The case in summary: “Kristine” experienced that her workplace went bankrupt, and she struggled financially for two months. Nav’s wage guarantee fund must ensure the payment of wages and holiday pay in the event of bankruptcy, but the process can take between 2 and 18 months. Kristine believes this is unpredictable and financially burdensome, and she had to apply for social assistance and emergency money. Kjell Jarle Angeltveit, former head of sales and marketing at Eldrift, calls for an easier way to get money after bankruptcy. The government is considering shortening the time it takes to get money paid out through the wage guarantee fund. Kristine got a new job, but three months after the bankruptcy, the money from the salary guarantee fund has still not arrived. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. A situation that few people want to happen: The company you work for goes bankrupt. The money stops coming into the account and you have to find a new job. For “Kristine” it was difficult. In May, her workplace Eldrift AS went bankrupt. – It was two long months. Two broken months, quite simply, she says. Kristine hopes the money will arrive before Christmas. She says none of the former colleagues have been paid the salary guarantee yet. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news Out of money Kristine waited until 10 May. That was when she was supposed to get paid. She had NOK 15 in her account that day. Instead of the paycheck, she received a completely different email in her inbox. The company she worked for had gone bankrupt. The account was already scrapped. Now she had no income. – I had to postpone bills and ask my father for money. I often went hungry, she says. There were over 20 employees in the company at Bryne, who had to look for a new job. Kristine found a new job two months after the bankruptcy. Now she lives well again, she says. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news Payment within 18 months Nav has the “wage guarantee fund” which ensures that those affected by bankruptcy are paid their salary and holiday pay when your employer cannot pay. You can read more about the fund here (external link). But this is an application process that takes time. And that can take a long time. – I was told that it would take anywhere from 2 to 18 months to get this money from Nav, says Kristine. – It is absolutely terrible to treat people in this way. It’s not our fault. Kristine She believes this is far too unpredictable and financially burdensome. – That it should take so long to get the money that the state guarantees you will get is completely hopeless. She had to scrap her holiday plans. – We can’t take a holiday, because we don’t have holiday money, she despairs. Went to Nav and begged. She applied for social assistance and emergency money from Nav, but it took a long time to get an answer. One day in June, she felt compelled to go into the Nav office to beg for emergency aid to be paid out. Then she got 20,000 the next day. This covered the bills, but she was left with no money for food. – You know nothing. You just have to wait and hope for the best. So it really affects the psyche. It’s tiring, quite simply, she says. – They have to put themselves in the shoes of the employees Kjell Jarle Angeltveit worked as head of sales and marketing in Eldrift. He calls for an easier way to get money after bankruptcy. – The wage guarantee fund is a very good system. But it should come earlier and faster, he says. Kjell Jarle Angeltveit is a former manager of Kristine. He says the former colleagues in Eldrift have had and are having a hard time after the bankruptcy. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news Angeltveit says Nav must put itself in the shoes of the employees to understand the situation many people go through when they go bankrupt. – It’s not like everyone has one, two or three months’ salary in their account. That is not the reality in Norway today, with the price increase that has been, he says. Must look at opportunities for improvement Many companies go bankrupt every day. There are now more bankruptcies than before the pandemic (external link). 2073 companies went bankrupt in Norway in the first half of this year, compared with 1921 in the first half of last year. Nav is under the Ministry of Labor and Inclusion. Per Olav Skurdal Hopsø (Ap) is state secretary in this ministry. He says the government will look at opportunities to shorten the time it takes to get money paid out through the wage guarantee fund. – I understand that it is important to find out quickly whether you have income to cover your expenses. Per Olav Skurdal Hopsø (Ap) is state secretary in the Ministry of Labor and Inclusion. He says the response time for the most complex applications for a salary guarantee is currently 13–14 months. This, he says, is expected to increase due to many bankruptcies and applications. Photo: Håvard Greger Hagen / news Hopsø says the ministry is following developments, but mentions that it is possible to apply for unemployment benefits while the application for a wage guarantee is pending. – You can be granted an advance which is paid in the form of unemployment benefits for parts of the period after the opening of bankruptcy, he says. The State Secretary says Nav has received many applications recently due to several bankruptcies. This means that it takes longer for people to get paid. LO: – You stand on bare ground Katrine Rygh Monsen is a lawyer at the National Organization in Norway (LO). She says there are many disadvantages to the fact that it takes a long time to get paid through the wage guarantee fund. – Unless you have funds saved or family you can borrow money from, then you are on the ground, she says. Lawyer in LO, Katrine Rygh Monsen. She says it is very unfortunate that a more complex requirement – for example overtime – means that you get a significantly longer processing time for the wage guarantee fund. Photo: Sissel M. Rasmussen Attorney Monsen believes that Nav should have received more resources so that they could complete the processing time at a faster pace. Hopsø in the Ministry of Employment and Inclusion says the following: – The question of more resources for Nav will always come up in contexts like this. In contrast to the previous government, we have strengthened Nav, most recently in connection with the revised national budget, he says. Nav: – We are working as well as we can. Nav tells news that they understand that it is demanding to wait a long time for an answer from them. Karoline Larsen Alfsen is department director at Nav Arbeid og benefits: – Around 80 per cent of applications for a wage guarantee are processed within two months. More complicated claims can take up to 13–14 months, she says. An application for unemployment benefit has an average processing time of seven weeks. – We work as best we can, within the framework we have, she says. Got a new job Kristine got a new job this summer. – Now I don’t have to go home and do nothing. Now I also get a salary again. So then I get to settle all the unpaid bills that are lying around. Kristine is enjoying her new job. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news But three months after the bankruptcy, the money from the wage guarantee fund has still not arrived. She says it is between NOK 150,000 and 200,000. Two monthly salaries and holiday pay from last year. Hey, you! Do you have any thoughts you’re stuck with after reading this case? Or maybe you have tips for something else I can write about? Feel free to get in touch! 👇 Do you have something on your mind? Use the comment field below: Hello! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you do not have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue Published 04.08.2024, at 22.44
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The bankrupt must wait several months to be paid – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
