When you're made redundant, you may have to live on benefits for a while. So how does your redundancy package affect your eligibility?
If you're navigating redundancy and need help managing both your finances and benefits claim, you might find it useful to get our free Redundancy Action Plan.
Voluntary Redundancy and Benefits Entitlement
If you leave your job voluntarily, unemployment benefits are normally not payable (for six months). People who are made redundant should not be affected by this. However, people sometimes wonder how accepting voluntary redundancy affects their eligibility for benefits. It does not. The resulting unemployment is still considered involuntary and those affected should be able to receive Jobseeker's Allowance without any problems.Occasionally, however, people have been known to encounter some difficulties in relation to this question because of poorly-informed clerical staff at the Jobcentre. If it comes to that, you may need to appeal a wrongful decision. In the end, though, you should win. Omitting the word voluntary from the description of why your last job ended is sometimes said to help avoid these kinds of misunderstanding.
Accepting an Alternative Job and Benefits Entitlement
Sometimes your employer will offer you another job as an alternative to making you redundant. If you feel that the new job differs substantially from your old one, and reject it for this reason, your unemployment will still be considered the result of a redundancy and therefore involuntary.If you're not sure whether the new job is right for you but would like to try it out, you are entitled to do it for a trial period. By statute this should be at least four weeks, although you and your employer can agree to a longer trial period. If, during the trial period, you decide that the new job isn't right for you, and leave, you will still be considered to have been dismissed by reason of redundancy and therefore involuntarily unemployed.

Find out how much statutory redundancy pay you could be entitled to. Enter your details and get an estimate in less than a minute.
Try our Redundancy Pay Calculator free, here on this site →Refusing an Alternative Job and Benefits Entitlement
The only circumstance in which being offered another job by your employer might give rise to difficulties is if there is a disagreement about whether or not the new job is equivalent to the old one. If you say it is not and your employer says it is, it's conceivable that the Jobcentre staff might take the view that your unemployment is voluntary. In this case, your employer would probably also refuse to pay you a redundancy payment. You could appeal the matter to an Employment Tribunal for a final adjudication. Presenting evidence to the Jobcentre staff that the matter is under appeal to an Employment Tribunal should secure your access to benefits pending the judgement.Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
Redundancy Payments and Benefits
Provided you have two years of continuous service with your employer, you should receive a redundancy payment when you leave. Although statutory redundancy payments tend not to be very high, if you have a more generous contractual arrangement, or if you have been with your employer for a long time, the amount involved may be substantial.Many state benefits are means tested, although not all. Unless you immediately spend your redundancy lump sum, for example by paying down debt you have, for the purposes of means assessment, it will count as savings. Large savings may reduce the amount of benefit you get or even mean that you won't get any. This subject is explored more fully in a separate article so will not be dealt with further here.
Redundancy and Benefits – Conclusion
If you're facing redundancy, the harsh reality is that you may be dependent on benefits until you find another job, so it's important to know how the choices you make, and the redundancy package you get, can affect your entitlement. You may want to look at the various ways to invest a redundancy package, here.
Would that amount affect whether I get anything from New Style Jobseekers Allowance?
It's been about 8 years since I last applied for any state benefits and this is my first experience of taking redundancy so I'm a little confused.
Thank you,
Dan.
I’ve been made redundant 13th Nov . No notice gjven and no offer of redundancy payment from employer
Company went insolvent on December 1st and got rid of all staff
I contacted acas and have gone through Insolvency service . Today I had a letter regarding loss of notice compensation ( payment in lieu of notice )
In the letter it states that I will be deducted monies that I could have claimed in benefits that I was entitled to - problem is I haven’t claimed any kind of Benefit!
This seems to me I’m paying something back that I never had in the first place ! Can someone give me some advice please ? Thankyou
I have just submitted some details to you, can you confirm you have received this.
Kind regards
Rachel
I have been told I’m going to be made redundant and if I go voluntary I get a bit more money
My total offer is just under £6000 which I think is an insult given the time I have been with them so I have gone back to them with a suggestion of an enhanced package but running out of time please help
Please advise if I will be entitled to any mean tested benefits.
£4675 9weeks notice in lieu.
12.75 days holiday witch is £998.82.
How would this effect universal credit and will the days in lieu and holiday postpone the claim
I know jobseekers allowance would be taken off any notice pay but I wouldnt be claiming that while getting carers allowance anyway.
Or if my husband takes redundancy money and I still continue to work part time can he claim benifit he’s 63 he has been with the company 11 years so his redundancy package will roughly be about twelve thousand
I am scheduled to be without a job from 1st January 2019.
I will be paid 4 weeks Payment in Lieu of Notice, and also will receive 7 days Payment in Lieu of Holiday. When will the first day that I can claim Universal Credit be?
a) 1st January 2019; or
b) 8th January 2019; or
c) 29th January 2019; or
d) 5th February 2019; or
e) Some other date
Thank you, in anticipation of your assistance.
4 years ago we started to claim tax credits to help paying for my sons nursery costs (£860/month) We used to receive around £400/month if I remember correctly. Unfortunately after 2 years from starting to receive it I was made redundant, and I received approx £1000 redundancy payment which I turned into education so that I wouldn`t have a gap between jobs. Later on we got a letter saying that our income was higher than what we told ( due to the redundancy pay) so we have to pay back all the money we received. I explained the situation to HMRC but they don`t seem to care to hear me. Could anyone advise please if there`s anything I could try to do before I take a loan to pay this money back? Many thanks in advance
Thank you.
I wonder is anybody knows this?
If I was to be made redundant and paid let’s say £30k but then used that money to pay off all loans and credits cards I have to the sum of £30k which would leave me with nothing left, would I then be entitled to any state benefits?
Thanks.
Will we get any help? Also will my child tax go up? Really worried. Thanks
I have also been offered severance pay as I am 62.
I need some advice as to whether I can claim JSA if I take voluntarily severance and what if any other benefits I could claim.
I have been in continual FT employment for over 30 years.
I only get help with my housing benefit.would i still get help with my housing benefit
I do get a state pension
- This is how much you've earned this year
- This is the expected net redundancy you'll receive
- If you continue employment at a certain monthly salary, this is what you can expect to happen.
Any help would be great (which will be significantly more than the company have been able to provide!)
Thanks
I am single parent and I get tax credits
If I get redundancy payout will I keep my tax credits
I rely on them
I have a mortgage and 3 kids to support
Thanks
my other half is self employed. I don't know what will affect our finances more if I either claim job seekers or if I try to join him and go self employed. We have 2 young children and am also moving from England to Wales at the end of april. My husband only earns 3-4 k currently from the business and I only earned 8k per year whilst employed. Is it better 1 unemployed/1 self employed , or 2 self employed? Many thanks x
I think I'll be made redundant at the end of May, with redunabcy pay approx £5,000. I'd like to go back to studying from Sept. I have two school-age children. How will my redundancy payment effect benefits between redundancy and being a full-time student - and also while I'm at university?
Thanks
He is unfit to work due to the Operation . He has paid full contributions. Please can you advice what he is able to claim and how to go about it please.
my maternity leave was started in Dec 2015 and suppose to end in September 2016, but in Jan/Feb company was planning to close their site where i was employed and they made me redundant in May. almost end of march I applied for housing benefit and they made me redundant in May and paid lump sum maternity in May which i suppose to get till september, My question is the benefit department gave me the housing benefit till 2nd May not till september, Is it fair that i was made redundant while i was on maternity and also am i suppose to get benefit till may only or should get till september?
I have been told that JSA will be deducted for 3 months out of my SRP whether I claim or not and even if I manage to find new employment .
Please explain and advise if this is correct, I can find nothing about this on the web.
I have been on long term sickness due to a serious op last year, which Left me now as paraplegic. Looks like will be facing redundancy due the business deciding to close down.
As I'm receiving all the disability benefits currently and not being paid a wage from the company, how will my redundancy package effect things? I'm looking to get around £8,000 in total.
I start another job straight away.
I receive tax credits with my old job. The new job is same salary.
Will tax credits take the £9400 into consideration when working out our new award?
What effect will this have on my
Child tax benefit?
And is the total redundancy pay in my wage slip classed as earnings?
Thanks
I would like to claim the redundancy and a weeks outstanding pay from the NI fund. According to the government online calculator I am entitled to around £700.
I was fortunate to find other employment 3 days after the company went insolvent. I am now making around £120 a week. Will this affect my redundancy payout?
Currently as I`m the only person working in my family ( family of 4) we got 2 small children
We are receiving benefits
Housing 280 every 4 weeks
Child tax 450 every 4 weeks
if i take the redandency of 3k how will that effect my benefits ?
How i can avoid giving back 3k
I have loan for aprox 2500f can i pay that off with that money ?
I am being made redundant after 10 years service and have been given an indication my redundancy payout will be £14,152. I understand this is tax free, but am concerned with the lack of clarity as to whether any student loan payment will be deducted from this payout? Can you clarify if possible?
If anyone could help with this it would be much appreciated.
I have recently been told that the size of my redundancy package should not have excluded me from receiving benefit. Could you please advise
Regards
My Question is if I was redundant will the company be eligible to honour that $100,000.00 housing scheme written in the agreement book be deposited in my bank account plus the other benefits stated in the agreement.
I was made redundant after 21 years continuous service after the organisation I worked for, closed in December 2016. I worked 14 hours a week and was paid £122 a week. I was surprised I was not able to claim JSA, as they said I had not made enough NI contributions in the previous 2 years. It is true I did not earn enough to pay NI contributions, but when I checked on my NI record, it said my contributions were paid in full, right back to 1982, and I have the full 35 qualifying years towards my pension. I read somewhere that if you earn between £109 and £150, your NI contribution is paid to protect your pension and benefit rights. Why can't I get JSA then? I'm confused!
Thanks
G.
Cheers
Thanks
Lindsey simkins
Also there is a caviate that after 57 the redundancy reduces by 1/36th every month. Is this superseded by no retirement age now??
Thanks
I would like to point out I wouldn't of put in for redundancy if I wasn't moved to the team . There was a big move around and I feel they where trying to push me out.
Just to give you a flavour of how upsetting this is when you look at families on the dole for ever with a thousand screaming kids, I have paid in 30 years I would guess somewhere near £0.5million pounds and I can get nothing, zero, zilch, not a bean back out.
Only worked there 3 years I'm owed 3 weeks holiday too ! Will I get this money owed ?
And can I claim benefits while looking for a job ?
I may also be pregnant what can I claim then ! Help
I have just had an income protection insurance to pay me 1350£ a month in case i made redundant. Would this affect any JSA or other benefits I'm entitled to?
My wife is a house wife, and i have mortgage, but i rent that house out and instead living in a rented house to be near to my job.
What would be the best for me?
I'm due to start my maternity leave at the end of august with my second child, but we have just been informed that our jobs are no longer required so will be made redundant after 7 years service. My Husband is a full time mature student who also works part time. Due to all these factors I can't find any acurate information online on what (if anything) we would be entittled to. We currenlty don't claim any form of benefit at all, no working tax credits or anything. The only thing we receive from the government is standard child benefit for our first child.
Could you please help on where we could get accurate inforamtion from please?
Thanks
I will pay out some of the money out on some high bills
Thanks
My last working day due to redundancy is at the end of May 2015. Am I able to start the ball rolling with jobseekers, housing benefits etc before this date? For example can I fill in the forms and make an appointment at the jobcentre before the end of May? I just don't want to go very long without anything else being in place.
Great website by the way...very helpful.
Thanks
I am a women 60 years of age and not due to retire until I am 66 I have been offered severence if I take severence what benefits will I be entitled to.
I have been in employment since I left School 44 years ago with about 10 break to bring up the children.
Trudi
benefits will I be entitled to
They will bring you in for an appointment and are very helpful should you need extra advice on looking for your next job. Your National Insurance is taken care of while you are receiving the allowance.
Wishing you best of luck for the future.
I don't know the process of apply for any benefits and don't know time scales of registering with who or when, could you give me a list of things to do,who to see and when, plus a time scale and sequence to follow e.g. citizens advice first department of works and pensions second and how to sort out my stamp duty when and where
never needing a CV my company as offered to help me formulate one.
thank you for reading this inquiry
Could you please enlighten me?? Thanks
My employer opined that he is only owing me one month salary and no more. Though I have been working with him for the past 7 years, what should be my entitlement, and what can i do?
I am 3.5 years into an IVA agreement and under the agreement was only allowed to keep 6 months money and paid over £16k to my creditors.( I still have to pay the monthly payment out of the 6 months I kept).
I have not claimed any benefits since I took redundancy. Would I be entitled to claim anything as the money will run out next month and although searching for a new job, have not secured a new job yet. I have been in continuous employment since I left School 39 years ago. If I am entitled to any benefits, would it be backdated to 1st July please?
thanks
Dave
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