Statutory Redundancy Pay: Who Qualifies and How Much You Get

If you are being made redundant, statutory redundancy pay is the minimum your employer must pay you if you have worked there for at least two years. How much you get depends on your age, how long you have worked there and your weekly pay, which is capped at £751 for anyone made redundant on or after 6 April 2026¹.

The most you can receive in statutory redundancy pay is £22,530, up from £21,570 previously². The payment is not taxed and no National Insurance is payable on it³.

Your employer should pay your redundancy on the date you leave the company or on your next normal pay date². If they do not pay, or if the company has gone bust, there are formal routes to claim what you are owed, but strict deadlines apply.

Who qualifies: two years' continuous employment

To be entitled to statutory redundancy pay, you must have been continuously employed by your employer for two or more years². This applies whether you work full time, part time or on a fixed-term contract. Fixed-term employees with at least two years' continuous employment are entitled to the same contractual or statutory redundancy pay as permanent employees⁴.

You must also be classed as an employee, not self-employed or working as a contractor. If you have been offered suitable alternative work by your employer and you unreasonably refuse it, you can lose your right to statutory redundancy pay⁵.

If your employer becomes insolvent, the same two-year rule applies for claiming statutory redundancy pay from the Insolvency Service¹. You must have been continuously employed for two or more years and be classed as an employee¹.

Who is excluded from statutory redundancy pay

Not everyone who loses their job qualifies. The main exclusions are set out in official and independent guidance²:

• You are self-employed²
• You are a Crown servant, parliamentary staff or a holder of public office²
• You are domestic staff working for your immediate family²
• You are an apprentice who is not an employee at the end of your training⁶
• You refuse suitable alternative work without a valid reason⁵

If you are on maternity or parental leave, you are not excluded. Your redundancy pay should be calculated using your normal week's pay, not your maternity pay². If you are on shared parental leave and you unreasonably refuse a suitable alternative vacancy, you may lose the right to a redundancy payment⁷.

How much you get: age bands, weekly pay cap of £751 and maximum of £22,530

Your statutory redundancy pay is worked out using a formula based on your age and complete years of service. The rates are⁶:

Your weekly pay is capped at £751 for any redundancy on or after 6 April 2026¹. For calculations before that date, the cap was £719¹. The overall maximum payment is £22,530 for 2026-27, up from £21,570².

Only complete years of service count. If you worked somewhere for seven years and three months, you would be paid for seven years. The maximum number of years that can be counted is 20.

How your weekly pay is worked out if you were on leave, furlough or variable hours

If you have no regular working hours, your weekly pay is worked out as an average of what you earned in the 12 weeks leading up to being made redundant. This includes any commission you have earned². The same 12-week averaging applies to redundancy pay, arrears of pay and notice pay if your hours varied from week to week¹.

Overtime is not usually included in the calculation of your normal weekly pay. The only exception is if the overtime was guaranteed and compulsory².

If you are on maternity or parental leave, your statutory redundancy pay should be calculated using your normal week's pay, or the average week's pay you received before your statutory leave period started. It is not based on statutory maternity pay or contractual maternity pay⁴.

Your payment is based on your gross weekly rate of pay, which is the amount you earned each week before tax and other deductions¹.

When you can lose the right to redundancy pay

There are several situations where you can lose your entitlement:

• You leave before your notice period ends. If you find another job and choose to leave before the end of your notice period, you will no longer be eligible for a redundancy payout².
• You refuse suitable alternative work without a valid reason. This means you will not be eligible for statutory redundancy pay⁵.
• You work more than four weeks in a trial role. If you are offered a trial period in a new role and you work more than four weeks in it, you can lose the right to a redundancy payment⁴.
• You unreasonably refuse a suitable alternative vacancy while on shared parental leave. This may mean you lose the right to a redundancy payment⁷.

Claiming what you are owed: six-month deadline and where to get help

If your employer does not pay your redundancy, you can make a written claim to them. You must do this within six months of your employment ending². If they still do not pay, you can take your claim to an employment tribunal. The deadline for claiming redundancy pay you are owed is usually six months minus one day, measured from the last day you were employed².

If your employer is insolvent, you can apply to the Insolvency Service for the money you are owed, including statutory redundancy pay¹. You cannot apply until the date of the insolvency, and you cannot claim without a CN number⁸. If your employer is solvent, the Insolvency Service can only pay redundancy pay, not other tribunal awards¹.

If you have been laid off without pay, or on less than half a week's pay, for more than four weeks in a row, you can write to your employer to claim redundancy pay. You must do this within four weeks of your last non-working day in that period⁶. The claim could be rejected if normal work is likely to start within four weeks and continue for at least 13 weeks⁶.

If you are owed money by an employer who will not pay, you can apply to a court to make someone bankrupt or get a company wound up (liquidated) if they ignore a statutory demand⁹.

For free, impartial help, you can contact Citizens Advice, the MoneyHelper service, or a debt advice charity such as StepChange. If you are struggling with debt after redundancy, StepChange offers free advice¹⁰.