Employer Bankruptcy in Norway - How to Recover Your Pay Through NAV Lønnsgaranti?

Has your employer in Norway declared bankruptcy and your salary, overtime pay or feriepenger are still missing from your account? In this situation, you need to submit your claim correctly and keep track of several different deadlines.

In this article, we explain who can use the wage guarantee scheme, which claims it covers, what the limit is in 2026, and how to prepare and submit an application.

When does NAV Lønnsgaranti apply?

Lønnsgaranti is a state guarantee for certain employee claims that an employer cannot pay due to formally opened bankruptcy proceedings. The scheme may also apply in cases of compulsory liquidation of a company and several other formal insolvency proceedings.

A delayed payment alone or information that the company has no money does not activate the guarantee. As a rule, the court must open bankruptcy proceedings. If your employer has not yet gone bankrupt, we describe the next steps in the article What to do if your employer in Norway does not pay your salary?

The guarantee is available to employees in an employment relationship for whom the employer should pay Norwegian employer's national insurance contributions. For work performed in Norway, this generally also applies to Polish citizens and employees hired by a foreign company.

The guarantee does not cover:

• self-employed persons,
• contractors who were not employees,
• shareholders and owners holding at least 20% of the shares in the company.

A shareholder holding at least 20% of the shares may exceptionally receive payment if they can demonstrate that they did not have significant influence over the operation of the business.

Which claims does the guarantee cover?

Lønnsgaranti covers claims arising directly from employment. Each claim must be documented and assigned to a specific period.

We discuss the detailed rules for calculating holiday pay separately in the article Feriepenger - key rights and rules.

Payment limit in 2026

The maximum payment is 2G, meaning twice the basic amount applicable on the cut-off date for the bankruptcy.

The limit includes salary, feriepenger, interest and debt recovery costs, among other things. Reasonable costs of filing the bankruptcy petition itself may be covered in addition to the 2G limit.

The cut-off date, known as fristdagen, is, in a typical bankruptcy, the date on which the bankruptcy petition that was later accepted was received by the court. It does not have to be the date on which the bankruptcy was formally opened. This date determines, among other things, the amount of 2G and how old the claims covered by the guarantee may be. You can find the current G amount on the NAV page about the basic amount.

Time period restrictions

The guarantee covers a maximum of:

• 6 pay periods, which does not always mean exactly six calendar months,
• salary with a payment due date no earlier than 12 months before fristdagen,
• feriepenger earned in the year in which fristdagen falls and in the previous year,
• claims falling due no later than one month after the bankruptcy is opened.

If you do not work after the bankruptcy is opened and want to receive claims for a later period, you must register as a jobseeker within 14 days of the bankruptcy being opened. You must maintain this status throughout the entire period covered by the claim. If you temporarily work for the bankruptcy estate or another employer, the deadline runs from the end of that work.

How do you apply for payment of your salary?

You do not send the application directly to a regular NAV office. The documents are received by the bankruptcy estate administrator appointed by the court, most often a lawyer. The administrator reviews the claim and forwards it to NAV, which makes the final decision.

You can find the administrator's details, case number, fristdagen and the deadline for filing claims in the bankruptcy register notices. The relevant document is the application form for coverage of wage guarantee claims.

As a rule, you enter your claim as a gross amount, meaning before tax is deducted. You state the net amount if tax has already actually been deducted or if, for another reason, only a net claim remains.

In the application, you must disclose income and benefits received for the same period, including dagpenger. Amounts that replace lost salary will be deducted from the guarantee payment.

If you need support in establishing and recovering outstanding amounts, we will be happy to help through our former employer debt recovery service.

Which deadlines and documents should you keep track of?

Submit your claim in writing by the deadline stated by the court in the bankruptcy notice. Treat this date as the primary deadline and do not wait until the last day.

A late application should be considered if it reaches the administrator or NAV before the proceedings are concluded. If the proceedings have already ended, the claim may be considered if the administrator or NAV received it no later than 6 months after the bankruptcy was opened.

Delaying your submission is risky because salary older than 12 months before fristdagen falls outside the guarantee, regardless of whether you can document it.

Attach the following to your application in particular:

• employment contract,
• payslips,
• approved timesheets,
• bank statements showing that no transfer was received,
• notice of termination or a document confirming the end of employment,
• correspondence with the employer,
• annual statement of salary and deductions,
• your own calculation of salary, overtime, supplements and feriepenger for each period,
• confirmation of the claim from the employer, accountant or auditor, if you have it.

You are responsible for demonstrating the existence and amount of your claim. After bankruptcy, the company's accounting records may be incomplete, so keep your own copies of payslips, working time records and correspondence.

Payment, waiting time and appeals

NAV transfers the granted amount to the administrator, not directly to your account. The administrator makes the appropriate tax deduction and other required deductions, then pays you the net amount.

If your employer previously deducted tax from paid salary but did not transfer it to Skatteetaten, keep your payslips and other proof of the deduction. Missing documentation may lead to an incorrect tax settlement.

These are approximate processing times, not legally guaranteed deadlines. Missing documents or the need to clarify working hours will extend the proceedings.

After losing your job because of bankruptcy, you can apply for an advance on the guarantee, paid as dagpenger. The advance may cover a maximum of one month after the bankruptcy is opened and will later be deducted from Lønnsgaranti. We discuss the rules of this benefit in the article Unemployment benefit in Norway - what are the rules?

You may appeal against a full or partial refusal. You must submit the appeal within 3 weeks of receiving the decision. NAV will first reassess the case and, if it does not change the decision, will forward it to the appeals body. If you need support after a refusal, we will be happy to prepare an appeal against a NAV decision for you.

FAQ - frequently asked questions

Summary

• Lønnsgaranti generally applies after the employer's bankruptcy has been formally opened, and you submit the application to the bankruptcy estate administrator.
• In 2026, the limit is 260 320 NOK or 273 098 NOK, depending on the date of fristdagen.
• The guarantee covers a maximum of 6 pay periods, and salary older than 12 months before fristdagen is excluded.
• Gather your contract, payslips, working time records and bank statements, and keep track of the filing deadline and the 14-day registration deadline.

If you need help recovering your salary through NAV Lønnsgaranti, call us: +47 21 38 38 21. We help Polish people in Norway organise their employment and benefit matters.

Article author: Marcin - marcin@efirma.no