Claiming Redundancy if you are laid off or put on short-time working

• Lay off is when your employer does not give you any work in a week and therefore does not pay you.

• Short-time working is when you receive less than half a week’s pay because your employer has reduced the work provided to you.

If you are laid off or on short-time working it may be possible to make a claim for redundancy. You can only do this however if your contract of employment allows your employer to lay you off or put you on short-time working. You must check your contract if you have one to see if it allows for this. If your contract does not allow your employer to lay you off or put you on short-time working then you can consider resigning and claiming constructive dismissal.

If you do not have a contract and you work in an industry where it is common practice that people are laid off or put on short-time working, for example in the construction industry or other outdoor work, or if you do not have a contract and you have worked for your employer for some time and you have been laid off or put on short-time working in the past then the law would probably say that your employer could lay you off or put you on short-time working even though there was nothing in writing to say so. See our factsheet Contracts of employment for more information about this.

If your contract does not allow for lay-off or short-time working

If your employer lays you off or puts you on short-time working when it is not part of your contract, then your employer has breached your contract.  You should send your employer a grievance letter asking them to reconsider their decision and restore your hours and your normal pay; see our factsheets on Contracts of employment, Deductions from pay and Grievances for guidance about this. If your employer refuses to change her/his mind, then you can consider resigning and making a claim for constructive dismissal to Employment Tribunal.

If your contract does allow lay off and short-time working

In this case your employer has not breached your contract. Instead there is a special procedure you can go through to claim redundancy.  It is important to follow all the steps carefully, and to do everything within the time limits otherwise you will mot succeed in your claim.

If you claim constructive dismissal or redundancy you are giving up your job. Before doing this, you must be sure that it is better to give up your job than to keep it. You should consider the following things:

• Might you be laid off or on short-time working for a long time?
• Are you entitled to a redundancy payment? If you`ve been employed in that job for over 2 years you will be - see our factsheet on Redundancy
• Could you get another job?
• Would you be better off on contributory Jobseekers Allowance or better off keeping this job?
• Are you nearing retirement or have you a long time to work yet?

Who can claim redundancy?

You can only claim redundancy if:

• You have not had any pay for the time you were laid off; OR
• You got less than half a week’s basic pay (not counting any overtime you normally get) for any week you were on short-time working: AND
• You have been laid off or on short-time working (or a mixture of both) for four week in a row; OR six weeks altogether in any thirteen week period, so long as not more than three of the weeks are in a row;

When to claim

You can claim as soon as you have reached the four or six weeks which you need to qualify.  You cannot claim later than four weeks after the lay-off or short-time working has ended.

Click to download and print complete checklist

1.

Box 2

On the date in Box 2 go through these steps:

a)     Has your employer replied to your claim?

If YES go to 2(b)

If NO, go to step 3 and put in Box 3 the date 4 weeks after the date in Box 1

b)     If you employer has replied, does the letter say that your employer will fight your claim, and does it say you will be working normally within four weeks and that this normal pattern of work will last for at least thirteen weeks, or that work will soon be available?

If YES, go to 2(c) (but see 2(d) if your employer withdraws this letter).

If NO, go to 3 and put in Box 3 the date four weeks after the date in Box 1.

 

c)      Do you believe your employer can put you back to work on full time as promised?

If YES, you have to drop your claim for redundancy.

If NO, you can take the case to an Employment Tribunal, but you will have to show why it is unlikely your employer can put you back on full-time working.  You should take advice before deciding to do this.  If you win the Tribunal case go to 3.  Put in Box 3 the date 3 weeks after the date you were told you had won.

 

d)     If your employer withdraws the claim that you will be put back on full-time working, go to 3 and put in Box 3 the date 3 weeks after the day when your employer withdrew.

 

BEFORE the date in Box 3 you must write another letter to your employer.  If you do not write before this date you lose your right to claim. You must say to your employer that you are giving notice that you are leaving your job and claiming redundancy.  You must give at least one week’s notice to your employer.

 

A week in this case means at least seven days from the date of your letter.  If you have a written contract of employment you must check it to see how much notice you have to give to resign your job. If your contract says that you must give more than one week’s notice, you must give the amount of notice stated in the contract. If your contract is not clear about this, or you do not understand what it means, then please contact us for advice about how much notice to give. A sample letter showing how to write this letter to your employer is on the next page.

 

	Your address Date Dear (the name of your employer) Further to my letter of (date of first letter), I am now giving notice that I intend to leave your employment on ……..(give seven days notice or whatever the contract requires) on the grounds of redundancy. I claim redundancy payments as laid down in the Employment Rights Act 1996. Yours sincerely Sign your name Print your name

If your employer refuses to pay

If you have followed all the procedures above and kept within the timescales, you should next send your employer a grievance letter; see our factsheet Grievances for guidance on how to do this.

REMEMBER: Do not claim for redundancy unless you are sure you want to give up your job and that this would be the best thing for you.