Redundancy and change

Notice of redundancy letter

Confirms, after consultation, that the role is redundant, gives notice, and sets out the payments and the right of appeal.

Consultation is complete, selection has been applied, no suitable alternative has been found or accepted, and the decision is made. This letter is the dismissal. It should show the process that led here.

Before it goes

  • The consultation letters and notes show a real process.
  • You have the figures: notice, statutory redundancy pay (age bands, complete years, capped week's pay), holiday, any enhanced payment.
  • You have checked the alternative vacancy position one last time, including for anyone with family-leave priority.

The letter

[COMPANY NAME] [COMPANY ADDRESS] [DATE] [EMPLOYEE NAME] [EMPLOYEE ADDRESS] Dear [EMPLOYEE FIRST NAME], Notice of redundancy I am writing further to our consultation meetings on [DATES]. Thank you for the way you engaged with the process and for the suggestions you made. As explained in my letter of [AT RISK DATE], the company proposed to reduce the number of [ROLE] positions from [NUMBER] to [NUMBER] because [SHORT REASON]. During consultation we considered [ALTERNATIVES RAISED AND WHY THEY DID NOT AVOID THE REDUNDANCY, e.g. your suggestion of moving to a four-day week across the team, which would not have reduced costs sufficiently because …]. Selection was carried out against the criteria shared with you on [DATE]; your scores were provided to you on [DATE] and discussed on [DATE]. [Having considered your comments, your score for [CRITERION] was revised from … to …. / Having considered your comments, the scores were confirmed.] I regret to confirm that your role has been selected for redundancy and that your employment will end by reason of redundancy. We have looked for suitable alternative employment for you. [No suitable vacancy exists at present. / You were offered the role of [ROLE] on [DATE] and declined it. / The roles currently available, listed on the enclosed sheet, are not considered suitable because …, but if you would like to be considered for any of them, tell me by [DATE].] If a suitable vacancy arises during your notice period, we will offer it to you, with a four-week trial period. Notice: your notice period is [NOTICE]. Your employment will end on [TERMINATION DATE]. [You are required to work your notice. / You will be paid in lieu of notice and your last day of employment is [DATE].] During your notice period you are entitled to reasonable paid time off to look for work or arrange training; please agree dates with me. Payments: on termination you will receive: Statutory redundancy payment: [£ AMOUNT], based on [NUMBER] complete years' service and your age, calculated at [NUMBER] weeks' pay with a week's pay of [£ AMOUNT] [capped at the statutory maximum]. This payment is tax-free. [Enhanced redundancy payment under the company scheme: [£ AMOUNT].] Pay in lieu of notice, if applicable: [£ AMOUNT], subject to tax and National Insurance. Accrued untaken holiday: [NUMBER] days, [£ AMOUNT]. Your final pay will be made on [DATE] with a full breakdown, and your P45 will follow. Appeal: you have the right to appeal against this decision. If you wish to appeal, write to [APPEAL MANAGER NAME] at [ADDRESS / EMAIL] within five working days of receiving this letter, setting out your grounds. Please return [COMPANY PROPERTY] by your last day. If you would like a reference, I will be glad to provide one; and if I can help with introductions to other firms, ask. I am sorry that we have reached this outcome, and I want to thank you for your work for the company. Yours sincerely, [MANAGER NAME] [JOB TITLE] [COMPANY NAME]

Filling it in

The process paragraph
Dates of every meeting, what was suggested, what you did about it, how the scores were handled. This is where a fair redundancy shows itself.
The sums
Show the working. Years, age band, weeks, week's pay, cap. Wrong redundancy pay is the most common redundancy claim and the easiest to avoid.

What the law says

  • Employment Rights Act 1996 s.139: redundancy means the business or workplace closing, or the requirement for employees to do work of a particular kind ceasing or diminishing.
  • Employment Rights Act 1996 s.86: statutory minimum notice of one week per complete year of service, up to twelve weeks; the contract may give more.
  • Employment Rights Act 1996 ss.135 and 162: statutory redundancy payment for employees with two years' service, calculated by age and service, with a week's pay capped at the statutory maximum.
  • Employment Rights Act 1996 s.52: an employee under notice of redundancy with two years' service is entitled to reasonable paid time off to look for work or arrange training.
  • Employment Rights Act 1996 s.138: an employee who accepts an alternative role is entitled to a four-week trial period.
Guidance, not legal advice. Employment law moves; check the current position before relying on any of it, and take advice on anything that could end someone's employment.

What turns this letter into a claim

  • Do not send this before consultation has finished. A notice letter dated the day after the first meeting is the end of the argument.
  • Do not pay redundancy pay through payroll as taxable pay. Statutory redundancy pay is tax-free; notice and holiday are taxable.

Questions people ask

Can the employee leave early during their notice and still get redundancy pay?

Yes, if they give written counter-notice within the statutory notice period and you do not object in writing requiring them to stay. If you do object and they leave anyway, they may lose the payment. Most employers let people go to a new job.

What if they turn down a suitable alternative role?

If the role was suitable and the refusal unreasonable, the statutory redundancy payment is lost. "Suitable" and "unreasonable" are judged on the specifics: pay, status, location, hours and the employee's circumstances. Take advice before withholding it.

Do I need to give a redundant employee a reference?

There is no general legal duty, but there is every practical reason. A factual reference confirming dates, role and the reason for leaving as redundancy helps them and costs you nothing.

The letter, with the names already in

Employ AI drafts letters like this one from the employee's record, so the dates, service and pay are already right, and the disciplinary module writes the invitation and outcome letters from the case itself. All 44 letter families, 49 UK policies, GPS clock-in, rotas, leave and timesheets: £2.50 a month plus £1 per employee. 14 days free, no card.

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