The First Seven Days

Acknowledge. Document. Do not sign anything.

Send a brief written acknowledgement of the notification — email is sufficient. This creates a dated record of when the process began. If anything was handed to you in the meeting, note what it was and when you received it.

Do not sign any document today. Settlement agreements, waivers, and voluntary redundancy forms presented at or immediately after notification are not required to be signed immediately. You have time. Use it.

Make a contemporaneous note of what was said in the notification meeting: who was present, what was stated, and any timeframes given. Write it now, while the detail is accurate.

Claim Universal Credit. Do not wait.

If you expect to lose income, start your Universal Credit claim today. The DWP does not backdate claims. Your payment date is calculated from the date the claim is made, not from the date your employment ends. A claim made on Day 2 is worth more than the same claim made on Day 10.

You can claim while still employed and in a notice period. Starting the claim now does not commit you to receiving payments immediately — it establishes your place in the system.

Locate your contract. Check your notice entitlement.

Retrieve your employment contract. You need two figures: your statutory minimum notice entitlement (one week per complete year of service, up to a maximum of twelve) and your contractual notice entitlement if specified. Whichever is longer applies.

If you cannot locate your contract, you are entitled to request a written statement of particulars from your employer. They are legally required to provide one.

Check your contract for any enhanced redundancy terms. Some employers offer more than the statutory minimum. If the contract is silent, statutory applies.

Request written confirmation of terms.

Write to your employer — HR or your line manager — requesting written confirmation of: the proposed redundancy date, your notice period, your statutory redundancy pay entitlement, and any accrued but untaken holiday balance. Send this by email so there is a record.

You are not required to accept their figures at this stage. You are establishing what they are proposing, in writing, so you can verify them.

Calculate your statutory redundancy pay.

Use the GOV.UK statutory redundancy pay calculator to produce your own figure. You need your age, your weekly pay (capped at £643 for 2024–25), and your complete years of continuous employment. The multiplier is 0.5 weeks' pay per year under 22, one week's pay per year aged 22–40, and 1.5 weeks' pay per year over 41.

Compare your figure against anything your employer has confirmed in writing. If the figures diverge, note the discrepancy. Do not raise it yet — wait until you have their written confirmation from Day 4.

Gather your employment documents.

Assemble: your employment contract, any offer letters or variation letters, recent payslips (at least three months), your P60 if available, and any written communications about the redundancy to date. If these are accessible via an employer portal, download them now — access may be removed at short notice.

Note any accrued but untaken annual leave. This is a contractual entitlement. It must either be taken during the notice period or paid out on termination. It does not simply disappear.

Notify HMRC of a change in circumstances if your income is changing. This affects tax code and any tax credit entitlements.

Review. Identify what is outstanding.

Check that you have: a written acknowledgement on record, a Universal Credit claim in progress, written confirmation of terms requested from your employer, and your key documents assembled.

If consultation meetings have been scheduled, confirm you have been given adequate notice of them and that you know your right to be accompanied. A trade union representative or a workplace colleague may attend with you.

If you have received a settlement agreement, do not sign it this week. You are entitled to independent legal advice before signing, and your employer is required to contribute to the cost of that advice. Read the settlement section of this publication before any further action.