When an employer is placed in bankruptcy proceedings, payment of wages and vacation pay will cease.

The bankruptcy estate will not normally enter into the employment contract, meaning that the employment relationship will cease. If the employee has not been paid wages during the period prior to the bankruptcy proceedings, this can be reported as a claim to the bankruptcy estate. The same applies to wages during the notice period and vacation pay that has been earned but not paid.

Only in exceptional cases are there sufficient funds in the bankruptcy estate to cover claims for wages and holiday pay. If the estate lacks funds, employees may, under certain conditions, apply to have their claims covered by the state wage guarantee scheme, which is administered by NAV Lønnsgaranti.

As soon as possible after the bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated, the trustee must inform all employees of their rights under the wage guarantee scheme. Each employee must then fill out a separate application form, document their claim, and submit the application to the trustee. After a review and audit of the estate, the claims are forwarded to NAV Lønnsgaranti, which decides on the applications.

When we act as bankruptcy trustees, we strive to process wage guarantee cases quickly. At NAV, however, you must expect a long processing time. As of September 2025, it is approximately 15 months.

In addition to one of our five trustees regularly handling wage guarantee cases, we also assist employees who are entitled to wages/holiday pay from their employer. In such cases, we will normally assist in sending claims to the employer, participate in negotiations, and, if necessary, assist in filing for bankruptcy against the employer. If this results in the employer going bankrupt, it will be possible to have the legal costs covered by NAV Wage Guarantee.