Employer won't pay your redundancy pay: what to do

First, check what you are owed

Statutory redundancy pay is normally due if you are an employee with at least 2 years’ continuous service, and your job ended because of redundancy. The amount depends on your age, your full years of service (20 at most) and your weekly pay, capped at £751 for redundancies on or after 6 April 2026. The statutory redundancy pay guide explains the calculation.

Example used in this guide. An employee born on 10 March 1981 started on 1 May 2016 and left on 30 June 2026 after working her notice, on £800 a week. Her statutory redundancy pay is £9,012.00: the redundancy pay guide shows the calculation step by step.

Before you write, check the figures your claim will rely on: your start date, the number of full years, the age band of each year and the weekly pay used.

Step 1: if something was paid, ask how it was worked out

When your employer makes a statutory redundancy payment, it must give you a written statement showing how the amount was calculated ERA 1996, s.165(1). If it does not, you can ask for that statement in writing, giving a date at least one week away s.165(3). An employer who fails to give it without a reasonable excuse commits an offence.

For example, if £2,000 arrived on 2 November 2026 without a breakdown and you write on 10 November 2026, the date you set must be on or after 17 November 2026. Our letter suggests 24 November 2026.

Step 2: make a written claim within 6 months

This is the step that protects your right. You lose statutory redundancy pay unless, within 6 months of your leaving date, one of these has happened s.164(1):

• the payment has been agreed and paid;
• you have made a claim in writing to your employer;
• you have referred the question to an employment tribunal;
• you have made an unfair dismissal complaint to a tribunal.

The period starts on your leaving date, so the last day is 6 months minus 1 day. In the example, a leaving date of 30 June 2026 gives 29 December 2026. The claim should reach your employer by then. Our calculator suggests sending it about ten days earlier, moved back to a working day: here, 18 December 2026.

If your employer paid your notice in lieu, your service may be counted to a later date for the amount. That later date does not move this deadline: count from your real leaving date.

A useful written claim sets out:

• your dates of employment and your leaving date;
• your date of birth and your weekly pay;
• the years counted, the weeks for each age band, and the total;
• any other unpaid sums, such as wages, notice pay or holiday pay;
• a date for payment, often 14 days.

Send it by email and by a post service with a signature on delivery. Keep a dated copy and the proof.

Step 3: if there is still no payment

If the reply date passes, the usual next step is to contact Acas for early conciliation. You must do this before most employment tribunal claims, and within the time limit. The Acas early conciliation guide explains each step.

How long you have to go to a tribunal after a written claim made in time is not clearly set out in the official pages we have read. Do not wait. A tribunal may also accept a redundancy pay claim made in the 6 months after the first 6 months, if it finds this “just and equitable” s.164(2), but that is its decision, not a right.

Other unpaid sums, such as wages or holiday pay, have their own time limits. For most problems since 1 October 2026, the limit is 6 months minus 1 day. See the tribunal time limits guide.

If your employer is insolvent: the Redundancy Payments Service

If your employer is in a formal insolvency, such as liquidation or administration, the government’s Redundancy Payments Service can pay you instead. GOV.UK sets out the rules:

What you can claim	Limit
Statutory redundancy pay	2 years’ service or more; up to 20 years; weekly pay capped at £751 (£719 if made redundant before 6 April 2026)
Wages and other money owed under your contract	Up to 8 weeks, same weekly cap
Holiday pay, untaken or taken but not paid	Up to 6 weeks, from the 12 months before the insolvency, same weekly cap
Statutory notice pay	One week per full year, up to 12 weeks, same weekly cap

How to apply:

1. Get the case reference number (CN) from the insolvency practitioner or the official receiver. GOV.UK says you cannot claim without it.
2. Apply online, starting with the redundancy claim. You can apply as soon as you have been made redundant, and you must apply for redundancy pay within 6 months of being dismissed.
3. Have ready your National Insurance number, bank details, dates of employment, pay, holiday taken and any letters from your employer or a tribunal.
4. For notice pay, wait for a separate LN reference number. GOV.UK says it is sent after your notice period would have ended, usually no more than 12 weeks after dismissal. Money you get, or could have got, from benefits is deducted from it.

Income tax and National Insurance are taken from wages and other money owed. The Insolvency Service helpline is 0330 331 0020.

We do not offer a document for this application: it is made on GOV.UK, by you, for free.

If your employer is still trading but will not pay

The law also lets you ask the government to pay when your employer is not insolvent, if you have taken all reasonable steps, other than legal proceedings, to get the money and your employer has refused or failed to pay s.166(1)(a). Employment tribunal proceedings do not count as legal proceedings here, but enforcing a tribunal award does s.166(4).

In practice, Citizens Advice says that once a tribunal has decided you are entitled to a redundancy payment, you can apply to the Redundancy Payments Service. You will not have a CN number, so calling or emailing may be easier than the online form.

Separately, an employer that cannot afford statutory redundancy pay can ask the Redundancy Payments Service to pay its staff directly. The employer stays liable for the debt. The guidance says the service may require employees to apply to a tribunal first.

If your employer has disappeared

Check the company on the Companies House register. Citizens Advice says that if a company is being struck off, you should object as soon as possible, because once it is gone you cannot get money from it. You can also “follow” the company to get updates on its status.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has its own Redundancy Payments Service, its own weekly cap and its own tribunal system. This guide covers England, Wales and Scotland only.

Next steps

1. Check, free. The redundancy pay calculator works out the statutory amount, compares it with what you received, and gives the last day for a written claim with a suggested sending date. You can ask for a free email reminder.
2. Claim in writing. You can prepare a redundancy pay claim letter yourself, with the calculation and, if needed, a request for the written statement: £9, or £19 with a dated follow-up letter and reminders.
3. Next step. If nothing changes, a free Acas preparation sheet lists what Acas will ask. Acas, Citizens Advice, a trade union or a solicitor can also help you.