The business closed owing me wages: is an insolvency claim the right route?

Closure and insolvency are not identical

GOV.UK describes government payment routes for eligible employees where an employer is insolvent, covering specified categories rather than every loss. The application requires the relevant insolvency case reference. Contractors may instead need creditor registration. Establish the employer’s actual status before assuming a locked office, a missed payroll or a manager’s message opens the same scheme.

List the debt by category

Keep wages, overtime, commission, holiday, redundancy and notice items separate with the periods and evidence behind them. Record amounts already paid. Obtain the insolvency practitioner’s or official receiver’s case details through a verified channel. Do not send payroll records or identity documents to a person claiming to recover your wages without checking who they are.

Understand the separate application steps

The current official process uses a CN reference for the initial claim and a later LN reference for loss of notice pay. Indicating that you want notice pay is not the same as completing that later claim. Check the scheme’s deadline and eligibility promptly; the guidance specifies a six-month application period for the initial redundancy route. Keep every application confirmation.

Follow up on the actual decision

Match any award or refusal to your itemised record and ask the Redundancy Payments Service about missing information or the relevant review. Benefits can affect notice-pay calculations, so keep benefit applications and decisions as well. This guide does not calculate statutory caps, promise full recovery or resolve a separate dispute about contractual compensation beyond the scheme.

Example: the first claim does not finish the notice-pay claim

Hypothetical illustration: an eligible employee uses the verified CN reference, submits the initial application and selects an intention to claim loss of notice pay. Keep the confirmation, then track the later LN reference and instruction. Ask the service: “Which step is complete, what must I submit when the LN reference arrives, and which benefit records affect that calculation?” Do not submit a guessed reference or assume the selection itself requested the later payment.

If a category is missing or refused

Identify the exact category, covered period, claimed amount and reason in the decision. Bring the application confirmation, insolvency reference, payroll evidence and relevant benefit information for a focused query. Ask whether the problem is missing evidence, scheme coverage or a calculation, and which review procedure and deadline apply. A separate contract debt may need a different insolvency or legal route.

Need to take the next step?

More from this country