The first two weeks after being told your job is at risk are administrative, not emotional. Get your written notification, confirm your redundancy pay entitlement, claim what you are due from the state, and secure a reference while people still feel obliged to help. Job searching comes third, after the paperwork and after you have worked out how long your money lasts.
Week One: Establish the Facts
Redundancy is a specific legal reason for dismissal: the role is no longer needed. It is not the same as being dismissed for performance, and it carries entitlements that performance dismissals do not. Get the distinction confirmed in writing, because it affects both your pay and how you describe your departure.
What to Request Immediately
- Written confirmation that the dismissal is by reason of redundancy
- Your start date as the employer records it, which determines your service length
- A calculation of statutory and any contractual redundancy pay
- Your notice period and whether you will work it or be paid in lieu
- Outstanding holiday entitlement and how it will be paid
- Details of any pay in lieu of notice and how it will be taxed
Ask for this by email rather than in a meeting. A written trail matters if the figures turn out to be wrong, and they frequently are, usually because the service date used is the one on a later contract rather than your original start.
Statutory Redundancy Pay in Outline
Statutory redundancy pay depends on age, length of service and weekly pay, with service capped and weekly pay capped at a statutory maximum. You generally need two years of continuous service to qualify. Any contractual scheme can be more generous but not less.
Week One: Consultation and Whether the Process Was Fair
Employers must consult before making redundancies, and where twenty or more roles are affected at one establishment there are collective consultation obligations with defined minimum periods. A process that skipped consultation, applied selection criteria inconsistently, or announced a decision as final before any discussion may be unfair even where the redundancy itself is genuine.
Note the dates and who said what while it is fresh. You are not committing to a claim by keeping a record, and there are short time limits for tribunal claims.
Week One: Money From the State
Make your benefit claim as soon as your employment ends, not when your redundancy payment runs out. Universal Credit takes time to assess and the first payment is not immediate. Statutory redundancy pay is not counted as earnings in the same way as wages, though savings above certain thresholds affect entitlement.
Check also whether you have any income protection through a mortgage, a credit agreement or a professional body, since these are commonly forgotten and often time-limited.
Week Two: Secure the Reference
Ask your line manager for a written reference now, while the department still exists and while the person who valued your work still has an email address there. In six months that manager may have left and HR will supply only dates and job title.
Employers are not generally obliged to provide a reference, and where they do provide one it must be fair and accurate. A named individual willing to take a phone call is worth more than a template letter, so ask whether they are content to be contacted directly.
Also Collect Before You Lose Access
- Your own performance reviews and any written commendations
- Payslips and your P60, which you will need for benefit and mortgage purposes
- Details of the pension scheme and your member number
- Personal contact details for colleagues who would speak for you
- Any portfolio material you are permitted to keep, with permission in writing
Week Two: Work Out Your Runway
Add up your redundancy payment, notice pay, holiday pay and savings, then divide by your monthly essential costs. That number is your runway in months, and it determines your strategy more than any advice about optimism will.
A twelve-month runway allows you to hold out for the right role. A two-month runway means taking interim or contract work early and continuing to search from inside a job. Both are reasonable. Confusing one situation for the other is what causes avoidable damage.
How to Describe It Afterwards
Redundancy is a business decision about a role and carries no implication about your performance. Say it once, plainly, and move on: the role was made redundant in a restructure, along with a stated number of others if that helps. Do not apologise, speculate about internal politics, or volunteer that you were selected while others were kept.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Statutory Redundancy Pay Will I Get?
It is based on age, complete years of service and weekly pay, with both service and weekly pay subject to statutory caps. You normally need two years of continuous service to qualify, and any contractual scheme may pay more.
Is Redundancy Pay Taxable?
Genuine redundancy payments are tax free up to a threshold. Pay in lieu of notice, holiday pay and any bonus are treated as earnings and taxed normally, which is why the net figure often surprises people.
Can I Be Made Redundant While on Maternity or Sick Leave?
A genuine redundancy can apply, but selecting someone because they are on such leave would be discriminatory. Additional protections apply to those on maternity leave and for a period afterwards, so take advice if this is your situation.
Should I Sign a Settlement Agreement?
Not without independent legal advice, which the employer usually pays for. Signing typically waives your right to bring claims, so understand what you are giving up before you agree.
Does Unfair Dismissal Protection Apply to Me?
The qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal reduces from two years to six months for dismissals from 1 January 2027 under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Before that date the two-year period still applies, so the timing of your dismissal matters.
The Order That Works
Paperwork, money, reference, runway, then applications. Reversing that order is the common instinct and it leads to applying under pressure with no reference secured and no idea how long you can afford to look. Two weeks of administration buys months of better decisions.
This article is general information and not legal advice. Redundancy entitlements and tribunal time limits are strict, so take advice from Acas or a qualified adviser about your own circumstances.
Sources
UK Government. Unfair dismissal changes: summary of stakeholder roundtables.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/summary-of-stakeholder-roundtables-on-unfair-dismissal-changes/unfair-dismissal-changes-summary-of-stakeholder-roundtables
UK Government. Implementing the Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/implementing-the-plan-to-make-work-pay-and-employment-rights-act
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