Redundancy Payment Scheme

A statutory redundancy payment under the scheme is a payment from the Social Insurance Fund by the Department of Social Protection to an employee where an employer is unable to make a statutory redundancy payment.

If your employer is unable to pay your statutory redundancy payment, an application can be submitted by the employer on your behalf to the department on Welfare Partners for payment to be made through the Redundancy Payment Scheme.

To qualify for the Redundancy Payment Scheme the following conditions must be met:

• 104 weeks of continuous employment with the same employer
• employment is fully insurable under the Social Welfare Acts
• the job must no longer exist
• employee must be over 16

This scheme covers employees who are insured for all benefits under social welfare legislation. Generally, this means an employee who pays class “A” PRSI

The employer has a responsibility to pay statutory redundancy payments to all eligible employees. This entitlement is in accordance with the Redundancy Payment Act.

Employees in continuous service with the same employer for at least 13 weeks are entitled to a minimum period of notice before an employer can dismiss them.

The rate of statutory redundancy is two weeks’ pay for every year of service (over the age of 16) plus one additional week’s pay. Payment is subject to a limit of €600 per week.

Your normal gross weekly wage is used in the calculation. If you do not have a normal weekly wage, an average is used to calculate the payment.

An explanation of how the Gross Weekly Wage is calculated can be found here.

Redundancy Calculator

There is a redundancy calculator on MyWelfare.ie which can be used to estimate your statutory redundancy entitlements before making a claim.

Examples of calculations

Some examples of how the statutory redundancy payment are calculated for the Redundancy Payment Scheme can be found here.

Service included or excluded from the calculation

Different types of absences from work will either be included or excluded as service when calculating the actual length of time you have continuously worked for your employer. Inclusions are known as reckonable service and exclusions are known as non-reckonable service.

Reckonable service list

If you have been absent from work over the last 3 years, many reasons for absence are included in the calculation of your service. These include:

• Any period of basic and additional maternity leave
• Any period of basic paternity, parental, adoptive or parent’s leave
• Any period of basic force majeure or domestic violence leave
• Carer's leave up to 104 weeks
• Career break
• Sick leave up to six months per absence for ordinary illness or occupational sick leave up to one year

Non-reckonable service list

If you have been absent from work over the last 3 years, some reasons for absence will not be included in the calculation of your service. These include:

• Temporary lay off
• Strike
• Occupational Sick Leave for more than 52 weeks
• Illness for more than 26 weeks

Minimum Notice Period

Employees in continuous service with the same employer for at least 13 weeks are entitled to a minimum period of notice before an employer can dismiss them.

An employer may decide to make a payment instead of giving notice.

If you have not received a Redundancy Payment and you believe you are entitled to one, contact your employer. You should do this in writing to ensure there is a record of the request. There is a time limit of one year from the date of termination to apply to your employer for redundancy payment.

If the company has gone into liquidation, then the liquidator becomes the employer’s representative and will respond to enquiries in relation to redundancy payments.

If your employer refuses to pay redundancy or disputes your entitlement

If your employer refuses to pay your redundancy lump sum or if there is a dispute about redundancy you can bring a claim to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

You must use the WRC online e-complaint form.

This should usually be done within one year of the termination of employment however the WRC can extend the time limit to 2 years in exceptional cases.

The WRC will make a decision on the complaint.

To apply for redundancy on the basis of a WRC award

Following an award in favour of the employee if the employer refuses to make a payment the employee may apply directly to the department for payment under the Redundancy Payment Scheme.

To request an application form, send an email to redundancypayments@welfare.ie

Send a copy of the signed form and the WRC decision to the contact details listed at the end of this page.

Applications submitted by an employee along with a WRC decision do not require an employer’s signature.

How to apply if you are an employer or an employer representative

Employers and employer representatives can apply online at Welfare Partners.

To access this service, employers and employer representatives will require a Department of Social Protection (DSP) Sub-Cert which is issued by Revenue. More information on how to apply for a DSP Sub-Cert can be found here.

Use the below guide to find out how to submit a Redundancy Payment Scheme application.

This guide applies to you if you are:

• the employer
• a member of their staff
• contracted by the employer and making applications on their instruction such as a payroll company, accountant, or solicitor firm hired by the employer
• an official appointee who has been appointed to manage the affairs of the employer

Repayments

Once a payment has been made from the social insurance fund by the department a debt will be raised against the employer. The department will seek to recover this debt from the employer. Repayments can be made by a lump sum payment or by regular instalments.

For more information about payment options available to an employer to repay this debt, please click here.

For further information regarding the recovery of debt, employers can contact the Redundancy and Insolvency Debt Management Unit:

• Further information in relation to other Redundancy provisions, including details about Maternity Leave, Apprenticeships and change of ownership is available here.
• Further information in relation to COVID-19 and redundancy is available here.
• Statistics in relation to applications received under the Redundancy Payment Scheme since 1995 is available here.

Related schemes

• Information about the COVID-19 Related Lay-Off Payment Scheme is available here.
• Information about the Insolvency Payments Scheme is available here.

Intreo (the Public Employment Service) is a single point of contact for all employment and income supports and services.

If you have any queries when applying under the Redundancy Payment Scheme, please email your query to redundancypayments@welfare.ie

Please include as much information as possible so we can assist you. Alternatively, please call 0818 11 11 12.

Click here for an overview and further information about redundancy and insolvency.