Pay security

If your employer is bankrupt or is otherwise insolvent, you can claim unpaid wages as pay security. It is most commonly holiday compensation and final pay that are claimed from pay security if an employer is unable to pay these due to payment difficulties. The basis and amount of the unpaid amounts must be established for pay security to be able to pay them.

A precondition for getting pay security is that an employer is insolvent. The authority officially checks that this is the case. 

A pay security application must be made within three (3) months of the unpaid amount falling due. Pay security pays outstanding wages from an employee's employment relationship, once the basis and amount of these have been established.

The authority in charge of pay security is the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre). The average processing time for pay security applications is 6 months. 
Pay security application

The ELY Centre recommends that pay security applications are made primarily using the regional administration’s e-services (in Finnish). 

Proceed as follows: 
1. From the menu select "pay security application services"
2. Log in to the service. Login requires strong authentication (e.g. online banking codes)
3.  Carefully complete the application 

• the application includes, among other things, details of your employment, your employer's contact details and what unpaid amounts you are claiming. Remember that the application must be made within 3 months of the amount falling due 

4.  Check again that you have completed your application as accurately as possible. This reduces the need for any requests for further clarification.
5. Send the application 

If it is not possible to make an electronic application, you can print out a pay security application from the ELY Centre's website (in Finnish). 

• Print the application ”employee pay security application”, complete it and send it by email to palkkaturva.uusimaa(at)ely-keskus.fi or mail it to Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Uusimaa/Pay security, PO Box 54, 00521 Helsinki

Accelerated pay security procedure for bankruptcy estates 
With the consent of the ELY Centre, a bankruptcy estate can apply for pay security for unpaid wages which the estate administrator and the pay security authority have determined are eligible to be paid as pay security.

The bankruptcy estate applies for all employee claims with a single application, to which are appended pay slips and a summary of the claims.
The individual employee is always responsible for making a pay security application, however. If the estate administrator does not make a pay security application on behalf of employees, they must do it themselves.