Redundancy Rights in England and Wales: What You Are Owed
Being made redundant can feel overwhelming. This guide explains your statutory rights to redundancy pay, consultation and notice, what makes a redundancy fair or unfair, and how to challenge a decision if needed.
This article explains redundancy rights, statutory pay entitlements, and the consultation process in plain English. It covers what makes a redundancy fair or unfair and when you might need legal support. If your situation is complex or you believe you have been unfairly selected, finding a solicitor near me who specializes in employment law can help you understand your options and protect your rights.
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What Is Redundancy?
Redundancy is a specific type of dismissal. It happens when your employer no longer needs someone to do your job. The reason must relate to the business or the role, not to you personally.
A genuine redundancy typically occurs in one of these situations:
- Your job no longer exists because the work is no longer required
- The workplace is closing down or relocating
- The business needs fewer employees to do the same type of work
- A reorganisation or restructure means your role is no longer needed
Redundancy is not the same as being dismissed for misconduct, poor performance or another reason related to your conduct or capability. If your employer claims redundancy but the real reason is something else, that may be an unfair dismissal.
When Is a Redundancy Genuine?
For a redundancy to be genuine, your employer must show a real business need to reduce staffing. The redundancy should apply to the role itself, not to you as an individual.
If your employer makes you redundant but then fills the same role with someone else, this is likely to be a sham redundancy. You would have grounds to claim unfair dismissal.
Even where a redundancy situation is genuine, your employer must still follow a fair process. A fair process includes meaningful consultation, objective selection criteria if multiple employees are at risk, and consideration of alternatives such as redeployment to another role.
If your employer fails to follow a fair process, you may be able to challenge the redundancy as unfair even if the business need was genuine.
What Redundancy Pay Are You Entitled To?
If you have worked for your employer continuously for at least two years, you are entitled to statutory redundancy pay. This is the legal minimum your employer must pay you.
The amount you receive depends on your age, your length of service and your weekly pay. The calculation works as follows:
- For each complete year of service when you were under 22 years old: half a week's pay
- For each complete year of service when you were between 22 and 40 years old: one week's pay
- For each complete year of service when you were 41 or over: one and a half weeks' pay
Only your last 20 years of service count towards the calculation, and your weekly pay is subject to a cap. From 6 April 2025, the weekly pay cap is £719. This means the maximum statutory redundancy pay is £21,570.
From 6 April 2026, the weekly pay cap will rise to £751, and the maximum statutory redundancy pay will increase to £22,530.
The first £30,000 of any redundancy payment is tax free. Anything above that may be subject to income tax, but National Insurance is never charged on redundancy pay.
Enhanced Redundancy Pay
Some employers offer more generous redundancy packages than the statutory minimum. This is known as enhanced or contractual redundancy pay. Enhanced packages might use your actual weekly salary with no cap, apply higher multipliers, or count more years of service. Check your contract or staff handbook to see if you are entitled to enhanced pay.
What Is the Redundancy Process?
Your employer must follow a fair redundancy process. This includes consulting with you, giving you proper notice, and considering alternatives to redundancy.
Step 1: Employer identifies redundancy need
Your employer identifies a genuine business reason for reducing staff numbers and determines which roles are at risk. This may be due to a workplace closure, reduced demand for certain work, or a business reorganisation. The employer must be able to demonstrate that the redundancy relates to the business need, not to individual employees.
Step 2: Individual consultation begins
Your employer must consult with you individually before making a final decision. Consultation should be meaningful, giving you the chance to suggest alternatives, raise concerns and ask questions. Typical consultation involves at least one meeting, though more complex situations may require several meetings. The employer must genuinely consider what you say and allow you to influence the outcome where possible.
Step 3: Collective consultation (if applicable)
If your employer proposes 20 or more redundancies at one workplace within 90 days, they must hold collective consultation with employee representatives or a trade union. This must begin at least 30 days before the first dismissal for 20 to 99 redundancies, or 45 days for 100 or more redundancies.
The employer must notify the government using form HR1 and consult on ways to avoid redundancies, reduce numbers, and mitigate the impact. Failure to carry out proper collective consultation can result in a protective award claim.
From 6 April 2026, the maximum protective award for failure to consult collectively will double from 90 days' uncapped pay to 180 days' uncapped pay per affected employee.
Step 4: Selection for redundancy
If more than one employee could be made redundant, your employer must use fair and objective selection criteria. Common criteria include attendance record, skills and experience, work performance and disciplinary record. The criteria must be applied consistently and fairly across all employees in the selection pool.
Selection based on discriminatory factors such as age, gender, disability, pregnancy or trade union membership is automatically unfair. The employer must be able to show how scores were calculated and why decisions were made.
Step 5: Notice period
You are entitled to a notice period. The statutory minimum is one week for each complete year of service, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. Your contract may provide for a longer notice period, in which case the contractual period applies.
During your notice period, you continue to receive your normal pay and benefits. Your employer may offer payment in lieu of notice, which means you receive the notice pay as a lump sum and leave immediately.
Step 6: Dismissal and redundancy pay
Your employment ends and you receive your statutory or contractual redundancy pay. You must also be paid for any untaken holiday. If your employer is insolvent and cannot pay, you can claim statutory entitlements from the government through the Redundancy Payments Service.
You have six months from the date your employment ends to apply for statutory redundancy pay if your employer has not paid it.
Step 7: Right to appeal
If you believe the redundancy process or your selection was unfair, you can appeal. You should do this in writing, typically within five days of being told you will be made redundant. Your employer should arrange an appeal meeting as soon as possible.
If the appeal is unsuccessful, you may be able to make a claim to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal. The time limit for tribunal claims is three months less one day from the date your employment ended.
The time a redundancy process takes varies. For a single employee, the process might be completed in two weeks. Where collective consultation is required, it will take at least 30 or 45 days depending on the number of employees affected, plus the notice period.
What Happens If the Redundancy Is Unfair?
A redundancy can be unfair for two main reasons. Either the redundancy itself is not genuine, or your employer has not followed a fair process.
If you are selected for redundancy using unfair criteria, or if your employer fails to consult you properly, you may have a claim for unfair dismissal. Selection criteria must be objective and applied fairly. They should be based on verifiable information such as attendance records, skills assessments or performance reviews, not on subjective opinions or discriminatory factors.
Some reasons for selecting someone for redundancy are automatically unfair. These include:
- Pregnancy or maternity leave
- Trade union membership or activities
- Raising health and safety concerns
- Whistleblowing
- Asserting a statutory employment right
- Part time or fixed term status, unless this can be objectively justified
If you are selected for one of these reasons, you can claim unfair dismissal even if you have less than two years' service.
- You were not consulted, or consultation happened after the decision was made
- Selection criteria were not explained or were applied inconsistently
- You were selected because of pregnancy, maternity leave, trade union activity or whistleblowing
- Your employer did not consider redeploying you to another role
- Your role was filled by someone else shortly after you left
- Collective consultation did not take place when 20 or more employees were affected
- You were given no opportunity to appeal the decision
If you believe your redundancy is unfair, you should raise this with your employer through their appeals process. If the appeal is unsuccessful or your employer does not address your concerns, you may be able to make a claim to an employment tribunal.
You must submit a tribunal claim within three months less one day of the date your employment ended. For automatically unfair dismissals, there is no minimum service requirement. For other unfair dismissal claims, you generally need at least two years' continuous service.
If your claim is successful, the tribunal can award you compensation. This typically includes a basic award and a compensatory award. The basic award is calculated in the same way as statutory redundancy pay. For 2025 to 2026, the maximum basic award is £21,570, rising to £22,530 in 2026 to 2027. The maximum compensatory award is £118,223 for 2025 to 2026, increasing to £123,543 in 2026 to 2027.
How to Find Legal Support for Redundancy Issues
Redundancy can be complicated, particularly if you believe the process has been unfair or if you are considering challenging your employer's decision. Legal advice can help you understand your rights and options.
You might benefit from speaking to a solicitor if:
- You believe you have been unfairly selected for redundancy
- Your employer has not followed a proper consultation process
- You think the redundancy is not genuine
- You are considering making an employment tribunal claim
- You have been offered a settlement agreement and want to understand if it is fair
When looking for legal support, you can search for a solicitor who specializes in employment law. Many employment solicitors offer an initial consultation to discuss your situation and advise on next steps. Some work on a no win no fee basis for tribunal claims, meaning you do not pay legal fees unless your claim is successful.
To find a solicitor near you, you can use a directory of regulated legal professionals. LawStreet provides a free, unbiased directory of all solicitor offices in England and Wales, sourced directly from the Solicitors Regulation Authority. You can search by location and practice area to find employment law specialists in your area.
Acting quickly is important. Tribunal claims must be submitted within strict time limits, and early legal advice can help you preserve evidence and understand whether you have grounds to challenge the redundancy.
FAQ's
Statutory redundancy pay is calculated based on your age, weekly pay and length of service. You receive half a week's pay for each year worked under age 22, one week's pay for each year between 22 and 40, and one and a half weeks' pay for each year aged 41 or over. Only the last 20 years count, and weekly pay is capped at £719 for 2025 to 2026, rising to £751 in 2026 to 2027. The maximum statutory redundancy pay is currently £21,570, increasing to £22,530 from April 2026.
Yes. You must have at least two years' continuous service with your employer to qualify for statutory redundancy pay. If you have less than two years' service, you are not entitled to a statutory redundancy payment, although you are still entitled to your notice period and any contractual entitlements.
The first £30,000 of redundancy pay is tax free. Any amount above £30,000 may be subject to income tax. National Insurance is never charged on redundancy payments. Notice pay and holiday pay are treated as normal earnings and are always taxed.
You can be made redundant while pregnant or on maternity leave if there is a genuine redundancy situation. However, selecting you for redundancy because of your pregnancy or maternity leave is automatically unfair dismissal and unlawful discrimination. Your employer must offer you any suitable alternative vacancy before your contract ends if one is available.
Collective consultation is required when an employer proposes to make 20 or more employees redundant at one establishment within a 90 day period. The employer must consult with employee representatives or a recognized trade union. Consultation must begin at least 30 days before the first dismissal if 20 to 99 employees are affected, or at least 45 days if 100 or more are affected.
You must submit an employment tribunal claim within three months less one day from the date your employment ended. This is a strict deadline. If you miss it, the tribunal will usually not accept your claim unless there are exceptional circumstances. It is important to seek legal advice as soon as possible if you believe your redundancy was unfair.
Your employer may offer you an alternative role instead of making you redundant. You are entitled to a four week trial period in the new role. If you find the role unsuitable during the trial period, you can leave and still receive your redundancy pay. If you refuse a suitable alternative role without good reason before starting it, you may lose your right to redundancy pay.
If your employer is insolvent and cannot pay your redundancy entitlements, you can claim certain sums from the government through the Redundancy Payments Service. This covers statutory redundancy pay, unpaid wages, unpaid holiday pay and notice pay, subject to statutory limits.