Current issues in the wage guarentee system

Question: My employer has promised to pay my outstanding wage claims but has not done so despite my requests. What should I do?
Answer: You must apply for pay guarantee within three months of the original due date of the claim. If you do not know when your employer will be able to pay your wages, you should submit an application for pay guarantee in order to ensure that the statutory time limit does not expire.
If the employer later pays the claims to you, the pay guarantee application can be withdrawn at any stage of the application process. Always notify the pay guarantee authority of any payments made by the employer if they concern claims you have applied for under the pay guarantee system.

Q: What claims can I apply for under pay guarantee?
A: You may apply for all employment‑related claims, which typically include wages and various wage supplements, overtime compensation, holiday compensation and holiday bonuses. Ordinary and reasonable travel expenses or other costs incurred in the performance of work may also be paid as pay guarantee.
The pay guarantee application form also includes a separate section where you may indicate whether you are claiming interest on the claims. Please note that claims must be applied for within three months of their due date (see the next question).

Q: What is the time limit for submitting an application, and how is it calculated?
A: Claims must be applied for within three months of their due date. This statutory time limit is absolute. The due date of a claim refers to the date on which the claim should have been paid under law or contract, typically the employer’s normal payday.
When the employment relationship ends, all claims that have not yet fallen due usually become payable on the date the employment ends. If the employer has been declared bankrupt, all claims accrued up to that date (including holiday compensation) become due on the date the bankruptcy proceedings commence.
The due date is assessed separately for each claim, and compliance with the time limit is likewise examined on a claim‑by‑claim basis.

Q: Where can I get help with calculating my claims?
A: If you cannot obtain the necessary calculations from your employer or payroll accountant, or if you doubt their accuracy, you may contact your trade union or a legal aid office. The KEHA Centre cannot calculate claims on your behalf, as it acts as the decision‑making authority in pay guarantee matters.

Q: How should claims be entered in the application?
A: In the application, specify the claims you are applying for, itemised by type (e.g. wages, evening allowance, holiday compensation), the period during which the claims accrued, and the date on which they became due. Claims must be itemised by pay period.
Holiday compensation must be itemised by holiday accrual year (1 April–31 March). For holiday pay and related holiday bonuses, the accrual period should be indicated as the period when the holiday was taken. It is also advisable to specify the basis for calculating the claims (e.g. number of hours and hourly wage, or number of holiday days).

Q: What attachments are required for the application?
A: The primary purpose of the attachments you submit is to demonstrate that you have unpaid claims for which you are applying under the pay guarantee system. The amount and grounds of the claims are verified through documents such as payslips, work schedules, travel expense claims, the employment contract, and, in the case of termination of employment, the notice of termination and the employment certificate.
If you do not have documents, you may provide corresponding information in free‑form text, for example in the additional information section of the application. The pay guarantee authority may also request additional documents if necessary to clarify the matter.

Q: I have not received employment‑related documents from my employer. What should I do?
A: Indicate in your application that the employer has not provided the documents. We will send a request for a statement to the employer, which allows us to obtain information about your employment from the employer’s response.
You may also seek assistance from the occupational safety and health authority in obtaining payslips and other employment‑related documents from your employer. More information is available on the occupational safety and health administration’s website.
If you receive employment‑related documents from your employer during the processing of the application, you may submit them to the pay guarantee authority at a later stage.

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration online service (tyosuojelu.fi)

Q: I have paid business expenses on behalf of my employer using my own bank card. Can I apply for reimbursement under pay guarantee?
A: You may include these claims in your pay guarantee application and submit receipts for the expenses as attachments. Pay guarantee may cover travel or other expenses incurred in the performance of work for which the employer is responsible, provided they are ordinary in nature and reasonable in amount.
The KEHA Centre assesses such cases individually based on the pay guarantee application.

Q: Can I submit the application by email?
A: Sending personal identity numbers, wage information or other confidential material by unsecured email is not recommended. However, you may submit your application using secure email by selecting KEHA Centre / Pay Guarantee as the recipient, or by requesting a secure email connection at palkkaturva@keha-keskus.fi.

• palkkaturva@keha-keskus.fi
• Secure Messaging Service (turvaviesti.keha-keskus.fi)

Q: If my employer fails to pay additional wages, should I submit a new application or add them to my original one?
A: New claims cannot be added to an existing application; a new pay guarantee application must always be submitted for new claims. For example, if your original application only covered wages for August, wages for September must be applied for in a new application once they become due.
However, if the amount of a previously applied‑for claim was stated incorrectly, you may adjust the amount in the original application, provided it concerns the same type of claim and accrual period. For example, if you originally applied for hourly wages for 168 hours in August but later realised that the last 8 hours were missing, these may be added to the same application.
If, on the other hand, you entirely forgot to apply for certain claims, such as evening allowances or mileage compensation for August, you must submit a new application for those claims.

Q: My employer has been declared bankrupt. What should I do?
A: The bankruptcy administrator may apply for pay guarantee on behalf of the employees under the so‑called accelerated pay guarantee procedure. In this procedure, the KEHA Centre pays the pay guarantee to the bankruptcy estate, which then acts as the wage payer for the employees. The aim is to pay the claims to employees upon termination of employment, that is, within two weeks of the commencement of the bankruptcy.
If the bankruptcy estate does not submit an application or if the KEHA Centre determines that the conditions for the accelerated procedure are not met, you should submit your own application for your claims. To find out whether the bankruptcy estate will apply on your behalf under the accelerated procedure, contact the bankruptcy administrator.
If you already have an application pending, you do not need to notify the pay guarantee authority of the commencement of the bankruptcy. We will inform the bankruptcy estate of your application and request a statement from the bankruptcy administrator.
If the bankruptcy estate applies on your behalf for the same claims under the accelerated procedure, you may withdraw your own application after the payment has been credited to your account. The withdrawal can most easily be made via the electronic services portal, or alternatively by email with an informal notification.

Q: My employer has informed me that the company I work for is going bankrupt. Can I check whether bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated or are ongoing?
A: You can check free of charge in the Insolvency Register whether a bankruptcy petition has been filed against a company, whether the company is bankrupt, and, if so, who is acting as the bankruptcy administrator.