When it comes to redundancy pay, every employer will have a different way of working out how much you are owed.
To work out exactly what you should receive based on your age and length of service, you can use our free Redundancy Pay Calculator.
Some may be more generous than others, while some will try and give you as little as possible.
But there are some government guidelines that firms are obliged to follow and when it comes to redundancy pay, the longer you have worked at a company the better.
Questionnaire
Answer A, B or C to the below questions to see if your payout is correct.
1, Your Age
A) I am under 22 years old
B) I am between 22 and 41 years old
C) I am over 41 years old
2, Length of Service
A) I have been at my firm for less than two years
B) I have been at my firm for three years
C) I have been at my firm for 20 years plus
3, How You Left
A) I was given the sack
B) I was made redundant after being put into consultation
C) I took voluntary redundancy
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 →4, You Package
A) My employer has calculated my weekly pay at less than £350 a week
B) My weekly pay had been calculated at £350 a week
C) My employer has calculated my weekly pay above £350 a week
5, Timing of Your Payment
A) I was told I would need to wait a few months before my redundancy pay
B) I waited a few weeks for my pay
C) I was given my redundancy package the day I left
Answers
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
If You Answered Mostly A
If you answered mostly A it seems that your redundancy package could be wrong, or it could be you are expecting more than you are entitled to. Under normal circumstances if you are under 22 years old you will not qualify for any redundancy, even if you have been at the firm for four years.
If you are older than 22 but have not worked at a firm for more than two years you will also not qualify for redundancy – the same applies if you were given the sack.
If you earn more than £350 a week but your employer has calculated your redundancy at less than this than you should check why this is as it could be wrong. It is also uncommon that you will have to wait for your redundancy to be calculated, so again find out why this is.
If You Answered Mostly B
It seems that there are a few question marks over how much redundancy pay you have received. If you have been at your company for over two years and you are older than 22 you should qualify for redundancy.
If there has been a consultation period before your redundancy you should check that your employer has paid you for this and that this does not get included in your redundancy pay, as this should be separate. Also, it may be that you earn over £350 a week but your employer has capped your redundancy pay at £350 a week, which is not uncommon.
If You Answered Mostly C
It appears that your redundancy pay should be correct as your employer sounds like they have followed protocol. If you are over 41 years old you should get 1.5 weeks' pay for each full year of service.
If your employer is offering your above £350 a week in redundancy this is very generous and generally means that they will not be offering you less than you are entitled to. If you are being made redundant your employer should offer you your payout on the day they inform you of your redundancy, if they have done this there is a better chance that the sum is correct.
If you think your redundancy package has not been calculated correctly you should speak to your employer and ask them to show you how they worked out your package. If you’re still unhappy you should check your employment contract and then confront your employer with your doubts again. It’s important to make sure you have the right redundancy money as you will need to look after your finances if you are not in work.
What action can I take?
I did make a polite observation in a meeting that I thought the redundancy decision feels a little hasty. Does my company's decision to make me redundant seem like a fair in the eyes of the law?
Ask Redundancy Expert a question
Ask our editorial team a question and we will reply with our advice. Tell us as much about your situation as you can: the more detail you give, the more useful our answer can be.
You do not need to use your real name. Please do not include your full address, phone number, email address, or the names of other people. We may edit or remove identifying details for privacy and legal reasons.
Comments are moderated before publication.