Wage guarantee
A wage guarantee is a form of protection for you if your employer enters bankruptcy or restructuring and you do not receive your salary.
The wage guarantee means that you can receive compensation for the salary or wage that your employer owes you. The wage guarantee applies when your employer goes bankrupt or enters restructuring. The administrators for bankruptcy or restructuring will determine whether you are entitled to a wage guarantee and how much money you should receive. Administrators for bankruptcy or restructuring are appointed by the district court.
The wage guarantee also ensures that you receive your severance pay for the severance period when your employment ends.
If you are entitled to wage guarantee, for bankruptcies and reconstructions decided by the district court up until and including January 31 2025, the County Administrative Board will pay out your salary.
The Swedish Tax Agency has taken over the responsibility for disbursing the wage guarantee
The County Administrative Board is responsible for disbursing the wage guarantee for bankruptcies and restructurings decided by the district court up until and including January 31, 2025. From February 1, 2025, the Swedish Tax Agency has taken over the responsibility for disbursing the wage guarantee.
Sending an attestation to the County Administrative Board
To receive severance pay and holiday pay for the severance period, you need to send us a form. You must also send an attestation that you are registered with the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen).
The e-services and forms of the County Administrative Board in this field are not available in English. If you wish to submit an application or notification, you may contact the County Administrative Board, which can inform you how to proceed.
Which salary costs can I receive compensation for?
- Salary that you earned 3 months before the company submitted its application for bankruptcy or restructuring to the district court.
- Salary for the time between your application and the district court’s decision regarding bankruptcy or restructuring.
- Salary for the first month after the decision regarding bankruptcy or restructuring was taken.
- Holiday pay for this and last holiday year. You can receive a maximum wage guarantee of 5 holiday days from last holiday year. A holiday year is normally between 1 April and 31 March.
- Severance-pay and holiday pay for the severance period according to the Employment Protection Act (LAS) if your employment is terminated during the bankruptcy or restructuring. If your employment is terminated, you must be registered as a jobseeker at the job centre.
How much money can I receive?
The maximum sum for a wage guarantee is four base amounts. For 2025, this equates to SEK 235 200. The base amount changes each year. You can only receive money for a maximum of 8 months. The length of time you can receive a wage guarantee is therefore related to how much you earn.
When is the money paid out?
We will pay out your wage guarantee once the administrators for bankruptcy or restructuring have decided how much money you should receive. Our aim is to pay out the wage guarantee within 10 working days from the day we receive the final decision. If there are many bankruptcies, there is a risk that processing times will be longer than normal.
Severance-pay and holiday pay is often paid out over several months.
For bankruptcy administrators
Bankruptcy and restructuring administrators provide information to the county administrative board relating to the wage guarantee for bankruptcy or restructuring.
Contact the County Administrative Board for information on how to proceed if the bankruptcy or restructuring is decided by the district court before February 1, 2025.
Contact the Swedish Tax Agency for information about wage guarantee for bankruptcies and restructurings decided in the district court from February 1.