Currently severance and termination is treated as an unsecured claim, so it would be paid after secured creditors and preferred creditors.
Under the insolvency legislation, bankruptcy legislation particularly, you have secured creditors, typically lenders, etc., who have taken a secured interest in the property of the debtor company when they have made a loan or when they're owed money by the debtor company. Preferred claimants are those who, by statute, are given a special claim in a bankruptcy. These include such people as the trustee who was doing the work of winding up the company, liquidating the company. Their payment is only preferred, so they would be paid after secured creditors. Some wages are also put at the preferred level.
The severance and termination had been paid at the unsecured level. So along with all creditors who are not either preferred or secured, now you will have this group jumping ahead of almost everyone.