What claims do you have if your employer is insolvent?

All claims that you had before insolvency proceedings were opened are known as insolvency claims.

All claims that you have after insolvency proceedings were opened are called claims against the estate.

If the insolvency application is not opened due to a lack of assets (= no sufficient residual assets), your existing wage claims against your employer will be lost. You can no longer demand money from your employer. You can apply for insolvency benefits from the employment agency and receive your wages for the last 3 months as a one-off payment.

Insolvency claims are not initially paid, but you must register them with the insolvency administrator in the so-called insolvency table. The insolvency administrator will explain what you need to do. The money that is left after the end of the insolvency proceedings is shared out among each person with a claim. This includes you, for example, if your employer owes you wages. In most cases, however, there is little left to distribute.

The insolvency administrator must pay you the full amount of your claims against the estate. This also includes your claims to wages that arose after the insolvency event. The insolvency administrator becomes the employer with the decision to open insolvency proceedings. You must notify the insolvency administrator of your claims from this point onwards. The insolvency administrator will inform you how and until when you can register your claims. The deadline should be at least two weeks and a maximum of three months.