Statutory redundancy pay (UK)

How the calculation works

Multiply years of service (capped at 20) by the age-banded factor, then by a week's pay (capped at £751 from 6 April 2026, Great Britain figure). The maximum statutory payment is therefore £22,530. The same formula produces the "basic award" in unfair dismissal cases, which is why the two figures track each other. Contractual redundancy schemes can and often do pay above the statutory floor.

Process obligations, and the 180-day award

Redundancy must be genuine (the role disappearing, fair selection from a properly defined pool, consultation, and consideration of alternatives). Where 20 or more redundancies are proposed at one establishment within 90 days, collective consultation rules add fixed timelines and elected representatives, and failures now carry a protective award of up to 180 days' pay per employee, doubled from 90 by the Employment Rights Act 2025 in April 2026. Getting the collective threshold arithmetic wrong is the most expensive spreadsheet error in UK HR.

The three-country contrast

Australia scales redundancy pay by service alone (4 to 16 weeks under the NES, small business exempt); New Zealand has no statutory redundancy pay at all; the UK factors age into the formula and requires two years' service before anything is owed. An employer restructuring across all three is running three different cost models and three different consultation regimes on the same org chart.