Lay-offs and short-time working
Applying for redundancy
You could apply for redundancy and claim redundancy pay if you’ve been laid off without pay or put on short-time and receive less than half a week’s pay for:
- 4 or more weeks in a row
- 6 or more weeks in a 13-week period
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Write to your employer to claim redundancy within 4 weeks of the last day of the lay-off or short-time period.
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Your employer has 7 days to accept your claim or give you a written counter-notice.
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If your employer does not give you counter-notice, you can assume they’ve accepted your redundancy claim.
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A counter-notice means your employer expects work will soon be available - it must start within 4 weeks and must last at least 13 weeks.
Your employer can withdraw their counter-notice in writing.
Resigning
You must resign to get redundancy pay. The timing is crucial - you have 3 weeks to hand in your notice, starting from:
- 7 days after you gave written notice to your employer (if you did not get a counter-notice)
- the date your employer withdrew their counter-notice
You can get help from Citizens Advice.