By Team SalaryCalculate · 11/3/2025
When facing redundancy, understanding your legal rights is essential. UK employment law provides significant protections for employees during redundancy processes, from consultation requirements to anti-discrimination laws. Knowing these rights helps you navigate the situation confidently and ensures you receive fair treatment.
This guide covers your fundamental rights during redundancy, including consultation processes, selection criteria, redundancy pay entitlements, and protection against unlawful discrimination. We'll also explain how to challenge unfair treatment and where to seek help if your rights are violated.
The Right to Consultation
Your employer must consult with you before making you redundant. This consultation must be meaningful and give you a real opportunity to influence the outcome. The consultation process is a fundamental legal right, not just a formality.
Individual Consultation
For individual redundancies, your employer must:
• Meet with you to discuss the redundancy situation
• Explain why redundancy is necessary and the selection criteria
• Consider any suggestions you make to avoid redundancy
• Discuss alternative employment opportunities within the organisation
The consultation must be genuine. A token meeting where your employer simply tells you you're being made redundant doesn't count. You should be able to ask questions, raise concerns, and have your views properly considered. For more details on the consultation process, see our guide on the redundancy consultation process.
Collective Consultation
When 20 or more employees are being made redundant at one establishment within 90 days, your employer must follow collective consultation procedures. This includes:
• Consulting with trade union representatives or elected employee representatives
• Providing written information about the redundancies
• Allowing minimum consultation periods (30 days for 20-99 redundancies, 45 days for 100+)
Fair Selection Criteria
Your employer must use fair and objective selection criteria when choosing which employees to make redundant. They cannot simply pick people at random or make decisions based on personal preferences.
Acceptable Selection Criteria
Fair selection criteria include:
• Skills, qualifications, and experience relevant to the role
• Performance records and appraisals (based on objective evidence)
• Attendance records (excluding protected absences like maternity leave or disability-related absences)
• Disciplinary records (only relevant warnings, not spent warnings)
The criteria must be applied consistently to all employees in the selection pool. Your employer should explain how they've applied these criteria and be able to show evidence of their assessment.
Unfair Selection Criteria
Your employer cannot use certain criteria, as these would be automatically unfair:
• Age (unless objectively justified by business needs)
• Pregnancy or maternity leave
• Trade union membership or activities
• Part-time or fixed-term contract status (unless genuinely relevant)
• Disability
Right to Redundancy Pay
If you've been continuously employed for at least two years, you're entitled to statutory redundancy pay. This is a legal right, not something your employer can refuse to pay.
Statutory Redundancy Pay Calculation
Statutory redundancy pay is calculated as:
• Half a week's pay for each full year you were under 22
• One week's pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41
• One and a half weeks' pay for each full year you were 41 or older
There's a maximum weekly pay cap of £719 (as of April 2025), and the maximum total payment is £21,570. This means even if you earn more than £719 per week, the calculation uses the cap amount. Use the redundancy pay calculator to work out your exact entitlement.
Enhanced Redundancy Pay
Many employers offer enhanced redundancy packages that exceed the statutory minimum. These might include additional weeks of pay, performance bonuses, or long service awards. If your employer offers an enhanced package, this is in addition to your statutory entitlement, not instead of it.
To understand what you might receive in an enhanced package, use the redundancy settlement calculator to estimate potential enhanced benefits.
Protection Against Discrimination
You're protected against discrimination during redundancy by the Equality Act 2010. Your employer cannot select you for redundancy because of a protected characteristic.
Protected Characteristics
The protected characteristics are:
• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
Special Protections
Certain employees have enhanced protection against redundancy:
• Pregnant employees or those on maternity leave cannot be selected for redundancy because of their pregnancy or maternity. If you're made redundant while pregnant or on maternity leave, your employer must prove the redundancy wasn't related to your pregnancy.
• Employees on shared parental leave or adoption leave have similar protection
• Trade union representatives and health and safety representatives have special protection
Right to Notice Period
You're entitled to receive proper notice of your redundancy. The notice period depends on how long you've worked for your employer.
Statutory minimum notice periods are:
• One week if you've worked between one month and two years
• One week for each full year worked if you've been employed for two to 12 years (maximum 12 weeks)
Your contract may provide for longer notice periods. If it does, your employer must give you the contractual notice, not just the statutory minimum. During your notice period, you're entitled to your normal pay and benefits, unless you're placed on garden leave.
Right to Alternative Employment
Your employer must consider offering you suitable alternative employment if it's available. This is a legal obligation, not just a goodwill gesture.
What Makes Alternative Employment Suitable?
Alternative employment is generally considered suitable if it:
• Matches your skills, experience, and qualifications reasonably closely
• Has terms and conditions (pay, hours, location) similar to your current role
• Starts within four weeks of your redundancy date
If you unreasonably refuse suitable alternative employment, you may lose your right to redundancy pay. However, you can reasonably refuse if the alternative is genuinely unsuitable for your circumstances.
Right to Appeal
You have the right to appeal against your redundancy. Many employers have an internal appeals process, but even if they don't, you can raise concerns about the fairness of the process.
Grounds for Appeal
You can appeal if:
• The selection criteria were unfair or applied inconsistently
• The consultation process was inadequate
• You believe the redundancy was discriminatory
• Your employer failed to consider suitable alternative employment
Common Employee Rights Issues
| Issue | Your Right | What to Do |
|---|---|---|
| No consultation | Right to meaningful consultation | Raise with employer, consider ACAS Early Conciliation |
| Unfair selection | Right to fair selection criteria | Request explanation of selection method, appeal if unfair |
| Refusal of redundancy pay | Right to statutory redundancy pay after 2 years | Contact ACAS or employment tribunal within 6 months |
| Discriminatory selection | Protection under Equality Act 2010 | Seek legal advice, consider employment tribunal claim |
| Insufficient notice | Right to statutory or contractual notice | Check contract, request correct notice period |
| No alternative employment offered | Employer must consider alternatives | Request information about available roles |
| Pregnant or on maternity leave | Enhanced protection against redundancy | Seek immediate legal advice if selected |
Taking Legal Action
If you believe your redundancy is unfair or unlawful, you can take legal action. However, there are strict time limits and processes to follow.
Time Limits
You must act quickly:
• Unfair dismissal claims: Must contact ACAS within 3 months of your dismissal date
• Discrimination claims: Must contact ACAS within 3 months of the discriminatory act
• Redundancy pay disputes: Must claim within 6 months of dismissal
ACAS Early Conciliation
Before you can make an employment tribunal claim, you must usually contact ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) for early conciliation. This is a free service that tries to help you and your employer reach an agreement without going to tribunal.
Early conciliation can result in a settlement agreement where you receive compensation in exchange for not pursuing the claim. Many disputes are resolved at this stage.
Employment Tribunal
If early conciliation doesn't resolve the matter, you can proceed to an employment tribunal. The tribunal can:
• Award compensation if your dismissal was unfair
• Order your employer to pay redundancy pay if it was unlawfully withheld
• Award compensation for discrimination
Where to Get Help
If you need help understanding or enforcing your rights, several organisations can assist:
• ACAS: Free advice on employment rights and early conciliation service
• Citizens Advice: Free, independent advice on employment law
• Trade unions: If you're a member, they can provide legal representation and advice
• Employment lawyers: For complex cases or when you need representation at tribunal
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my employer refuse to pay redundancy pay?
No. If you qualify for statutory redundancy pay (two years' continuous service), your employer must pay it. They cannot refuse. If they do refuse, you can make a claim to an employment tribunal within six months of your dismissal date.
What if I'm pregnant and made redundant?
If you're pregnant or on maternity leave, you have special protection. Your employer must prove that your redundancy wasn't related to your pregnancy or maternity. If they cannot, the dismissal is automatically unfair and discriminatory. Seek legal advice immediately if this happens to you.
Can I be made redundant for being old?
No. Age discrimination is illegal. Your employer cannot select you for redundancy because of your age, whether you're considered too old or too young. If you suspect age discrimination, you can make a claim to an employment tribunal.
What happens if my employer doesn't consult properly?
If your employer fails to consult properly, the redundancy may be unfair. You can raise this in an appeal or take it to an employment tribunal. In some cases, you may be entitled to compensation even if the redundancy itself was genuine.
Do I lose redundancy pay if I refuse alternative employment?
Only if you unreasonably refuse suitable alternative employment. If the alternative is genuinely unsuitable (different role, much lower pay, requires relocation you can't manage), you can reasonably refuse and still receive redundancy pay.
Conclusion
Understanding your legal rights during redundancy gives you confidence and ensures you're treated fairly. From consultation rights to protection against discrimination, UK employment law provides substantial protections for employees facing redundancy.
If you believe your rights have been violated, don't hesitate to seek advice. Organisations like ACAS and Citizens Advice provide free guidance, and employment lawyers can help with complex cases. Remember, you have strict time limits for making claims, so act quickly if you need to challenge your redundancy.
Knowing your rights helps you navigate redundancy with confidence and ensures you receive the fair treatment and compensation you're entitled to under UK law.
