Redundancy Pay in 2026: How Much Will I Get? (With Examples)
Statutory redundancy pay is half, one or one and a half weeks' pay per year depending on your age, up to 20 years, with a week's pay capped at £751. Worked examples and what's tax-free.
By the MoneyBackKit UK team · Updated 19 October 2026 · 5 min read
Statutory redundancy pay is the minimum your employer must pay if you lose your job through redundancy after at least two years of work. It isn't a month's salary for every year, as many people assume. It's a fixed formula based on three numbers: how long you've worked there, how old you were in each of those years, and your weekly pay, up to a cap.
The formula in three lines
- For each full year you worked while aged under 22: half a week's pay.
- For each full year aged 22 to 40: one week's pay.
- For each full year aged 41 or older: one and a half weeks' pay.
Only the last 20 years count, and a week's pay is capped at £751 in England, Scotland and Wales (and £783 in Northern Ireland) for redundancies from 6 April 2026. So the most anyone can get is 30 weeks × £751 = £22,530.
Three worked examples (redundant on 30 October 2026)
| Person | Years worked | Weeks of pay | Week's pay used | Redundancy pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam, 26, earns £520 a week | 6 | 5 | £520 | £2,600 |
| Priya, 41, earns £900 a week | 12 | 12 | £751 | £9,012 |
| John, 61, earns £640 a week | 28 (only 20 count) | 30 | £640 | £19,200 |
Sam's first years were before he turned 22, so they count at half a week. Priya earns £900 a week, but only £751 is used, which costs her £1,788 compared with her real pay. John has 28 years of service, but the law only looks at the last 20, all of them at one and a half weeks.
How service changes the payout
Statutory redundancy pay at age 45 on £600 a week
Tax, notice and holiday
- The first £30,000 of a redundancy payment is free of tax and National Insurance. Statutory pay is always below that.
- Notice pay, unpaid wages and holiday pay are separate from redundancy pay, and they are taxed as normal pay.
- You need at least two full years of continuous work with the employer on the day the job ends. With less, there's no statutory payment, though your contract might still give you one.