Insolvency payment claims

Making an insolvency payment claim

Your employer will have appointed an Insolvency Practitioner who will normally send you all the  forms you need to claim any money you're owed. If this doesn't happen, you can contact  your employers Insolvency Practitioner, who will advise you how to claim payments from the NI Redundancy Payments Service and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

If you don't know who your insolvency practitioner is, contact Companies House who should hold their details and give you further support.

Redundancy

If your employer is insolvent and makes you redundant, you may be able to claim Statutory Redundancy Pay.

To qualify for payment you must:

• have been continuously employed by your employer for two or more years
• have made a written application to your employer or applied to an Industrial Tribunal for an award, within six months of your job ending

You can:

• fill in the redundancy payment application form
• telephone the Redundancy Payments Service
• Help with redundancy

Unpaid pension scheme contributions

If you've been made redundant, and made either personal or occupational pension scheme contributions, and your employer is legally insolvent, you may be able to reclaim your pension contributions from the Department for the Economy, who make payments from the National Insurance Fund.

It is only “Persons competent to act” under the trust deed or rules of your pension scheme (for example, the trustees) that may apply for payment.

You can claim for contributions which were deducted from your pay, but were not paid into the scheme, during the 12 months before your employer became insolvent.

You may also receive unpaid contributions payable by the employer on its own account, for the 12 months before your employer became insolvent.

Payments may be made for the amount an actuary certifies as necessary for the scheme to meet its liability on dissolution for payment of benefits to the employees The Department may also pay 10 per cent of the total pay of the employees concerned for the 12 months ending on the day before the employer became insolvent.

Trustees or administrators of a scheme can apply for payment from the National Insurance Fund using form RP15 enclosing form RP16 (actuarial certificate) if appropriate.

• Application for payment of pension scheme contributions 

What to do next

If you do not agree with the amount of payment made from the National Insurance Fund, you might be able to make a claim to an Industrial Tribunal.

• Industrial Tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunal NI

Where to get help

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) and Advice NI offer free, confidential and impartial advice on all employment rights issues for residents of Northern Ireland.

If your employer is legally insolvent, you may wish to contact the Insolvency Service and/or the appointed insolvency practitioner.