Point:
Getting unpaid wages from a bankrupt employer
Situation:
You were working at a company in Nagoya for 2 years, but because your employer went bankrupt you have been on unemployment benefits and have been trying to find a job since January. You have not yet received your wages for October, November and December. What can
you do, now that your previous employer is bankrupt?
Advice:
Even though the company is bankrupt, there is a way you can demand your unpaid wages. If the bankrupt company has made a statement of liquidation in a court of law, the court will pronounce the liquidation and notify the creditors and employees. If you send the
credit report (saikentodoke), which is enclosed with the notification, to the court, you can become a liquidation creditor. The bankruptcy trustee will dispose of the company’s remaining assets, and distribute the proceeds to the liquidation creditors. In this
case, the payment of unpaid wages is given priority.
If the bankrupt company’s has little in the way of assets, or the company has not undergone the procedure for a statement of liquidation, you may be able to use the “Unpaid Wages Substitute Payment
System”. Under this system, the Labor Health and welfare Organization (rodo-kenko-fukushi-kiko) pays the unpaid wages in the company’s stead.
For more information about the system, please enquire at the Labour Standards Bureau.
This article was originally aired on ZIP FM's Global Voice in April 2007.
