If you do not receive your salary on time, you must ask your employer in writing to pay the salary. It is called a claim. You must document that your claim has been received, and therefore it is a good idea to send it by e-mail or to ask your employer for a receipt if you send it as a letter.
When you discover that you have not received the salary you are owed, you must send the claim as soon as possible, and the employer subsequently has a deadline of 5 days to pay the missing salary.
If you receive your salary before the deadline of 5 days, the case is over, but otherwise you have the right to terminate the employment relationship because your employer has breached the employment relationship by not paying salaries.
In your claim to the employer, you can write, for example: "I have not received my salary for xx month 20xx. The salary amounts to DKK xx. If the salary has not been paid into my salary account by the latest (time limit of five days), I will terminate my employment and hand over the matter to IDA, who will subsequently make a claim for compensation for salary, notice of termination, holiday allowance, etc.
If you cancel your terms of employment because you do not receive your salary, your employer must pay your missing salary, your salary during the notice period, etc. Terminating one's terms of employment is therefore not the same as resigning.
If you choose to terminate your terms of employment, you can hand over the matter to IDA. We will then send a debt collection letter to your employer, in which your total claim is stated. It is important that the employment relationship is terminated correctly, and that the compensation claim is calculated and formulated correctly. That is why you should always involve IDA.
When you submit the case to IDA, you must include:
When you leave the workplace after terminating your employment, you must immediately contact the local job center and Akademikerne A-kasse to register as unemployed.
If the employer has not paid your claim within 10 days, IDA will file a bankruptcy petition (if the employer has recognised the claim) or take legal action (if the employer does not recognise the claim).
If your employer goes bankrupt, you must report your claim for salary, holiday allowance and other things to the insurance fund Lønmodtagernes Garantifond via borger.dk. Before submitting the report, it is a good idea to have IDA review it so that you are sure that everything is included.
Learn more about making claims with LG
Your claim must be sent no later than four months after your employer has gone bankrupt. If you do it later, the Lønmodtagernes Garantifond can refuse to pay your claim. The processing time can vary, but typically it will take around 8 weeks from the time they receive the claim until you receive your salary.
Almost all IDA members can be paid what they own in the event of bankruptcy, but there are exceptions for certain positions and roles. If you are, for example, a director of the company or have a close relationship with the owner, it is not certain that Lønmodtagernes Garantifond will cover it.
A close relationship may be that you are a child of or spouse of the owner, but you should still always register your claim just to be safe.
If the trustee asks you to work for the estate, you are not obliged to do this until the trustee has provided security that he or she can pay the salary. The Lønmodtagernes Garantifond does not cover claims for salaries for work carried out at for the trustee.
If you have not been terminated and released from your duties when the company goes bankrupt, you must wait for the trustee to terminate and release you before filing your claim. The trustee has 14 days to decide whether he/she wants to enter into your employment relationship.
If you have previously terminated your employment because the employer breached it, you can immediately report your claim to Lønmodtagernes Garantifond.
Learn more about making claims with LG
You must look for work while you are released from your duties. This is because you must limit the loss for the bankruptcy estate/Lønmodtagernes Garantifond.
If the trustee sells all or parts of the bankrupt company and you are offered employment in the new company, you should contact IDA, because it may be a business transfer, and then there may be doubts about the compensation from the Lønmodtagernes Garantifond.
As an IDA member, you can get legal help if you are not paid your salary. Write to IDA's legal advisers via My IDA - and you will get support and advice.