Your Redundancy Rights: A Complete UK Guide for 2026

Published 6 January 2026 · 8 min read

I've sat across the table from hundreds of people who've just been told their job is at risk. The shock on their faces is always the same. And the first thing I tell every single one of them is: you have more rights than you think. This guide lays out everything you're entitled to as a UK employee facing redundancy in 2026. No jargon. No waffle. Just the stuff you actually need to know.

What Counts as a Genuine Redundancy?

The Employment Rights Act 1996 says redundancy happens in three situations: the business is shutting down entirely, your workplace is closing, or the need for people to do your type of work has reduced or stopped. That's it. Those are the only legitimate reasons.

Here's the crucial thing. Redundancy is about the role disappearing, not about you as a person. If your boss just doesn't like you, that's a performance or disciplinary issue -- not redundancy. And if someone else gets hired into your role a few weeks after you leave? That's a massive red flag. You could have a strong unfair dismissal claim.

The Consultation Process

Your employer can't just hand you a letter and show you the door. They're legally required to consult with you first. How that works depends on numbers.

Individual Consultation

Even if you're the only person at risk, your employer must hold proper consultation meetings. These aren't a box-ticking exercise. They need to explain why the redundancy is happening, discuss whether it can be avoided, genuinely listen to your ideas for alternatives, and look for other roles you could move into within the company.

There's no fixed minimum time for individual consultation, but tribunals take a dim view of employers who rush it. A single meeting followed immediately by a redundancy notice? That's almost certainly going to be found unfair.

Collective Consultation

If 20 or more people are being made redundant at one site within 90 days, the rules get stricter. For 20-99 redundancies, consultation must start at least 30 days before anyone is dismissed. For 100 or more? It's 45 days minimum.

Your employer has to consult with union reps, or if there's no union, with elected employee representatives. They also have to file an HR1 form with the Redundancy Payments Service. Skipping that form is actually a criminal offence -- though you'd be surprised how many employers don't realise this.

                Key point: If your employer botches collective consultation, you could be entitled to a protective award of up to 90 days' pay per affected employee. That's on top of your redundancy payout. I've seen this catch employers out badly.
            

Selection Criteria: How Your Employer Must Choose

When a group of people are at risk, the employer has to use fair, objective criteria to decide who goes. Common ones include length of service, attendance records, disciplinary history, skills and qualifications, and performance scores.

What they absolutely cannot do is discriminate based on age, sex, race, disability, pregnancy, part-time status, or any other protected characteristic. If you suspect the scoring was rigged or the criteria were designed to single you out, that's potential unfair dismissal territory.

You're entitled to see your own scores. Ask for them. And challenge anything that doesn't look right during the consultation process. Don't just accept the numbers quietly.

Suitable Alternative Employment

Before confirming your redundancy, your employer has to look for other roles you could do within the organisation, including any associated companies. This isn't optional. It's a legal duty, and it continues right up until the day they dismiss you.

If they offer you an alternative role, you get a trial period of at least four weeks. If you genuinely try it and decide it's not suitable, you can walk away and still get your redundancy pay.

Be careful here: If you turn down an offer of suitable alternative work without a good reason, you could lose your statutory redundancy pay entirely. What counts as "reasonable" comes down to things like pay, seniority, location, and hours compared to what you had before.

Time Off to Look for Work

If you've been with your employer for two years or more and you've been given notice, you have a legal right to reasonable paid time off to job hunt or arrange training. The statutory entitlement is capped at 40% of a week's pay -- which isn't much, honestly.

Most decent employers will be more generous than the bare minimum. Ask them directly. If you've got interviews lined up or need to see a recruiter, most will accommodate you without making a fuss.

Notice Periods

You're entitled to statutory notice based on how long you've worked there. One month to two years gets you one week. After that, it's one week for each complete year of service, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

Check your contract, though. If it says three months' notice, that overrides the statutory minimum. During your notice period, you keep your normal pay and all your benefits -- pension, private medical, company car, the lot.

Statutory Redundancy Pay

You need at least two years' continuous service to qualify. The calculation uses your age, length of service (capped at 20 years), and weekly pay (capped at a figure that's updated every April).

The formula works like this: half a week's pay for each year you were under 22, one week's pay for each year aged 22 to 40, and one and a half weeks' pay for each year you were 41 or over. Sounds complicated, but our redundancy pay calculator will do it all for you in about 30 seconds.

What to Do If You Think Your Redundancy Is Unfair

If the process was a shambles, or if you suspect the real reason for your dismissal wasn't redundancy at all, you may have an unfair dismissal claim. The most common grounds I see are: the role still exists (sham redundancy), the scoring was biased, the consultation was a joke, discrimination was the real driver, or they didn't bother looking for alternative roles.

You've got three months less one day from your termination date to bring a claim. But you have to contact ACAS for early conciliation first, which can add up to six weeks to your deadline. Don't leave this until the last minute.

Practical Steps to Protect Yourself

Save everything. Emails, letters, meeting notes -- all of it. Don't rely on your employer's records
Ask for your selection scores in writing. If they won't provide them, that tells you something
Go to every consultation meeting. Take notes, or better yet, bring a colleague as a witness
Push them on alternatives. Have they actually looked for other roles, or just gone through the motions?
Get legal advice early, particularly if a settlement agreement lands on your desk
Ring ACAS on 0300 123 1100. They're free, they're impartial, and they've heard it all before

                The bottom line: Employers who follow the rules properly have nothing to fear from informed employees. And employers who cut corners? They should be worried. Know your rights, and don't be afraid to use them.
            