立法者考量企業員工之生存權及財產權，因而於現行破產法上規定員工薪資債權具有優先權之地位。惟破產法並未直接對員工薪資債權作具體排序之規範，僅於勞動基準法第二十八條第一項設有「積欠工資優先受償權」之規定，然工資債權之優先受償順位仍於抵押權之後，易使員工薪資債權落空，因而有同條第二項以下「積欠工資墊償基金制度」之立法，但此制度於實行上亦有困難。 就現行制度對工資保障之不足，本文認為透過勞基法第一項與破產制度內之規範同時給與工資債權之直接保障，對員工權益之保障較為周全。本文就擔保物權與員工薪資債權之受償順位，提出兩項立法建議，第一項係將勞基法之限制予以調整或刪除，並於破產法制與勞基法內將員工工資之受償順位規定優先於擔保物權，第二項則以折衷之「部分優先原則」取代擔保物權之完全優先受償權。 值得安慰的是，除了勞基法之規範外，於2007年公布之債務清理法草案已提高工資債權之受償可能性，工資債權無須依據破產程序即得自破產財團中隨時受償，雖其仍就期間設有限制，但較現行法而言，已有顯著進步。 The legislators consider employees’ survival rights and property rights, therefore regulating wage claims as preferred right (priority). However the priority of wage claims have not be sorted under current law, only a preferred right is given to payment of wages which are payable under the labor contracts and which have been overdue for a period not exceeding six months. Nevertheless, the sequence of wage claims is after the mortgages, making employees unable to recover their full wages from bankruptcy enterprise. Therefore, Overdue Wages Payment Fund is set up under Labor Standards Act, but it still has some difficulties in practice. There is an insufficient protection on wage claims in current law system; we should protect employees by providing related statutes in Labor Standards Act and Bankruptcy Act simultaneously. In the case of the sequences between wage claims and mortgages, there are two suggestions worthy considering to carry out. First, adjusting or removing the limit of wage preferred right, and making wage claims prior to mortgages. Second, adopting the “part of the priority principle” to substitute for mortgage’s absolute priority. Except for Labor Standards Act, the draft of Insolvency Law which was published in 2007 increases the possibility of paying off wage claims. Wage claims can be satisfied from bankruptcy estate at any time rather than following bankruptcy proceedings, although the wage claims have the limit of time which is up to 6 months, it is still better than current law.
