In general terms, most employment law claims can be continued by an employee if he is declared bankrupt. This is because in general the right to pursue such claims is unlikely to vest in his trustee in bankruptcy under the Insolvency Act 1986. However, this rule relates to the litigation process so it does not follow that the bankrupt employee will be entitled to retain for his own benefit any compensation which he might be awarded.

As side issues not directly related to employment law, it is important to note that:-

1. with effect from 1st April 2004 substantial changes were made to insolvency law by the Enterprise Act 2002. These include a reduction to one year in the normal duration of bankruptcy for a first-time nankrupt individual - previously he could not have expected an automatic discharge until 3 years after the date of the bankruptcy order;
   
2. deliberate withholding by a bankrupt of information as to his assets is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment (see eg Insolvency Act 1986 s.356(1).