I’ve Been Made Redundant, What Should I Do Next
Being told that your job is ending can create two problems at once: the practical loss of income and the emotional shock of losing something that may have structured a large part of your life.
Being told that your job is ending can create two problems at once: the practical loss of income and the emotional shock of losing something that may have structured a large part of your life.
You do not need to solve your career, finances and employment rights in the first day. Start by establishing exactly what has happened and what you are entitled to receive.
Get the decision and dates clear
Keep the redundancy letter and note your final employment date, notice arrangements, outstanding holiday and what your employer says about redundancy pay.
Redundancy is a form of dismissal because the employer needs fewer people to do particular work. Depending on your circumstances, rights can include consultation, notice, redundancy pay, suitable alternative employment and time off to look for work.
Ask for anything you do not understand to be explained in writing.
Check the money before making big decisions
Work out what income will stop and when.
List redundancy pay, notice pay, final salary, unused holiday, savings and essential household commitments. Check potential benefit entitlement early rather than waiting until money becomes urgent.
If you have debts or a mortgage, early conversations with lenders or free debt advisers can create more options than waiting for missed payments.
Look at alternative employment carefully
Your employer may offer another role.
Whether alternative employment is suitable can depend on the work, terms, pay, status, hours, location and your own skills and circumstances.
Where a suitable alternative role is offered, there is normally a statutory four-week trial period. Do not reject an offer casually if redundancy pay could be affected; ask for advice if suitability is genuinely disputed.
If something about the process does not feel right
Redundancy should be genuine and selection should be fair.
Questions worth preserving include: what roles are disappearing, who was placed in the selection pool, what criteria were used, how were scores reached, what consultation took place and what alternatives were considered?
If you believe the process was influenced by discrimination, whistleblowing or another protected reason, obtain employment advice rather than assuming redundancy makes the issue legally irrelevant.
Your reaction is not a measure of your employability
Redundancy can feel like personal rejection even where the employer says the role, rather than the person, is disappearing.
Try to separate “my job has ended” from “I have failed”.
Give yourself a short practical plan: understand the paperwork, stabilise household money, update your CV, tell useful contacts and identify the next few applications or conversations. Momentum can be more manageable than trying to design an entirely new future immediately.
Last reviewed
6 September 2026
Important informationThis guide provides general information only and does not constitute legal, financial, medical or other professional advice. Employment rights depend on individual circumstances and the law can change. If you are concerned about your legal position, check current information and consider advice from Acas, a trade union, an appropriately qualified adviser or an employment-law professional.