Redundancy
The relevant date for redundancy pay, case by case
Every statutory redundancy figure is measured on one day; the law calls it the relevant date and gives it two versions.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The relevant date is the day from which statutory redundancy pay is counted, defined by section 145 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. If you are dismissed with notice, it is the day the notice runs out; if the contract ends without notice, including with a payment in lieu, it is the day the termination takes effect; at the end of a fixed-term contract it is the day the term expires. Section 145(5) then adds a second, later date: when the employer gives less than the statutory minimum notice of one week per complete year, up to 12, the relevant date for the two-year qualifying test and for counting years and ages becomes the day that statutory notice would have ended. The weekly cap of £751 and the 6-month time limit stay on the first date. With pay in lieu at nine years and some months, the extension can add a tenth year and with it a week or more of pay.
Paid in lieu: does the statutory notice add a year?
Statutory redundancy pay with the extension
£6,300
| Complete years on your last day | 8 |
| Years counted to 26 November 2026 | 9 |
| Gained by the statutory notice | £600 |
Statutory notice of 8 weeks is added to your service and age, never to the cap.
The basic rule in section 145(2)
The Act gives three answers depending on how the employment ends:
- Dismissal with notice, by the employer or by the employee: the date the notice expires.
- Dismissal without notice, including a payment in lieu with immediate effect: the date the termination takes effect.
- A limited-term contract that ends when its term or task runs out and is not renewed: the date it ends.
The date is a calendar day, not a payroll date. It does not move because the final payslip arrives later or because holiday pay is settled weeks after.
The second date in section 145(5)
Where the employer ends the contract and the notice required by section 86, “if duly given on the material date”, would expire later than the basic relevant date, “for the purposes of sections 155, 162(1)” the later date is used. The material date is the day the employer gave notice, or, if it gave none, the day it terminated the contract. In plain terms: count the statutory notice from the day you were told, and if it ends after your real last day, your service and your age are measured to its end.
Three things use the extended date: the two-year qualifying test (section 155), the number of complete years, and your age in each year (section 162(1)). Two things stay on the basic date: the weekly cap and the 6-month time limit for claiming.
Three cases, worked out
Long notice, worked in full
A warehouse supervisor who started on 10 March 2014 is given three months’ contractual notice on 1 September 2026. Statutory notice would be 12 weeks, ending earlier than the contract notice, so there is no extension. The relevant date is 1 December 2026; 12 years are counted, worth 18.0 weeks and £12,420 at £690 a week.
Paid in lieu, six days short of two years
An employee who started on 20 October 2024 is dismissed with pay in lieu on 14 October 2026. On that day the service is one year and fifty-one weeks. The one week of statutory notice runs to 21 October 2026, which passes the second anniversary: the employee qualifies, with £1,080.
Paid in lieu with nine years and eleven months
Someone who started on 1 November 2016 is paid in lieu on 20 October 2026. They have nine complete years, so statutory notice is 9 weeks and ends on 22 December 2026, after the tenth anniversary. The payment counts 10 years: £7,625. Had the employee worked the same notice to that day the result would be identical, £7,625, which is the point of the rule: pay in lieu cannot be used to shave a year off.
| Case | Relevant date | Extended date | Years counted | Statutory pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contract notice worked | 1 December 2026 | No extension | 12 | £12,420 |
| Pay in lieu near 2 years | 14 October 2026 | 21 October 2026 | 2 | £1,080 |
| Pay in lieu at 9 years | 20 October 2026 | 22 December 2026 | 10 | £7,625 |
Special cases with their own date
Three other provisions replace the basic rule. If you serve counter-notice to leave early during the employer’s notice, the relevant date is the expiry of your own notice (section 145(3)). If you start a trial in an alternative job and it ends, the payment is measured to the end of the original contract (section 145(4)), a point covered in suitable alternative employment. And if you claim after a long lay-off or short time, section 153 sets the relevant date at the end of the last week of lay-off counted in your claim.
Why the date also matters for a week’s pay
The 12-week average used for variable pay ends with a calculation date that is tied to the relevant date: section 226 places it where statutory notice would have been given had it expired on the relevant date. Where section 145(5) applies, the unextended relevant date is used instead. The detail is in redundancy pay when your pay varies.
When you check your employer’s figures, write down the day notice was given, the day it ends and your start date, then let the calculator find both dates. Acas’s own example matches this approach: eight years and eleven months with pay in lieu becomes nine years and one month.