Redundancy entitlements

If you are made redundant, you are entitled to:

• 1.5 weeks’ pay (currently capped at £380 per week) for each year of service in which you were aged 41 or over
• 1 week’s pay for each year you were under 41
• Half a week’s pay for each year you were under 22
• Covers up to a maximum 20 years service

This means that older people continue to be paid at a higher rate than younger people‚ even though this appears to be discrimination on the grounds of age. The government has said it believes this difference in treatment is justified.

You may be entitled to more than the statutory minimum redundancy payment under your contract of employment. The law sets out ways in which employers can make enhanced redundancy payments using the same age bands as used in the calculation of statutory redundancy.

It is unlawful for employers to use age as a factor when considering who to select for redundancy (unless they can justify this).

Using length of service (for example‚ last in first out) to decide who to select could be indirect discrimination‚ although employers may try to justify this.

Find out more about the age discrimination law.