European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
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In the case of bankruptcy, the employees receive by the state through a guarantee system any outstanding payment, accrued holiday pay and pension, and the compensation for the termination period. The scheme is administrated by the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) and employees have to make a claim to NAV in order to get the compensation.
Claims should be put forward within the deadline set by the court. NAV Wage Guarantee will process claims that are submitted in writing to the administrator of the estate before the bankruptcy proceedings are closed, or within six months of commencement of the bankruptcy proceedings.
The guarantee applies to all employees that are in an employment relationship where the employer is to pay social security contributions to the national insurance scheme. Self-employed and shareholders who hold more than 20% are not covered.
Claims have to be put forward by the employees (individually or with help from their trade union or a legal adviser) and the following can be covered:
Maximum coverage is limited to a gross amount equivalent to two times the National Insurance basic amount, which is adjusted every year (NOK 199,716 or €20,752 in 2019). Reasonable costs linked to filing a petition for bankruptcy are in addition to this.
Once bankruptcy proceedings have commenced, claims are covered for one month from the date on which bankruptcy proceedings commenced. This applies even if a longer period of notice applies through agreement or by law.
The number of employees making claims under this scheme in 2013 was around 18,000 and the scheme paid out in total around €105 million (NOK 820 million) (no more recent data available).
Eurofound (2015), Norway: Wage guarantee in case of insolvency, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/wage-guarantee-in-case-of-insolvency/norway
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