Statutory Redundancy Pay Calculator UK 2026 — Official Formula

Statutory redundancy pay is the legal minimum an employer must pay when it makes you redundant, and unlike US severance it is a genuine entitlement rather than a negotiation. The formula is fixed: a multiplier set by your age in each year of service, applied to your weekly pay, subject to a statutory cap. From 6 April 2026 that cap is £751 a week in Great Britain and £783 in Northern Ireland, service counts up to 20 years, and the maximum statutory payment is £22,530. This page explains how the calculation works, who qualifies, and what sits on top of it.

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How statutory redundancy pay is calculated

The calculation has three inputs: your age during each year of service, your gross weekly pay, and how long you have worked for the employer. There is no discretion in it — this is a statutory formula, and an employer that pays less than it produces is underpaying you.

For each full year of service you are entitled to half a week's pay for years worked while you were under 22, one week's pay for years worked between 22 and 40, and one and a half weeks' pay for years worked at 41 or over. The bands apply to your age during each individual year, not your age at the point of redundancy, which is why the calculation moves through the bands as your service accrues.

Worked example. You are 50 and have worked for the employer for 5 years, with gross weekly pay of £600. Every one of those years was worked at 41 or over, so each carries the one-and-a-half-week multiplier: 5 × 1.5 = 7.5 weeks, and 7.5 × £600 = £4,500. Where a period of service straddles your 41st birthday the split matters, so check the year-by-year breakdown the calculator produces rather than applying one multiplier to all your service.

Only complete years count. Eleven months of service in your final year adds nothing to the calculation, which occasionally makes the exact termination date worth checking against your start date.

  • Under 22: half a week's pay per full year
  • Age 22 to 40: one week's pay per full year
  • Age 41 and over: one and a half weeks' pay per full year
  • Service counts up to a maximum of 20 years — earlier years beyond that are ignored

The 2026 weekly pay cap and the statutory maximum

Your weekly pay does not enter the calculation without limit. From 6 April 2026 the statutory cap is £751 a week in Great Britain and £783 in Northern Ireland. If you earn more than that, only the capped figure counts toward statutory redundancy pay.

Because both the weekly figure and the years are capped, statutory redundancy pay has a hard ceiling. Twenty years of service, all of them in the 41-plus band, gives 20 × 1.5 = 30 weeks; 30 × £751 = £22,530. That is the maximum any employee can receive as statutory redundancy pay in Great Britain, and reaching it requires having been 41 or over for the whole of a 20-year qualifying period.

The rates are reviewed each April, so a redundancy taking effect either side of 6 April can produce different figures. If your termination date is close to the changeover it is worth confirming which year's cap applies.

  • Great Britain weekly cap from 6 April 2026: £751
  • Northern Ireland weekly cap from 6 April 2026: £783
  • Maximum statutory redundancy pay in Great Britain: £22,530
  • The cap applies only to statutory pay — enhanced schemes frequently remove it

Who qualifies for statutory redundancy pay

You need at least two years of continuous service with the employer, and you must be an employee. Genuinely self-employed contractors do not qualify, and employment status can be contested where the label in the contract does not match how the relationship actually worked.

The dismissal also has to be a genuine redundancy — the job itself is disappearing, the workplace is closing, or the employer needs fewer people doing work of that kind. A dismissal dressed up as redundancy where the role is promptly refilled is not a redundancy, and that is a different claim entirely.

You can lose the entitlement by unreasonably refusing a suitable alternative role that the employer offers. What counts as suitable depends on pay, status, location and hours relative to your old job, and it is judged objectively rather than by preference. If you are unsure whether an offer is suitable, take advice before refusing it.

What sits on top of statutory redundancy pay

Statutory redundancy pay is not the whole of what you should receive, and this is where people most often lose money by assuming the redundancy figure is the total.

You are separately entitled to your statutory notice period or pay in lieu of it, which runs from one week for service between one month and two years, to one week per complete year between two and twelve years, up to a maximum of twelve weeks. Notice pay is in addition to redundancy pay, never instead of it.

Accrued untaken holiday must also be paid, along with any outstanding salary, expenses or contractual bonus. And if your contract or your employer's policy provides enhanced redundancy terms, those replace the statutory minimum rather than sitting alongside it — check the handbook.

  • Statutory notice pay, or pay in lieu of notice
  • Accrued untaken holiday
  • Outstanding salary, expenses and any contractual bonus
  • Enhanced redundancy pay where a contract or policy provides it

Tax treatment of redundancy pay

A genuine redundancy payment is tax-free up to £30,000. Statutory redundancy pay counts toward that threshold, and because the statutory maximum is £22,530, statutory pay alone will never exceed it.

Notice pay is treated differently. Pay in lieu of notice is taxed as earnings in the normal way, through PAYE with National Insurance, whether or not it is described as part of a redundancy package. The same applies to outstanding salary and holiday pay.

Where an enhanced package pushes the genuine redundancy element above £30,000, the excess is taxable. This is one reason enhanced offers are sometimes structured across two tax years, though how a payment is characterised matters more than what it is called — HMRC looks at the substance.

If your employer will not pay

Statutory redundancy pay is a legal entitlement, not a discretionary payment, and there is a route if an employer refuses or underpays.

Start by putting the request in writing and setting out the calculation, since disputes are often about service dates or the weekly pay figure rather than the principle. Acas provides free advice and an Early Conciliation service, and contacting Acas is a required step before bringing most employment tribunal claims.

Time limits are short and strictly applied — generally three months less one day from the date of dismissal for a tribunal claim. If your employer is insolvent, statutory redundancy pay can be claimed from the government's Redundancy Payments Service instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is statutory redundancy pay calculated in 2026?

Half a week's pay for each full year worked while under 22, one week's pay for each full year between 22 and 40, and one and a half weeks' pay for each full year at 41 or over. Weekly pay is capped at £751 in Great Britain from 6 April 2026, and service counts up to 20 years.

What is the 2026 weekly pay cap for redundancy?

From 6 April 2026 the cap is £751 a week in Great Britain and £783 in Northern Ireland. If you earn more, only the capped figure counts toward statutory redundancy pay. The rates are reviewed each April, so check which year applies if your termination date is near the changeover.

What is the maximum statutory redundancy pay?

£22,530 in Great Britain. That is 20 years of service at the highest age multiplier of one and a half weeks per year, which gives 30 weeks, multiplied by the £751 weekly cap. Reaching it requires having been 41 or over throughout a 20-year qualifying period.

Do I qualify for statutory redundancy pay?

You need at least two years of continuous service and you must be an employee rather than genuinely self-employed. The dismissal must also be a real redundancy — the role disappearing, the workplace closing, or fewer people being needed for that kind of work.

Is redundancy pay taxed in the UK?

A genuine redundancy payment is tax-free up to £30,000, and statutory redundancy pay always falls under that because the maximum is £22,530. Notice pay, outstanding salary and holiday pay are taxed as earnings through PAYE regardless of being paid as part of a redundancy package.

Do I get notice pay as well as redundancy pay?

Yes. They are separate entitlements. Statutory notice runs from one week for service between one month and two years, to one week per complete year between two and twelve years, capped at twelve weeks. Notice pay is in addition to redundancy pay, not instead of it.

Do part years of service count?

No. Only complete years count toward the calculation, so eleven months in your final year adds nothing. Where your termination date falls close to a service anniversary it is worth checking the dates, since a few days can be worth a full year's multiplier.

Can I lose my redundancy pay by turning down another job?

Yes, if you unreasonably refuse an offer of suitable alternative employment from your employer. Suitability is judged objectively against pay, status, location and hours compared with your existing role. Take advice before refusing an offer, because the entitlement can be lost entirely.

What if my employer refuses to pay?

Put the calculation in writing first, since disputes usually concern service dates or the weekly pay figure. Acas offers free advice and Early Conciliation, which is a required step before most tribunal claims. Time limits are short — generally three months less one day from dismissal. If the employer is insolvent, claim from the Redundancy Payments Service.

Disclaimer

This calculator provides an estimate of statutory redundancy pay for planning purposes. It is not legal or financial advice, and it cannot account for enhanced contractual terms, disputed service dates or the specifics of your situation. Statutory rates change each April. Check the current figures on GOV.UK and take advice from an employment solicitor or Acas before accepting a redundancy settlement.

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