UK Redundancy Weekly Pay Cap 2026 — £751 Limit Explained

The weekly pay cap is the ceiling on how much of your weekly wage counts toward statutory redundancy pay. From 6 April 2026 it is £751 a week in Great Britain and £783 in Northern Ireland. If you earn more than that, the excess is simply ignored in the statutory calculation — which is why someone on £1,500 a week and someone on £751 receive identical statutory redundancy pay for the same service. This page explains what counts as a week's pay, how the cap produces the £22,530 statutory maximum, and which payments it does not touch.

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The 2026 cap and who it affects

From 6 April 2026 the statutory weekly pay cap is £751 in Great Britain and £783 in Northern Ireland. The figure is reviewed every April, so a redundancy taking effect either side of that date can be calculated on a different cap.

The cap only affects you if your gross weekly pay exceeds it — roughly £39,000 a year in Great Britain. Below that, your actual weekly pay is used and the cap is irrelevant. Above it, every pound of the excess is discarded from the statutory calculation.

Worked example. Two colleagues are both 55 with 10 years of service, all of it worked at 41 or over, giving 15 weeks under the age-band formula. One earns £700 a week, below the cap, so receives 15 × £700 = £10,500. The other earns £1,500 a week, so the capped £751 is used: 15 × £751 = £11,265. More than twice the salary produces about 7% more statutory redundancy pay.

How the cap creates the £22,530 maximum

Statutory redundancy pay is capped twice over — once on weekly pay and once on years of service — which is what gives it a hard ceiling.

Service counts up to 20 years, and the highest age multiplier is one and a half weeks per year for years worked at 41 or over. Twenty years all in that band gives 20 × 1.5 = 30 weeks. Thirty weeks at the £751 cap is £22,530, and that is the most anyone can receive as statutory redundancy pay in Great Britain.

Reaching the maximum is rarer than it sounds. It requires having been 41 or over for the whole of a 20-year qualifying period, meaning you would be at least 61 at the point of redundancy, and earning at or above the cap throughout.

  • Weekly pay cap: £751 (Great Britain), £783 (Northern Ireland) from 6 April 2026
  • Service cap: 20 years
  • Highest multiplier: 1.5 weeks per year, for years worked at 41 or over
  • Resulting maximum: 30 weeks × £751 = £22,530

What counts as a week's pay

A week's pay means gross pay before tax, not take-home. Using your net figure will understate the calculation significantly, and it is a common error.

For fixed-hours, fixed-pay employees it is simply your normal weekly wage. Contractual overtime — overtime your employer is obliged to offer and you are obliged to work — counts. Genuinely voluntary overtime and discretionary bonuses generally do not form part of a week's pay for this purpose.

Where your pay varies, because you work irregular hours or earn commission or piece rates, a week's pay is worked out as an average over a reference period of earlier weeks. If your recent earnings were unusually low — reduced hours, sick leave, or a quiet period — the averaging can pull the figure down, so check which weeks have been used rather than accepting the employer's number.

The relevant date for the calculation is generally the date your notice period expires, not the date you were told about the redundancy. Where a pay rise or the April cap increase falls between those two dates, it can matter.

What the cap does not apply to

The weekly pay cap is specific to statutory redundancy pay. It does not touch the other elements of a redundancy package, which is why high earners can find the redundancy figure disappointing while the overall package is not.

Notice pay uses your actual weekly pay with no cap applied. For someone on £1,500 a week with ten years of service, that is ten weeks at £1,500 — £15,000 — which considerably exceeds the £11,265 capped redundancy figure. Accrued holiday pay is likewise uncapped and paid at your real rate.

Enhanced redundancy schemes frequently remove the cap altogether and calculate on actual pay. If you earn well above £751 a week, whether your employer operates an enhanced scheme is the single most consequential thing to establish about your package.

  • Notice pay and pay in lieu of notice — uncapped, paid at actual weekly pay
  • Accrued untaken holiday — uncapped
  • Outstanding salary, expenses and contractual bonus — uncapped
  • Enhanced contractual redundancy pay — governed by the scheme, which commonly ignores the cap

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the redundancy weekly pay cap for 2026?

£751 a week in Great Britain and £783 in Northern Ireland, from 6 April 2026. The figure is reviewed each April, so if your termination date falls close to the changeover, confirm which year's cap applies to your calculation.

What happens if I earn more than the cap?

The excess is ignored for statutory redundancy pay. Someone earning £1,500 a week and someone earning £751 receive identical statutory redundancy pay for identical service. The cap only affects you if you earn above roughly £39,000 a year in Great Britain.

What is the maximum statutory redundancy pay?

£22,530 in Great Britain. Service is capped at 20 years and the highest multiplier is one and a half weeks per year for years worked at 41 or over, giving 30 weeks; 30 × £751 = £22,530. Reaching it requires being at least 61 with 20 years of qualifying service.

Does the weekly pay cap affect notice pay?

No. The cap applies only to statutory redundancy pay. Notice pay, pay in lieu of notice, accrued holiday and outstanding salary are all paid at your actual weekly rate. For high earners, notice pay is often worth considerably more than the capped redundancy figure.

What counts as a week's pay for redundancy?

Gross weekly pay before tax, not take-home. Contractual overtime that the employer must offer and you must work counts; genuinely voluntary overtime and discretionary bonuses generally do not. If your pay varies, an average over an earlier reference period is used.

How is a week's pay worked out if my hours vary?

By averaging earnings over a reference period of earlier weeks. If your recent earnings were unusually low because of reduced hours, sick leave or a quiet trading period, that averaging can pull the figure down — so check which weeks were used rather than accepting the employer's figure at face value.

Does the cap apply to enhanced redundancy pay?

Only if the scheme says so. Enhanced schemes commonly remove the cap and calculate on actual weekly pay, which is where most of their value comes from for higher earners. Check the contract, handbook or collective agreement to see how your employer's scheme defines a week's pay.

Which date is used to work out my week's pay?

Generally the date your notice period expires rather than the date you were told about the redundancy. This can matter where a pay rise or the annual April cap increase falls between those two dates, so it is worth checking which date the employer has applied.

Disclaimer

This guide is for planning purposes and is not legal or financial advice. Statutory rates are reviewed each April, so confirm the current figure on GOV.UK if your termination date falls near the changeover. Take advice from an employment solicitor or Acas before accepting a redundancy settlement.

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