Losing a job through redundancy is stressful enough without the added confusion of working out what you are owed. Statutory redundancy pay is the legal minimum an employer must pay a qualifying employee, and the amount depends on age, length of service and weekly pay. Here is how it works in 2026.

Who qualifies

Statutory redundancy pay is normally due if you are an employee and have worked continuously for your current employer for two years or more. Agency workers, contractors and the self-employed do not qualify, and neither do some groups such as members of the armed forces and the police. If your employer offers to keep you on, or you unreasonably refuse a suitable alternative job, you may lose the entitlement.

How the amount is worked out

The payment is calculated by counting back your complete years of continuous service from the date your job ends, up to a maximum of 20 years. Each full year earns a set amount of a week’s pay, depending on your age during that year: half a week’s pay for each year you were under 22, one week’s pay for each year you were aged 22 to 40, and one and a half weeks’ pay for each year you were 41 or older.

A week’s pay is your average gross weekly pay over the 12 weeks before the day you received your redundancy notice. For redundancies on or after 6 April 2026, weekly pay is capped at £751 in England, Scotland and Wales, and the maximum statutory payment is £22,530. In Northern Ireland the cap is £783, giving a maximum of £23,490. Figures are reviewed each April, so always check the current rates on GOV.UK.

Other rights when you are made redundant

Money is only part of the picture. Your employer must select people for redundancy fairly, for example on skills or experience, and not because of age, gender, disability or pregnancy. You are entitled to a consultation about why your job is at risk and whether alternatives exist. Where 20 or more redundancies are proposed at one workplace within 90 days, collective consultation must start at least 30 days before the first dismissal, or 45 days where 100 or more jobs are going.

If your employer offers another suitable job, you get a four-week trial period in it, and leaving during the trial because the role is not suitable does not cost you your redundancy pay. You also have the right to reasonable time off to look for another job or arrange training, and to a statutory notice period.

Tax and claiming

Statutory redundancy pay under £30,000 is not taxable, and the first £30,000 of a genuine redundancy or termination payment is usually tax-free in total. Anything above that is taxed as income. If your employer does not pay what you are owed, you have six months from the date your job ends to apply for statutory redundancy pay. GOV.UK has a free calculator to check your figure against your employer’s, and Acas and Citizens Advice can advise on disputes. This article is general information, not personal legal or tax advice.