Everything that should be in your final payment
When your job ends, your last payslip should cover more than the redundancy lump sum. Check it against this list:
1. Wages up to your last day
Everything you worked, paid as normal, including any overtime due.
2. Unused annual leave
By law, holidays you earned but never took must be paid when you leave, at the same rate as if you'd taken them. Same goes for any public holiday entitlement you're due. Check how many days you have left and make sure they appear on the final payslip.
3. Notice: worked or paid in lieu
You're entitled to minimum notice based on your service (from 1 to 8 weeks, see the table in the guide), or your contractual notice if longer. If the company wants you gone sooner, they pay you for that period instead: "pay in lieu of notice".
4. Paid time off to look for work
A right most people don't know: during the last 2 weeks of your notice, you're entitled to reasonable paid time off to look for a new job or arrange training. Interviews during work hours? That's what this is for.
5. Bonus, commission and shares
Bonus or commission you've already earned should be paid; what happens to a pro-rata bonus or unvested shares depends on your contract and scheme rules. Read them, and ask the question during consultation, it's a normal thing to negotiate.
6. Statutory redundancy + any ex-gratia
The lump sum itself. Get the calculation in writing with your own figures and compare it with the calculator. If the numbers don't match, ask why.
7. Your pension options letter
If you're in a work pension, the scheme must send you a Leaving Service Options letter within 2 months of leaving, setting out what you can do with your pot. Details in the pension section of the guide.
The tax refund most people never claim
Here's the part that surprises people. Income tax is spread over the year, so your tax credits and rate bands are given to you week by week. If you stop working partway through the year, the credits for the remaining weeks go unused, which often means you've overpaid tax on what you earned. That money is refundable.
How to claim it (it's free and takes minutes)
- Wait 4 weeks after you become unemployed (or 8 weeks if you're getting a taxable payment such as Jobseeker's Benefit).
- Sign in to Revenue myAccount.
- Under PAYE Services, select "Claim unemployment repayment" and follow the steps.
Straight from Revenue's own process. If you stay unemployed, you can claim again as the year goes on. And if you'd rather wait, any overpayment also comes back when the year is reviewed, but why leave it sitting there?
Documents worth keeping safe
Before your access to work systems is cut off (it often happens fast), save personal copies of:
- Your contract and any bonus/commission/share scheme rules.
- Recent payslips and the final payslip when it comes.
- The redundancy calculation and any severance agreement, in writing.
- Consultation documents and emails about the redundancy.
- Pension statements and, later, the Leaving Service Options letter.
Only save what's yours: personal employment documents, not company data.
Your redundancy checklist
Tick things off as you go. Your ticks are saved in your browser on this device only, so you can come back anytime.