Wage Disposal Restriction Invalidates Compensation Agreement for Senior Staff

The court affirmed that an agreement contravening the prohibition on payment in kind or restriction of wage disposal (Art. 323b Abs. 3 OR) renders the contract void, applying without restriction to all employees, including senior staff. Specifically, compensation partly in options, where the employee could not immediately dispose of the cash value, was deemed an impermissible restriction on wage disposal because the options were non-transferable and subject to a three-year exercise lock-up without a right of return. This invalidity required the employer to reimburse the difference between the original credited option value deducted from the cash salary and the amount later paid upon repurchase, amounting to the specified sum.