Your redundancy entitlements in Ireland: the short list
- Statutory redundancy pay after 104 weeks (2 years) of continuous service: 2 weeks’ pay per year of service plus 1 bonus week, with weekly pay capped at €600. Tax-free. Get your figure from the redundancy calculator.
- Notice in writing with a termination date, from 1 to 8 weeks depending on service (table below), or pay in lieu.
- Paid time off to look for a new job during the last 2 weeks of your notice period.
- Outstanding annual leave, taken during notice or paid out instead.
- Payment from the state through the Department of Social Protection’s Redundancy Payment Scheme if your employer cannot pay.
- A fair process: a genuine redundancy, objective selection, and the right to complain to the WRC (within 6 months for unfair dismissal, within one year for a redundancy pay dispute).
First: is it really a redundancy?
Redundancy means the job ceases to exist: the business closes, restructures, needs fewer people, or the work is done differently. It is about the role, never the person. If your “redundant” job is advertised or refilled weeks later, that’s not redundancy. It’s dismissal wearing a costume, and the Workplace Relations Commission treats it accordingly.
Notice: what you must be given
| Continuous service | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| 13 weeks to 2 years | 1 week |
| 2 to 5 years | 2 weeks |
| 5 to 10 years | 4 weeks |
| 10 to 15 years | 6 weeks |
| 15+ years | 8 weeks |
Notice pay is separate from and additional to your redundancy payment. Use the calculator for the redundancy part. An employer can pay in lieu of notice; they cannot skip it. The full rules, including leaving early and holidays during notice, are in the redundancy notice period guide.
Fair selection
Where some roles stay and some go, selection must use objective criteria: skills, qualifications, performance records, or the long-standing “last in, first out”. Selection driven by pregnancy or family leave, union activity, age, or having made complaints is automatically unfair. Ask, in writing, what criteria were used. A fair process has an answer ready.
Your rights during notice
- Paid time off to job-hunt. With 104+ weeks of service you’re entitled to reasonable paid time off during notice to look for work or arrange training.
- Working out the notice normally. Pay and conditions continue unchanged; annual leave keeps accruing.
- Leaving early by agreement. Possible without losing the redundancy payment, but get the agreement in writing.
If something smells wrong
- Put questions in writing: selection criteria, the business reason, whether the role will be refilled.
- Check the maths. The statutory formula is fixed; if the offer is below it, that’s not an offer, it’s an underpayment.
- Don’t sign a waiver on the spot. Severance agreements that waive claims deserve independent advice first; many employers will even pay for that advice.
- Mind the WRC time limits. Unfair dismissal complaints go to the Workplace Relations Commission within 6 months of the dismissal date. A dispute about your redundancy payment (for example, an employer who refuses to pay) can be brought within one year of dismissal.
Frequently asked questions
How much notice must my employer give?
Statutory minimums scale with service: 1 week (13 weeks to 2 years), 2 weeks (2 to 5 years), 4 weeks (5 to 10 years), 6 weeks (10 to 15 years), 8 weeks (15+ years). Your contract can promise more, never less. Pay in lieu of notice is allowed.
Can I take time off to look for a new job?
Yes. During the notice period, an employee under notice of redundancy with 104+ weeks of service has a right to reasonable paid time off to look for work or arrange training.
What makes a redundancy unfair?
Redundancy must be about the job, not the person. If you’re selected because of pregnancy, union membership, age, or having raised complaints, or your "redundant" role is refilled shortly after, that’s unfair dismissal territory, and the WRC can award up to two years’ pay.
What is a collective redundancy?
When larger numbers are let go within 30 days (5 in firms of 21 to 49, 10 in firms of 50 to 99, 10% in firms of 100 to 299, 30 in firms of 300 or more), the employer must consult employee representatives for at least 30 days and notify the Minister at least 30 days before the first dismissal.
Sources: notice periods, written notice, time off to look for work and the 6-month WRC limit from citizensinformation.ie, Redundancy notice periods (page edited 11 August 2026); statutory pay, the 104-week rule and the one-year limit for a redundancy pay dispute from citizensinformation.ie, Redundancy payments and the Redundancy Payment Scheme on gov.ie. Figures checked on 3 September 2026.