Redundancy Pay UK 2026: Statutory Rates, Your Rights and What to Claim

Redundancy pay is one of the few areas of UK employment law with hard numbers attached, and in 2026 those numbers changed. This guide sets out the statutory rates that apply now, how consultation and notice must work, what else you can claim beyond redundancy pay uk minimums, and what to check before signing a settlement agreement. It covers England, Scotland and Wales, and it is general information, not legal advice.

Statutory redundancy pay 2026: the rates that apply now

Statutory redundancy pay is the legal minimum your employer must pay if you qualify. According to gov.uk, you are entitled if you are an employee and you have worked for your employer for at least two continuous years. The formula uses your age, length of service and weekly pay:

• Half a week's pay for each full year of service under age 22.
• One week's pay for each full year aged 22 to 40.
• One and a half week's pay for each full year aged 41 or older.

Two caps sit on top of that formula. For statutory redundancy pay 2026 purposes, if you were made redundant on or after 6 April 2026, weekly pay is capped at 751 pounds, up from 719 pounds, and length of service is capped at 20 years. That puts the maximum statutory payout at 22,530 pounds, according to gov.uk. If you earn more than the cap, the excess simply does not count in the statutory calculation, although many employers pay enhanced packages above the legal minimum.

Redundancy pay calculator uk: run your own numbers first

Before you accept any figure from HR, run the official redundancy pay calculator uk tool on GOV.UK. It asks three things: your age, your start date and your weekly pay before tax. Check the answer against your employer's letter line by line. The most common errors are using the wrong start date after a TUPE transfer, missing a part year that had actually completed, and applying the old weekly cap to a dismissal that falls after 6 April 2026. If you are weighing up an offer to leave early, the same maths a voluntary redundancy calculator uk tool uses applies: statutory entitlement is the floor, and anything on top is your employer's choice, so get the enhanced figure in writing before you commit.

Redundancy consultation period uk: what must happen before any dismissal

Redundancy is a process, not an announcement. The redundancy consultation period uk rules depend on how many roles are at risk at one establishment, according to gov.uk:

• Fewer than 20 redundancies: no fixed statutory length, but your employer must still consult you genuinely and individually about why your role is at risk, the selection criteria and any alternatives.
• 20 to 99 redundancies: collective consultation with employee representatives must begin at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect.
• 100 or more redundancies: collective consultation must begin at least 45 days before the first dismissal.

Consultation has to be meaningful. Acas guidance is clear that turning up with a decision already made, refusing to consider alternatives such as redeployment, or using vague selection criteria can make an otherwise genuine redundancy an unfair dismissal. Take notes in every meeting, ask for the selection matrix and your scores, and put counterproposals in writing.

Redundancy notice period uk: the minimums

On top of redundancy pay you are entitled to notice. The statutory redundancy notice period uk minimums, per gov.uk, are one week's notice after one month of service, one week per full year between two and twelve years, and twelve weeks after twelve years or more. Your contract may give you longer, and your employer can either have you work the notice or make a payment in lieu. Notice pay is taxed as normal earnings, unlike the redundancy payment itself.

Made redundant what can I claim?

Redundancy pay is rarely the whole picture. Work through this list before your final day:

• Statutory or enhanced redundancy pay, checked against the 2026 caps above.
• Notice pay, worked or in lieu, at your full contractual rate.
• Holiday pay for accrued but untaken leave, taxed as earnings.
• Unpaid wages, overtime, commission and bonuses owed up to your leaving date.
• Paid time off to look for work: with two years of service, gov.uk says you are entitled to reasonable time off during notice to job hunt or train.
• New style Jobseeker's Allowance or Universal Credit once you leave, claim promptly rather than waiting for savings to run down, and note redundancy pay can affect Universal Credit as capital.
• Payments from the Insolvency Service if your employer has gone under: the government scheme covers statutory redundancy pay, unpaid wages, notice and holiday within set limits.

Settlement agreement uk: check before you sign

Many employers wrap the exit in a settlement agreement uk document: you receive a payment, often above the statutory minimum, and in return you waive your right to bring employment claims. Two protections are built into the law. The agreement is not valid unless you have received advice on it from an independent adviser, usually a solicitor, and the employer normally contributes to that cost. And you cannot be forced to sign on the spot: Acas guidance recommends at least ten calendar days to consider a settlement offer. Check the maths against your statutory entitlement, check the reference wording, and check any restrictions on where you can work next.

The tax position, briefly

According to gov.uk, the first 30,000 pounds of a genuine redundancy payment is exempt from income tax and National Insurance. Anything above 30,000 pounds is taxed as income. Notice pay, holiday pay and unpaid wages are always taxed as normal earnings, whatever the paperwork calls them. If your package is close to the threshold, timing and structure matter, so query anything that looks like relabelling.