What to do if…
your employer announces the business is entering bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings

What to do now

1. Ask for the basic facts in writing. Ask HR, management, or the person leading the announcement:

   • the formal insolvency process, or whether the business is only warning that one may start;
   • the date it started or is expected to start;
   • whether an insolvency practitioner, administrator, liquidator, receiver, or official receiver has been appointed;
   • the contact route for employee questions.

2. Confirm whether you are still expected to work. Ask in writing:

   • whether you are still employed and should attend work as normal;
   • who can authorise work, overtime, expenses, travel, and purchases;
   • whether the next payroll date has changed;
   • how staff updates will be sent, such as email, letter, meeting notes, or staff portal.

3. Save your personal employment records before access disappears. Keep copies of:

   • recent payslips, P60s, your contract or written statement of employment particulars, and any written commission, bonus, overtime, or allowance terms;
   • timesheets, rotas, approved overtime, holiday balance, expense approvals, and redundancy or closure messages;
   • any written pay-delay messages or instructions about whether to keep working.

   Do not copy customer data, client files, trade secrets, confidential business records, or anything you are not allowed to take.

4. Make a simple money-owed log. Write down:

   • dates worked, hours, pay rate, unpaid overtime, unpaid expenses, and unpaid commission;
   • holiday taken but unpaid, and holiday accrued but not taken;
   • the last date you were paid and the next pay date you were promised;
   • who told you each update, and when.

5. If you are made redundant or the employer cannot pay, prepare for the GOV.UK claim route.

   • You may be able to claim statutory redundancy pay, unpaid wages, holiday pay, overtime, commission, and statutory notice pay, depending on your status, contract, dates, and the insolvency process.
   • The insolvency practitioner or official receiver should give employees a CN case reference number. You cannot use the GOV.UK claim service without it.
   • Apply for redundancy, unpaid wages, and holiday pay as soon as you can after dismissal; GOV.UK says these claims should be made within 6 months of being dismissed.
   • Statutory notice pay is handled separately. In the first claim, you can ask to claim it, but that does not complete the notice-pay claim; you may later receive an LN reference number and instructions.
   • If you are dismissed and out of work, check benefits promptly. GOV.UK says statutory notice pay may be reduced if you do not apply for benefits after losing your job.

6. If there is a sale, rescue, or takeover, ask about TUPE before signing anything.

   • Ask whether staff are expected to transfer to a new employer, and on what date.
   • Ask whether the business is continuing, partly closing, or fully closing.
   • Keep a copy of anything you are asked to sign.
   • In insolvency, the type and timing of the process can affect who is responsible for wages, holiday pay, and other money owed.

7. Use a UK employment advice route if you are unsure or pressured.

   • Contact Acas if wages stop, you are told to accept changed terms, you are unsure whether you are an employee, worker, agency worker, contractor, or director-employee, or you cannot get clear written answers.
   • If you are in a union, contact your union representative and send them the written announcement and your money-owed log.