You need 2 or more years of continuous service to qualify for statutory redundancy pay. The amount depends on your age and length of service:
Weekly pay is capped at £700 (2025), and a maximum of 20 years' service counts toward the calculation. Your employment contract may offer enhanced redundancy terms above the statutory minimum — always check.
The legal minimum notice period is 1 week per year of service, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. Your contract may provide for longer notice — if so, the contractual notice applies. During your notice period, if you have 2 or more years of service, you are entitled to reasonable paid time off to look for new work or arrange training.
When 20 or more employees are being made redundant at one establishment within 90 days, your employer is legally required to consult with employee representatives. The minimum consultation periods are:
If your employer fails to consult properly, an employment tribunal can award a protective award of up to 90 days' pay per affected employee.
Your employer must use objective criteria to select who is made redundant. Common fair criteria include attendance records, performance, skills, qualifications, and length of service. Selection based on pregnancy, disability, trade union membership, part-time status, or any other protected characteristic is automatically unfair dismissal — no qualifying service period required.
Your employer should make reasonable efforts to offer you suitable alternative roles within the organisation. If you are offered a new role, you have a 4-week trial period to decide whether it is suitable. Be aware: unreasonably refusing a suitable alternative role may mean you lose your right to statutory redundancy pay.
If your redundancy was a sham (the role wasn't genuinely redundant), the selection criteria were discriminatory, or the employer failed to follow proper process, you may have a claim for unfair dismissal.
You must contact ACAS for early conciliation within 3 months minus 1 day of your dismissal date. ACAS will attempt to resolve the dispute before it goes to an employment tribunal. Don't miss this deadline — it is strict and rarely extended.
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General legal information only — not legal advice. For specific situations, consult ACAS or a qualified employment solicitor.