The letters issued during a redundancy process are the documentary record of what happened and when. They establish the timeline, set out the terms, and create the basis — or the absence of a basis — for any subsequent challenge. Retain every letter you receive. Print or save every email. Note the date of each.
The At-Risk Letter
The at-risk letter is the formal notification that your role is being considered for redundancy. It should be issued before consultation begins and must contain enough information to allow you to engage with the process meaningfully. Receiving this letter does not mean the decision has been made — that is the point.
A properly drafted at-risk letter will state the reason the employer is considering redundancies, identify the number of roles at risk and the pool from which affected employees have been drawn, set out the proposed timetable, and invite you to a first consultation meeting with a specified date, time, and location. It should confirm your right to be accompanied at that meeting by a trade union representative or a workplace colleague.
If the letter omits the selection pool, the criteria being used, or the right of accompaniment, note the omission in writing and request the missing information before the meeting. An at-risk letter that contains only "your role is at risk" with no further detail is not sufficient.
The Confirmation Letter
The confirmation letter is issued at the conclusion of the consultation process, when the employer has decided the redundancy will proceed. It is the formal notice of dismissal. Its date triggers several time limits — your notice period begins, and the clocks on tribunal claims start running from the effective date of termination it specifies.
The confirmation letter must state your last day of employment, the length of your notice period and whether you will be required to work it or receive PILON, the amount of your statutory redundancy pay with a breakdown of how it has been calculated, and any accrued but untaken holiday entitlement with the corresponding payment. It should also confirm your right of appeal and the deadline by which an appeal must be submitted.
Read the redundancy pay figure against your own calculation from the GOV.UK calculator before accepting it. If the figures differ, raise the discrepancy in writing before signing anything. A confirmation letter is not a contract — receiving it does not oblige you to agree to the figures it contains.
| Item | At-risk letter | Confirmation letter |
|---|---|---|
| Reason for redundancy | Required | Required |
| Roles at risk and selection pool | Required | — |
| Consultation meeting details | Required | — |
| Right to be accompanied | Required | — |
| Last day of employment | — | Required |
| Notice period and method | — | Required |
| Redundancy pay figure and calculation | — | Required |
| Accrued holiday pay | — | Required |
| Appeal rights and deadline | — | Required |
If the Letter Is Missing Information
Write to your employer — HR or your line manager — and request the missing items by name. Do this promptly and by email so the request is timestamped. State clearly what you have received, what is absent, and that you require it before you can engage fully with the process. This is not an adversarial step; it is a practical one.
If the confirmation letter does not include a breakdown of how the redundancy pay figure was calculated, request one. You cannot verify a figure you have not been shown how to reach. If your employer does not respond within a reasonable period — five working days is reasonable — follow up in writing and note the non-response. Both the gap in the letter and the failure to respond to your request are relevant if the matter proceeds further.
If You Have Not Received a Letter
Verbal notification of redundancy — whether in a meeting or in passing — is not a formal written notice and does not trigger the legal process. If you have been told verbally that your role is at risk or that you are being made redundant, request written confirmation immediately. Send the request by email. State what you were told, when, and by whom, and ask for written confirmation of the position. This creates a record of the verbal notification and compels your employer to respond formally.
The longer the absence of written notification, the more the process is exposed. An employer who cannot point to a written at-risk letter has difficulty establishing that a lawful consultation process took place.
The Acknowledgement Letter Template
The Week One Pack includes a template letter for responding to your employer within 48 hours of notification — creating a written record of what was said, when, and what has been requested in response.