Unpaid wages and related employee claims sit high in the distribution waterfall — they are not ordinary trade debt.
China’s Enterprise Bankruptcy Law gives special priority treatment to certain employee claims such as unpaid wages and specified insurance/compensation items, subject to statutory ordering versus secured and other claims. Employees or their representatives participate in the claims process. This wiki is employee-claim orientation. Secured creditors remain a parallel priority story on collateral. Ordinary creditor claims explain filing mechanics. Social-insurance agencies may also appear.
4 questions before you choose the route.
This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.
What wage/severance items are unpaid?
Scope.
ScopeFiled in claims process?
Process.
FileInteraction with secured collateral?
Priority fight.
SecuredReorganisation plan treatment?
Rescue track.
PlanWorking rule: Map the regulated role before marketing or launch in China.
The signal ledger.
These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.
Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.
Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.
Questions people ask before they build.
Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.
Do all HR claims get top priority?
Categories are statutory — not every HR wish-list item. Map carefully.
Where is secured priority?
Primary authorities
Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.