How to Claim Redundancy Pay When Your Employer Is Insolvent

Check that the Insolvency Service route applies to you

If your employer has gone formally insolvent, the employer may no longer be able to pay redundancy and other employment debts directly. In England, Scotland and Wales, eligible employees can instead apply to the Insolvency Service Redundancy Payments Service.

You must have been an employee and be a UK or EEA national, or another foreign national with permission to work in the UK. Contractors are not eligible for this employee claim route and normally need to register as creditors in the insolvency.

If you were a company director, being a director alone is not enough. You must also show that you were an employee of the company, and the Insolvency Service may request additional evidence about your employment status.

Redundancy, wages, holiday and notice pay are separate elements

The Redundancy Payments Service can pay several statutory elements depending on your circumstances:

• statutory redundancy pay;
• arrears of wages and other contractual amounts such as overtime, commission and bonuses;
• holiday pay for qualifying accrued or taken-but-unpaid holiday;
• notice worked but not paid; and
• compensation for loss of statutory notice.

The Insolvency Service processes these elements separately, so you can receive more than one payment and more than one payment letter.

You normally need at least 2 years of employment

You are normally entitled to statutory redundancy pay if you were an employee, were made redundant and had worked continuously for the employer for at least 2 years.

The calculation is based on age, complete years of service and weekly pay. You receive half a week's pay for each full year you were under 22, one week's pay for each full year from age 22 to 40, and one and a half weeks' pay for each full year aged 41 or over.

Only up to 20 years of service can be counted for statutory redundancy pay.

Weekly pay is capped at £751 after 6 April 2026

If you were made redundant on or after 6 April 2026, the weekly pay used for statutory calculations is capped at £751. For earlier dismissals, the applicable lower statutory limit is used.

The maximum statutory redundancy payment for a dismissal on or after 6 April 2026 is £22,530.

If your contractual entitlement is higher than the amount the Redundancy Payments Service is legally allowed to pay, contact the insolvency practitioner about registering as a creditor for the unpaid balance.

Arrears are limited to 8 weeks

You can claim contractual money owed by the insolvent employer, including unpaid wages and, where your contract provides for them, overtime, bonuses and commission.

The Redundancy Payments Service can pay up to 8 weeks of qualifying arrears, with the statutory weekly cap applied.

Income tax and National Insurance deductions can apply to arrears payments.

Holiday pay is limited to 6 weeks

You can claim for holiday that you had accrued but not taken and for holiday that you took but were not paid for.

The Insolvency Service only considers qualifying holiday taken or accrued in the 12 months before the employer became insolvent, and can pay a maximum of 6 weeks.

If your hours or pay varied, holiday pay can require a 52-week average calculation. The insolvency practitioner provides information used to verify the claim.

Notice pay is claimed through a second online application

You are entitled to a statutory paid notice period when you are dismissed, even if the employment contract does not provide a longer period. The statutory entitlement is generally one week's notice after at least one month's service, then one week for each full year of service from 2 to 12 years, capped at 12 weeks.

You may claim loss of statutory notice if you did not work your notice period, worked only part of it or worked notice without being paid.

The notice payment is not included automatically in the first claim. You must first complete the redundancy and other-money-owed application, even if redundancy pay itself is not due.

You cannot apply until the formal insolvency date

The insolvency practitioner or official receiver handling the employer's insolvency gives affected employees a CN case reference number.

You cannot submit the Redundancy Payments Service claim without that number, and you cannot successfully apply before the employer's formal insolvency date.

If you do not have a CN number, contact the insolvency practitioner rather than trying to create one yourself.

Prepare your employment and payment records

The online claim asks for:

• bank account details;
• National Insurance number;
• email address;
• employment start date;
• redundancy date and last working day;
• gross pay;
• breaks in employment;
• holiday entitlement and holiday already taken;
• unpaid wages and other contractual amounts; and
• money you owe the employer, such as a season-ticket loan.

The application service also asks for copies of relevant correspondence from your employer or an employment tribunal where applicable.

Apply online for redundancy, wages and holiday pay

The first application is completed online. The Insolvency Service says it normally takes approximately 25 to 45 minutes to fill in.

You can save the application and return later if you provide an email address. The same email is used to contact you about the claim.

Provide bank or building society details where possible because missing bank details can delay payment.

Apply within 6 months after dismissal

You must normally submit your redundancy claim within 6 months from the date you were dismissed.

The official GOV.UK guidance also directs employees to make the first application covering redundancy, unpaid wages and holiday within this period. Do not wait for the notice-pay claim before submitting the initial application.

Wait for your LN reference number

When completing the first claim, you can indicate that you want to claim compensation for loss of notice. Selecting this option does not mean the notice claim has been submitted.

You must wait until the notice period would have ended. The Insolvency Service then sends an LN reference number, usually no more than 12 weeks after dismissal because statutory notice itself is capped at 12 weeks.

Once you receive the LN reference, submit the separate online loss-of-notice application. You need your National Insurance number, the LN reference, details of money earned during the notice period and details of unemployment benefits claimed.

Apply for benefits even though they may be deducted

Loss-of-notice compensation is reduced by money you earned during the notice period and by employment-related benefits you were entitled to receive.

The Insolvency Service can deduct benefits you could have claimed even if you did not actually claim them. Official guidance therefore tells redundant employees to apply for relevant benefits and keep evidence of acceptance or rejection.

If you have lost your job and meet the conditions, the separate Helpydo guide explains how to claim New Style Jobseeker's Allowance after losing work.

Payments are expected within 6 weeks when information is complete

The Insolvency Service expects to make redundancy pay, holiday pay and arrears-of-pay payments within 6 weeks after it has received the complete application and the necessary information from the insolvency practitioner.

Some elements can be processed sooner than others, so the Service pays individual parts as they become ready rather than holding everything until the entire claim is complete.

The official guidance asks claimants not to contact the Service for a status update until 6 weeks have passed unless it has requested information from you.

Employer records are used to verify what you are owed

The Insolvency Service checks the information in your application against information supplied by the insolvency practitioner, including pay and holiday records.

You will only receive amounts that the available records show you are entitled to, subject to the statutory caps and deductions. The Service sends a letter for each payment explaining what has been paid.

You can challenge an RPS decision

If your application is rejected, contact the Redundancy Payments Service first so it can explain the reason.

If you disagree with the decision, GOV.UK states that you can make a claim to an employment tribunal against the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and your former employer.

If the issue is information you supplied incorrectly, use the Insolvency Service's claim-amendment process or contact the Service promptly rather than submitting duplicate claims.

Collective consultation failures require an employment tribunal award

If the employer failed to carry out legally required collective redundancy consultation, an employment tribunal can make a protective award.

The Insolvency Service can pay an eligible protective award where the former employer is insolvent, but you must first be included in a tribunal judgment. The statutory payment from the Insolvency Service is subject to its own limits and cannot duplicate arrears of pay for the same period.

Do not use the Great Britain claim portal for Northern Ireland

The Insolvency Service procedure described above applies to England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland operates its own Redundancy Payments Service through the Department for the Economy.

From May 2026, Northern Ireland's modernised redundancy payment system accepts new claims online. Its portal, administration and statutory framework are separate, so do not transfer Great Britain claim references, contacts or assumptions to a Northern Ireland case.

Avoid delays and incorrect payments

• Do not apply before the formal insolvency date or without the CN case reference.
• Do not miss the 6-month deadline for the initial redundancy claim.
• Enter employment dates, gross pay, holiday entitlement and unpaid amounts accurately.
• Do not assume all contractual debts are paid in full; statutory weekly and period limits apply.
• Do not wait for the LN reference before making the first redundancy claim.
• Keep benefit decision letters and screenshots because they may be needed for the later notice-pay calculation.
• If you are owed more than the Redundancy Payments Service can pay, register the balance as a creditor through the insolvency practitioner.
• Do not use the Great Britain online claim for a Northern Ireland insolvency.