Make a role redundant in Ireland, the right way.

Redundancy, done right — for Irish employers

Making a role redundant is a legal process, not just a payment. Get the steps out of order — most commonly, deciding before you consult — and even a genuine redundancy can become an unfair dismissal at the Workplace Relations Commission. This free AI toolkit walks you through a compliant redundancy for your exact situation and builds the evidence pack — the letters, records and figures — that shows you followed the process.

The redundancy process, step by step

1. Business case — record the operational reason the role is no longer needed: the requirement for work of a particular kind has ceased or diminished, or the workplace is closing (about the role, not the person).
2. Coverage — check qualifying service (104 weeks’ / 2 years’ continuous service to be entitled to a statutory lump sum) and your head count. If the collective-redundancy thresholds are met, a 30-day information-and-consultation period is triggered and you must notify the Minister (see below).
3. Selection — if you are cutting some of several similar roles, set fair, objective selection criteria and a proper pool before names; the onus is on the employer to show the selection was fair.
4. Consultation — consult genuinely with each affected employee, in good time and before any decision is made, and genuinely invite a response.
5. Consideration — weigh what they raise, and record it.
6. Suitable alternative employment — search for other suitable work in the business before confirming the redundancy.
7. Decision — decide only after consultation is complete.
8. Notice & redundancy payment — give written notice, then notice pay, the statutory redundancy lump sum and any accrued holiday pay.

Statutory redundancy pay

The statutory redundancy lump sum is two weeks’ gross pay for each year of reckonable service, plus one additional bonus week. Gross weekly pay is capped at €600 for the purposes of the calculation, so a higher salary is counted only up to that ceiling.

Worked example: 10 years’ service, with pay at or above the cap, gives (10 × 2 + 1) × €600 = €12,600.

Note: the statutory lump sum is only due to employees with at least 104 weeks (2 years) of continuous service, aged 16 or over. There is no upper age limit and no cap on the number of years of service that count. The lump sum is tax-free — exempt from income tax, USC and PRSI. Your contract may provide more.

Statutory notice periods

This applies after 13 weeks’ continuous service. It is the statutory minimum — the contract of employment may give more, but never less.

Larger redundancies (collective redundancies)

Extra duties apply where more than 20 people are normally employed and, within any 30-day period, the number made redundant reaches the collective threshold:

1. 21 to 49 employed — 5 or more redundancies.
2. 50 to 99 employed — 10 or more redundancies.
3. 100 to 299 employed — 10% or more of the workforce.
4. 300 or more employed — 30 or more redundancies.

Where a collective redundancy arises you must run a 30-day information-and-consultation period with the employees’ representatives before the first dismissal takes effect, give written notification to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment at least 30 days beforehand, and let no dismissal take effect within that 30-day period.

Failing to consult or to notify the Minister is an offence. For a single redundancy this does not apply — but you must still consult that individual before deciding.

Common questions

These statutory figures are current for 2026. Ex-gratia payments above the statutory lump sum have their own tax reliefs (the Basic Exemption, Increased Exemption and Standard Capital Superannuation Benefit) — confirm those with an accountant or Revenue. If you are unsure, contact the Workplace Relations Commission (workplacerelations.ie) or Citizens Information (citizensinformation.ie).