Redundancy is a process, not a verdict. Speak to Kestrel.
Redundancy is only lawful if the role is genuinely disappearing and the process is fair: a sensible selection pool, objective scoring, real consultation and a look at alternative roles. Statutory redundancy pay applies after two years, and larger exercises trigger collective consultation with fixed minimum periods. A redundancy that is really a removal dressed up is unfair dismissal.
Redundancy has a legal meaning: the business closing, the site closing, or a reduced need for employees to do work of that kind. If your work still exists and someone else is doing it, or a new hire replaces you under a different title, the redundancy label may not survive scrutiny.
Fairness lives in the process: a rational pool, objective criteria applied consistently, meaningful consultation while the decision can still change, and genuine consideration of alternative vacancies. Where 20 or more redundancies are proposed at one establishment within 90 days, collective consultation applies with minimum periods of 30 days, rising to 45 days for 100 or more.
Statutory redundancy pay needs two years' service and is calculated from age, service and weekly pay up to a capped figure updated each April; it is commonly paid tax-free alongside notice. An offer of suitable alternative employment can carry a four-week trial period, and an unreasonable refusal of a suitable role can cost the payment.
Guide edition: August 2026. General information for England and Wales. Current law and your particular facts require assessment before action.
Is the work truly reducing, or is this about people? Job adverts, org charts and who absorbs your duties answer it.
Ask for the pool, the criteria and your scores. Challenge in writing where they are subjective or wrong. Consultation is your window to change the outcome.
Statutory pay, notice, accrued holiday, and any enhanced scheme in the contract or handbook. Employers make arithmetic errors surprisingly often.
A flawed process supports an appeal and often converts into an improved settlement agreement with a reference. Deadlines stay short either way.
Tell Kestrel what happened. The AI legal assistant gathers the facts and prepares a summary for you to check. Request lawyer review from your Legal Centre.
Speak to Kestrel nowUnfair dismissal claims: three months less one day from dismissal via ACAS. Statutory redundancy pay claims: six months. Consultation happens before decisions finalise, so the useful window is now.
This guide concerns Employment. It forms part of our reference library. Kestrel is preparing for SRA authorisation. See practice details for the proposed service and current availability.
If the role's work continues under a new person, that undermines the redundancy and points to unfair dismissal. Keep the advert and the announcement; they are evidence.
Criteria must be objective and evidenced: attendance records, appraisals, measurable skills. Scores that cannot be explained by documents are challengeable in consultation and later.
Half a week's pay per year under 22, one week per year from 22 to 40, one and a half above, capped weekly and by service, using the figures current at dismissal. We check the employer's number in minutes.
Often yes, if it beats statutory entitlements and the claim risk it buys off. That comparison is exactly what the independent advice is for, and the employer usually funds it.
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