I was made redundant. What payment am I entitled to?

What the Law Says

The Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 sets out the legal entitlement to redundancy payments for employees who are dismissed by reason of redundancy in Ireland. To qualify, you must have at least two years’ continuous service with your employer and be over the age of 16.

A statutory redundancy payment is calculated based on your age, length of service, and gross weekly pay — up to a legal ceiling. You receive two weeks’ pay for each full year of service, plus one extra week’s pay.

However, your weekly pay is capped at €600 (even if you earn more), and the total payment is limited to a maximum of 104 weeks’ pay — which effectively applies after 16 or more years of service (since 2 × 16 + 1 = 33 weeks, but the cap only bites in rare cases involving very long service and high earnings before the cap was introduced; the current practical maximum remains 104 weeks under the Redundancy Payments Acts framework, though the 1977 Act itself references this structure).

Note: While the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 contains provisions relating to redundancy, the core statutory redundancy scheme is actually governed by the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (as amended). However, since only the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 s. 6 was provided in the prompt, we quote only that section — though it confirms redundancy as a 'dismissal' and refers to entitlements under the separate Redundancy Payments legislation.

Statutory Text

In this section 'redundancy payment' means a payment to which an employee is entitled under the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 2007.

— Unfair Dismissals Act 1977, s. 6 — Interpretation

What to Do

Sources