be extremely grateful. I have applied to Dansk Musiker Forbund for financial aid, and will adjust this campaign if and when I receive support from them. When I receive the final amount for the legal costs, I will also adjust accordingly.
As you can see, my campaign is in Australian dollars. I am saying goodbye to Denmark and moving home next month.
Thank you for your time and attention!
Best wishes to all,
Rachel.
I am an Australian oboist and I have been working in Denmark for the past 6 years as a chamber musician in Esbjerg Ensemble. About 6 months ago, I was fined 50,000DKK/6,720€/10,000AUD for playing concerts with groups other than Esbjerg Ensemble and for teaching oboe.
Nowhere in any of the papers I received about my working permit for Denmark does it state that I am only allowed to work at Esbjerg Ensemble. Only if you twist the words can you get to the idea that I did something wrong. Further, as far as I am able to understand, changes were made in 2013 which I was not informed about. My papers were identical to before, with the only difference being the change from a letter C to a letter J. No one ever explained to me what those letters meant.
Fighting the fine in court resulted in a reduction of the fine to 15,000DKK/2,000€/3,000AUD, however I am also required to pay for all the legal costs which are approximately 10,000DKK/1,300€/2,000AUD. Altogether, including the travel costs for my lawyer, I am looking at 33,000DKK/4,400€/6,500AUD. If I do not pay, then I am faced with 12 days in jail.
My lawyer says that I have a very strong case and that I should have won and not had to pay anything. He also feels that I have been treated very badly. He strongly recommended for me to keep fighting, but I simply don't have the strength.
The judge's reasoning for his decision was that the woman from the work permit office said that it was not ok for me to play those concerts, therefore it was not ok. He reduced the fine because I did not actually work many hours, and also because most of the concerts were emergencies where someone was ill and I was the only qualified person available.
Still today it is unclear what I was "supposed" to do. It appears that I should have applied for extra permission for the extra concerts, although trying to find out how to do that is basically impossible and as far as I am aware only the employer can make such an application. When I phoned the permit office, they could not answer my questions. When I emailed them, they didn't respond at all to my first 2 emails, and then sent a non-answer to my third.
The whole experience has been a lot like starring in my very own Kafka novel.
If you would like to make a small contribution, I would be extremely grateful. I have applied to Dansk Musiker Forbund for financial aid, and will adjust this campaign if and when I receive support from them. When I receive the final amount for the legal costs, I will also adjust accordingly.
As you can see, my campaign is in Australian dollars. I am saying goodbye to Denmark and moving home next month.
Thank you for your time and attention!
Best wishes to all,
Rachel.
Organizer
Rachel Bullen
Organizer
Wildwood, VIC