Being told your job is at risk is a shock. Don't let it stop you asking the two questions that matter: is this redundancy genuine and fair, and are you getting everything you're owed?

Here's how to check both, in plain English.

What counts as a genuine redundancy

In law, redundancy means one of three things: the business closes, your workplace closes, or your employer needs fewer people to do your kind of work.

So if your job carries on under a new title, or someone is hired to do it soon after you leave, be suspicious. That's the mark of an unfair or ‘sham’ redundancy.

A genuine reason isn't enough on its own. The process has to be fair too. Your employer should:

• have a real business reason, not just a wish to get rid of you
• use objective selection criteria, applied consistently to everyone in the pool
• consult you properly, and collectively too if 20 or more people at one site are at risk within 90 days
• look for suitable alternative roles and offer them to you.

Red flags: you were picked soon after raising a grievance, announcing a pregnancy or taking sick leave. You were scored on vague things like “attitude” or “fit”. Or the consultation meetings felt like a formality, because the decision had clearly been made already.

How much statutory redundancy pay are you owed?

With at least two years' continuous service, you are entitled to statutory redundancy pay. It is worked out from your age, length of service and weekly pay:

• half a week's pay for each full year you worked while under 22
• one week's pay for each full year you worked aged 22 to 40
• one and a half weeks' pay for each full year you worked aged 41 or over.

Weekly pay is capped at £751 (from 6th April 2026) and only your last 20 years count. So the most anyone can receive is £22,530.

That's the legal minimum, not the whole picture. Check your contract and staff handbook for an enhanced redundancy scheme. Then make sure you also get your notice pay (or pay in lieu of notice), any holiday you haven't taken and any wages still owed.

The first £30,000 of a genuine redundancy payment is usually tax-free. Notice pay and holiday pay are taxed in the normal way.

Can you challenge it?

A redundancy that wasn't genuine, or wasn't handled fairly, can be challenged as unfair dismissal if you have two years' service.

That two-year requirement is due to fall to six months from 1st January 2027.

Some reasons are unlawful from day one, such as selecting you because of pregnancy or whistleblowing. Discrimination claims need no minimum service at all.

Watch the deadline. For unfair dismissals on or after 1st October 2026, you normally have six months less one day to start the process through Acas early conciliation. Miss it, and your claim is usually lost. More on the new tribunal deadline.

Negotiating a better exit

Don't assume the first offer is the final offer. Plenty of people accept it without realising they could ask for more. If the process looks shaky, push for a higher payment, an agreed reference, extra notice or help with outplacement.

Deals like this are usually written into a settlement agreement, and your employer normally pays for you to take independent legal advice on it first.

How Grapple Law can help

Grapple Law can help you:

• check whether your redundancy holds up,
• work out what you are owed,
• put your challenge in writing, from questioning your selection scores to appealing the decision.

It's free to start. And our no win, no fee negotiation service can push for a better package on your behalf, at a fraction of the price a traditional lawyer would be likely to charge.

GET STARTED

Frequently Asked Questions about Redundancy

Do I get redundancy pay with less than two years' service?

No, you don’t get statutory redundancy pay with less than two years’ service, but check your contract for any enhanced scheme. You are still owed your notice pay, holiday pay and any wages due.

Can I be made redundant on maternity leave?

You can, but you have special protection, including priority for suitable alternative roles. Read our guide to redundancy during maternity leave.

Can my employer make me redundant and then hire someone else?

If they recruit for the same job soon after, your redundancy may not have been genuine. Keep the job advert: it's evidence.

Can I be made redundant while I'm off sick?

Yes, if the redundancy is genuine. But your employer must still consult you properly, and choosing you because of sickness absence linked to a disability or pregnancy could be discrimination.

Find out more

• Unfair dismissal: your rights
• Settlement agreements explained
• Without prejudice conversations