Redundancy in 2022: what and how much you could get

What is redundancy? How much is Statutory Redundancy Pay? You may be employed. However, your employer may choose to reduce the number of employees that they have. Then, they may choose to use this type of dismissal. If this is the case, you could receive payment, an alternative job, or even notice pay. Your Benefits will tell you everything you need to know about (Statutory) Redundancy (Pay).

How much is Redundancy Pay?

If you are made redundant, you could be able to receive Statutory Redundancy Pay. First, you need to be an employee. Second, you need to have worked with your employer for a minimum of 2 years. Then, you could receive the following:

For every full year you were made redundant under 22 years old: half of your weekly pay;
Every full year you were made redundant between 22 and 40 years old: your weekly pay once;
For every full year you were made redundant when you were 41 years or older: your weekly pay one and a half times.

The maximum amount of time that you may get statutory redundancy pay for is capped. More specifically, it is limited to 20 years. How much is your weekly pay? Your weekly pay is the average pay you received weekly for 12 months, prior to receiving your redundancy notice.

Important

Your Statutory Redundancy Pay may be capped. In fact, you could have been made redundant on 6 April 2022 or after. Then, your weekly pay may not be superior to £571. Additionally, your Statutory Redundancy Pay may not be superior to £17,130. If it was prior to that date, these amounts may be inferior.

Your employer may offer you ‘alternative suitable employment. If you choose to refuse this offer for no reasonable reason, you may not be able to receive Statutory Redundancy Pay.

What is Redundancy?

Redundancy is a type of dismissal. You could get redundancy payments, or contractual redundancy pay through the redundancy process. Employers use redundancy when they need to reduce the number of employees that they have. However, if you are selected for redundancy, you are capable of asking for certain things. More specifically, you could get the following:

Time away from work to find new work;
A certain notice period;
A meeting with your employer;
Statutory Redundancy Pay;
The possibility to start a new work.

Disclaimer

The way that you or others are selected for redundancy needs to be fair. More specifically, it has to be because of things such as your ability to do your job, or how much experience you have. If it is done because of your age, gender, or because you are pregnant or disabled, you could have been unfairly dismissed.

If you are made redundant, there are a number of benefits you could be eligible for. Then, Your Benefits could help. We write many articles about the benefits you could get, as well as concepts that can affect you.

Furthermore, we provide a free simulator that can show you all the benefits you are entitled to. Indeed, there could be a number of financial aid that you are not claiming. With Your Benefits, you can see everything you are entitled to and not currently claiming. And again, it’s completely free.

What is the meeting with my employer that I am entitled to?

If you are made redundant, you are entitled to meet with your employer. In fact, this is so that they explain their redundancy to you. Additionally, you can ask them to talk to you about alternatives to redundancy.

Your employer may choose to carry out up to 19 redundancies. Then, how meetings or consultations are carried out is not set out by any specific rules. However, your employer may carry out redundancy with 20 or more workers at once. Then, the rules that apply are for collective redundancies.

Your employer may not have consulted properly. Then, you could take the case to an employment tribunal. This is also the case if their meeting or consultation is done late, or they did not provide the option.

What are the rules for collective redundancy?

An employer could choose to carry out redundancies for 20 or more employees at once. Then, a consultation or meeting needs to take place. More specifically, between your employer and an employee representative.

An employee representative can be one of two things. First, it can be a representative elected by the employees (this is true if no trade union represents you, or if your trade union is not recognized by your employer). Otherwise, it can also be a trade union representative, if you are in a trade union.

There are a number of things that a collective consultation needs to cover. In fact, it includes the following:

The reasons that your employer has to have made their employees redundant;
What your employer intends to do to reduce how many dismissals are made;
How your employer will do to keep redundancies to a minimum;
How to reduce the impact that this has on employees (which could involve things like providing training to them).

Disclaimer

There is also a limit for the consultation period. If the employer made 20 to 99 redundancies, they need to start the consultation no later than 30 days prior to the dismissals. If they made 100 redundancies or more, they must start no later than 45 days before the dismissals start.

You may also be an employee impacted by redundancy. Then, you can choose to be elected as a representative. Otherwise, you can choose to elect a person to represent you in the consultation.

You may be a fixed-term employee. Then, your employer does not have to include you in collective consultation. However, they need to include you if they ended you contract early, and did so because you are affected by redundancy.

What is Statutory Redundancy Pay?

Statutory Redundancy Pay is a payment you could receive if you are made redundant. This is the case if you are an employee, and worked for your employer for at least 2 years.

You could be dismissed because you displayed bad behaviour at work. If this is the case, you are likely not eligible to receive Statutory Redundancy Pay.

However, you could not be eligible to receive Statutory Redundancy Pay. This is the case if your employer gives you an offer to let you stay in the company. Additionally, this is also the case if your employer offered you a ‘suitable alternative work’, and you refused it, for no ‘good reason’.

However, you could also fit in another category. In fact, if you are one of the following, you may not receive Statutory Redundancy Pay:

A domestic servant (the person needs to be an immediate family member of their employer);
Apprentices (they have to be at the end of their training, and not be an employee);
Member of the police services, armed forces or a crown servant;
A share fisherman or formerly registered dockworker (who are now covered by other arrangements).

What if I am laid off temporarily?

You could be laid off temporarily. Additionally, it could be that you are not paid, or receive less than one week’s pay. Then, you could receive Statutory Redundancy Pay. More specifically, if you were laid off for the following amounts of time:

An amount superior to 6 weeks (non-consecutive) all within a 13 weeks period;
An amount superior to 4 consecutive weeks.

Then, you need to write to your employer to ask for Statutory Redundancy Pay. However, you must do this no later than 4 weeks after the last day that you did not work, within the 4 or 6 weeks period.

Then, if you ask for Statutory Redundancy Pay, your employer may not reject your claim. More specifically, they may not do so within 7 days. Then, you need to write to your employer to give them your notice.

Could I get anything else?

If you are made redundant, there are additional amounts that you could be eligible to receive. In fact, you could receive a ‘termination payment’. Indeed, this means that you would receive the following:

Benefits usually awarded by the company, like benefits;
Wages that were not paid to you;
Holiday pay;
Statutory Redundancy Pay.

Important

You may receive Statutory Pay inferior to £30,000. Then, you will not have to pay any taxes on it. Additionally, you could also receive National Insurance. In fact, what you get depends on what you receive in your termination payment. This is also true for the tax that you would need to pay.

The holiday pay you are entitled to depends on the type of work that you do. In fact, it is the following:

Holiday pay in the UK in 2022 for every type of work
Type of work	How your weekly pay is counted
No fixed hours (this includes casual work, like zero-hours contracts)	Your average pay over 52 weeks (do not count weeks where you were not paid)
Shift work which has fixed hours (this includes both part-time and full-time)	The worker's average weekly fixed hours in the 52 weeks prior, and at the average hourly rate
Fixed pay and hours (this includes both part-time and full-time)	The typical pay that the worker receives weekly

What is suitable alternative employment?

You could be affected by redundancy. In this case, your employer can offer ‘suitable alternative employment. This would be in the same organization you are now, or an organization associated with it.

The proposed job may or may not be suitable. In fact, this depends on a couple of things. First, on the conditions and terms of the job themselves. Second, on how similar the proposed job is to your current one.

Third, how appropriate the job is to your current situation, skills and experience. Fourth, the wages and extra benefits, location, hours work and status need to be similar to your current job.

Disclaimer

It could be that you were ‘unfairly dismissed’. This is likely the case if your employer found ‘suitable alternative employment for you, but did not tell you that they did.

Redundancy: can I try out my suitable alternative employment first?

You have a trial period of 4 weeks when your employer offers you alternative employment. However, you may need to receive training in order to carry out your job. If that is the case, you could receive a longer training period. However, this has to be indicated in writing in order to happen.

Important

During the 4 weeks, you may find that the new job is not suitable for you. Then, you will keep your employment rights. In fact, you will still be able to get Statutory Redundancy Pay.

Note that you may want to give notice to leave your ‘suitable employment after the 4 weeks trial period. Then, you would not be eligible to receive Statutory Redundancy Pay.

How much notice do I have for redundancy?

You may be made redundant. Then, your employer has a certain notice to tell you that your employment will come to an end. In fact, they have the following amounts of time:

If you were employed between a month and 2 years: a minimum of a week’s notice;
If you were employed between 2 years and 12 years: a minimum of one week for every year that you were employed;
You were employed for more than 12 years: a minimum notice period of 12 weeks.

You may receive more notice than this minimum amount of time. However, note that you cannot receive less. In fact, you have to receive at least the statutory minimum amount of notice.

Can I receive money with my Redundancy notice?

Your employer may give you notice of your redundancy. Then, on top of Statutory Redundancy Pay, you could also receive additional pay. In fact, they could give you pay during the notice period. Otherwise, they can also give you pay instead of giving you notice. This depends on your situation.

What would be your pay in this situation? Then, your notice pay is the average weekly amount you received for 12 weeks prior to when your notice period begins.

You may have ‘payment in lieu of notice’ in your employment contract. Then, your employer could choose to pay you instead of giving you notice of your redundancy.

Then, you are entitled to the pay that you would typically receive during your notice period. Additionally, you may receive additional things depending on what’s in your contract. In fact, this could include private health care insurance or pension contributions.

Disclaimer

Your employer can still offer to give you pay instead of giving you notice. This is even if this is not indicated in your contract. Then, you can choose to accept. Then, you would be eligible to get full pay. Additionally, you could receive any extra amounts indicated in your employment contract.

You may have years of service, or your employer is insolvent. Don’t worry, you could get maternity leave, but cannot apply with your email address.