Statutory redundancy in Ireland: who qualifies, the €600 cap, examples

Who qualifies for statutory redundancy?

The general rule has four conditions. All of them must be met.

• 104 weeks of continuous employment with the same employer RPA 1967, s.7(5). That is two years. Any time before your 16th birthday does not count.
• Fully insurable employment. The scheme generally covers employees who pay Class A PRSI. Your payslip shows your class.
• Your job no longer exists. Redundancy means the dismissal comes from reasons not related to you, such as the business closing, moving or needing fewer people for your work RPA 1967, s.7(2).
• You were dismissed, or your fixed-term contract ended and was not renewed. The non-renewal of a fixed-term or specified-purpose contract counts as a dismissal for redundancy purposes RPA 1967, s.9(1)(b).

If you have less than 104 weeks, there is no statutory lump sum. Your other final pay is still due: annual leave not taken, sometimes a public holiday, and notice. Minimum notice applies after 13 weeks’ service, unless your contract gives more.

How is statutory redundancy calculated?

The lump sum has two parts RPA 1967, Sch. 3, para. 1:

• 2 weeks’ pay for each year of continuous service from age 16;
• plus 1 week’s pay, often called the bonus week.

Part years count. Extra days are credited as a proportion of a year Sch. 3, para. 2. The law does not say how to count them, and the Department of Social Protection does not publish its method. The method below gives the same results as the Department’s five published examples: count calendar days, first and last day included, divide by 365 and round to 2 decimals.

Step	Formula
Days of service	last day − first day + 1, less any days not counted
Years of service	days ÷ 365
Weeks due	2 × years + 1
Weekly pay used	your normal gross weekly pay, up to €600
Lump sum	weeks due × weekly pay used

What counts as weekly pay?

The Department uses your normal gross weekly pay on the date your employment ends:

• fixed pay: your gross pay for normal hours, with regular bonuses or allowances averaged in;
• monthly pay: the monthly amount ÷ 4.33;
• no regular hours: the average of your last 52 weeks worked;
• regular overtime: the average over the 26 weeks before your last 13 weeks.

If you were put on short time in your final year, the Department uses a full normal week’s pay.

The €600 weekly cap: is it going up?

Weekly pay counts only up to €600, which is €31,200 a year Sch. 3, para. 1(2). The cap applies to the bonus week too. It was set by S.I. No. 695/2004 and has applied since 1 January 2005.

Raising it has been debated in the Dáil. In July 2025, the Minister of State replied that there were “no immediate plans” to increase it and that the matter was “under active review”. On 19 October 2026, gov.ie still gave €600 and we found no change adopted. This page will be updated if the cap changes.

Worked examples

The first example is a fictional case. The others are the Department of Social Protection’s own published examples: the years, weeks and lump sums are the Department’s, and the day counts are ours.

Case	Service counted	Years	Weeks due	Weekly pay used	Lump sum
Aoife: 15/03/2019 to 23/10/2026, €850 a week	2,780 days	7.62	16.24	€600 (capped)	€9,744.00
Joe: 27/01/1998 to 01/03/2021, €600 a week	8,435 days	23.11	47.22	€600	€28,332.00
June: 29/01/2001 to 29/01/2021, €761.92 a week	7,306 days	20.02	41.04	€600 (capped)	€24,624.00
John: started at 14 on 14/08/2013, ended 29/11/2021, €450 a week	2,300 days (from his 16th birthday)	6.30	13.60	€450	€6,120.00
Vanessa: 09/12/2004 to 29/01/2021, €446.69 a week, 182 days of maternity leave	5,896 days	16.15	33.30	€446.69	€14,874.78
Vanessa again, but the 182 days were a lay-off	5,714 days	15.65	32.30	€446.69	€14,428.09
01/11/2024 to 23/10/2026	722 days	—	—	—	None: under 104 weeks

Aoife, step by step

Aoife started on 15 March 2019. Her job was made redundant and her last day was 23 October 2026. She earned €850 gross a week.

1. Days: 15/03/2019 to 23/10/2026, both days included = 2,780 days.
2. Years: 2,780 ÷ 365 = 7.62.
3. Weeks due: 2 × 7.62 + 1 = 16.24 weeks.
4. Weekly pay used: €850 is above the cap, so €600.
5. Lump sum: 16.24 × €600 = €9,744.00.

Without the cap, the figure would be €13,804.00. The cap costs her €4,060.00.

The last row of the table shows the threshold. From 1 November 2024 to 23 October 2026 is 722 days, short of the 728 days (104 weeks) needed. No statutory lump sum is due. Notice and annual leave may still be due.

Which absences count, and which do not?

Most time off counts as service. Only some absences in the last 3 years before your employment ends are left out Sch. 3, para. 8 and 10.

Counts as service	Not counted, if in your last 3 years
Annual leave and public holidays	Lay-off by your employer
Maternity, paternity, adoption and parent’s leave	A strike in your employer’s business
Parental leave and carer’s leave	Sick leave of more than 26 weeks in a row
Authorised absences, a lock-out	Absence for an occupational injury or disease of more than 52 weeks in a row

The Vanessa example shows the difference. The same 182 days counted when they were maternity leave and were removed when they were a lay-off.

For long sick leave, the calculator removes only the days beyond 26 weeks in a row. This reading of the rule has not been confirmed by an official worked example, so the result is shown as an estimate.

What if you were paid in lieu of notice?

If you accept pay instead of working your notice, your employment is treated as ending, for redundancy purposes, on the date your notice would have ended Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973, s.7(2). That can add a few weeks to your service. The same later date may also apply to the time limit to claim. To stay on the safe side, count your time limits from your real last day, which is earlier. For notice rules, see notice period in Ireland.

Leaving before your redundancy date

If you want to leave during your redundancy notice, tell your employer in writing. The WRC’s form for this is the RP6. If you leave without your employer’s agreement, you can lose your statutory lump sum.

Is statutory redundancy taxed?

No. The statutory lump sum is tax-free. Any extra amount your employer pays on top (an ex gratia payment) follows different tax rules, set by Revenue. See is redundancy pay taxed in Ireland? If you are offered a package, see voluntary redundancy in Ireland.

When do you have to claim it?

Your right is kept if, within 52 weeks of your employment ending, the payment is agreed and paid, or you claim it in writing from your employer, or you refer the question to the WRC RPA 1967, s.24(1). Between 52 and 104 weeks, a late claim is accepted only if the WRC finds a reasonable cause for the delay s.24(2A).

For Aoife, whose last day was 23 October 2026, a written claim must reach her employer by 21 October 2027. Send it well before. If your employer has not paid, see your employer won’t pay statutory redundancy: what to do.

If the calculator and your employer disagree

Compare the inputs line by line: start date, last day, absences, weekly pay. Most differences come from one of these. If an input was wrong, correct it and the result changes.

The Department of Social Protection also has an official redundancy calculator on MyWelfare. Our calculator gives an estimate, not a decision. If you and your employer still disagree about the amount, the WRC decides.

Your next steps

1. Check, free. Use the redundancy calculator to work out the lump sum, the rest of your final pay and your time limits.
2. Claim in writing. If nothing, or too little, has been paid, you can prepare a redundancy claim letter to your employer yourself (€9, or €19 with a dated follow-up letter and reminders).
3. The next step. If your employer still does not pay, a complaint to the WRC is made online by you. A free preparation sheet, available from the calculator’s results without any purchase, lists what the online form asks for. See making a WRC complaint online.

Free help is also available from Citizens Information, the WRC’s information service, a trade union or a solicitor.