Redundancy pay and age

A. Prior to the introduction of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, there was no entitlement to statutory redundancy pay for those over 65. However, since 1 October 2006, unless the individual is retired at the organisation’s normal retirement age (which is usually 65) a redundancy payment will be due.

To not pay it would amount to age discrimination and in these circumstances your member would be well advised to act quickly and bring a claim in the tribunal challenging such a decision.

Also, your member may have a contractual entitlement to a redundancy payment. Consider whether the undertaking to make a redundancy payment irrespective of age and service, can be shown to have been incorporated into individual’s contracts.

This may have occurred by expressly being stated to be a contractual entitlement, or by virtue of custom and practice (for example, by being consistently and automatically applied over a period of years and being widely known about).