Redundancy

What are the employee’s legal rights in case of redundancy?

Employees have the right to be notified of their dismissal in advance, with reasonable notice. They are usually entitled to be paid redundancy pay.

Employers are required to choose employees for redundancy in a fair and transparent way. The process may include consultation with redundant staff or a review of how many staff are needed.

It is against the law to dismiss an employee for a discriminatory reason, such as an employee’s race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, disability, marital status, family status, religion etc.

When selecting employees for redundancy, an employer may consideer:

• length of service
• voluntary resignations (self-selection)
• disciplinary records
• skills, qualifications, experience

Redundancy notice period:

The statutory redundancy notice depends on the length of your employment:

• 1-24 months: at least one week’s notice
• 2-12 years: one week’s notice for each year
• 12 years or more: 12 weeks’ notice

How is redundancy pay calculated?

If you have employee status and have worked for the company for 2 years or more, you would usually be entitled to statutory redundancy pay.

You will be paid:

• half a week’s pay for each full year you were under 22
• one week’s pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41
• one and half week’s pay for each full year you were 41 or older

Length of service is capped at 20 years.

From 6 April 2021, the weekly pay is capped at £544 and the maximum statutory pay is capped at £16 320.

You will not be entitled to statutory redundancy pay if your employer offers you an alternative job and you refuse it without a good reason.