What do you do when you are not paid salary or holiday pay?
Have you not received your salary or holiday pay at the agreed time? It may be that there is a misunderstanding or technical problems behind it, but it also happens that the employer either does not want to or cannot pay. This is how you proceed to get the money you are entitled to.
First of all: Contact your employer
The first step is to contact the employer and get an explanation of why they are not paying. There may be deadlines that determine whether your claim will be covered, so do not delay this.
Submit a written claim
If you are not paid your salary, NITO's advice is that you send a letter to your employer as soon as you have not been paid what you are entitled to.
- In the letter to the employer, you state what you think you are entitled to, and ask for this to be paid within, for example, a week.
- Write that if the money is not paid by the deadline, you will proceed with the case.
- It is recommended to send such a letter by registered mail.
NITO can assist you, and we recommend that you contact us if your salary has not been paid.
When the employer is unable to pay
If the reason why your employer does not pay is that the company does not have money, your salary claim can be covered through the state's wage guarantee scheme (nav.no). A prerequisite for this is that the company is declared bankrupt.
You can file for bankruptcy yourself in order to have your outstanding salary claims covered. NITO can assist you in this process.
See also:
- What do I do if the job goes bankrupt?
- Open bankruptcy (arbeidstilsynet.no)
When bankruptcy proceedings have been opened, an administrator is appointed. Among other things, the administrator's task is to inform the employees of their rights in connection with the bankruptcy.
What can you get covered from the wage guarantee?
- Salary and holiday pay etc. limited in total to twice the National Insurance basic amount (2G) - see fact box.
- Salary and other claims for a total of six months. You choose which six months are beneficial, they do not have to be consecutive.
- Salary that is not due further back than twelve months before the deadline date. The deadline day is the day the petition for the opening of bankruptcy was received by the district court
- Holiday pay earned in the same year as the deadline day and the year before
- Non-payment to the employer's occupational pension scheme
- Other pension requirements
- Outstanding overtime, commission, bonus and time off in lieu due
Supplementary information about what is covered and how to apply can be found on nav.no
What is the National Insurance basic amount (G)?
As of 1 May 2025, 1 G amounts to NOK 130,160.
- Most benefits in the National Insurance Scheme are stated in the number of G.
- The basic amount is adjusted on 1 May each year.
When the employer does not want to pay
If your employer disagrees with your salary claim, you must proceed in a different way.
- The first step is to send a letter to the employer in which you state what you think you are entitled to and ask for this to be paid within, for example, a week. Write that if the money is not paid by the deadline, you will proceed with the case. It is recommended to send such a letter by registered mail.
- If you have not received your money within the deadline you have set, you can take the case to the Conciliation Board (politiet.no)
- NITO can assist you throughout this process.
NITO is here when it matters
Many people do not know where to start when uncertainty arises in working life. As a trade union, we are here to give you security, support and concrete advice – when you need it most.