Eamonn working in insurance asks "I have been informed that my role has become redundant. What am I entitled to?"

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In ROI

Hi Eamonn, The Redundancy Payments Acts 1967–2014 provide a minimum entitlement to a redundancy payment for employees who have a set period of service with the employer.

Not all employees are entitled to this statutory redundancy payment, even where a redundancy situation exists. If you do qualify for redundancy, there are specific redundancy procedures which employers and employees must follow in order to comply with the legislation.

You must satisfy the following requirements:

• You must be aged 16 or over. (Since 8 May 2007 there is no upper age limit of 66.)
• You must be in employment that is insurable under the Social Welfare Acts. Full-time employees under the age of 66 must be paying Class A PRSI. (This insurability requirement does not apply to part-time workers.)
• You must have worked continuously for your employer for at least 104 weeks (2 years), over the age of 16.
• You must have been made redundant.

The statutory redundancy payment is a lump-sum payment based on the pay of the employee. All eligible employees are entitled to:

• Two weeks' pay for every year of service they have since they were 16 and,
• One further week's pay.

The amount of statutory redundancy is subject to a maximum earnings limit of €600 per week (€31,200 per year).

In NI

Hi Eamonn, if you’ve been made redundant, you may be entitled to a redundancy payment and other rights but it depends on your length of service and the circumstances.

If you’ve been employed for at least two years, you’re legally entitled to Statutory Redundancy Pay. The amount is based on:

Your age

Your length of continuous service

Your weekly gross pay (capped at £700 per week as of April 2024)

You’re entitled to:

1.5 weeks’ pay for each year you worked aged 41 or over

1 week’s pay for each year you worked aged 22 to 40

0.5 week’s pay for each year you worked under 22

There’s a maximum of 20 years’ service counted for statutory pay.

You’re also entitled to:

Your notice period, or pay in lieu of notice

Any outstanding wages or holiday pay owed

A consultation period (at least 2 weeks if fewer than 20 redundancies; more if 20 or more)

Time off to look for new work (if you’ve worked there at least two years)

Important to know:

If your employer has a more generous redundancy scheme, you should get what’s set out in your contract or company policy.

If you’re offered another job in the company and refuse it unreasonably, you could lose your redundancy pay.

If you believe the redundancy is not genuine or you’ve been unfairly selected, you may have grounds for a claim.

Speak to your union rep straight away if you think something’s not right. Redundancy doesn’t cancel your rights.