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Benefit Check UK

Redundancy support

Notice pay and PILON after redundancy

5 min read

Your notice period is the time between being told you're redundant and your employment officially ending. You're either worked through it, paid in lieu, or sent on garden leave.

Reviewed against official guidance · 26 May 2026

Statutory minimum notice

  • 1 week if you've worked there 1 month to 2 years.
  • 1 week for each full year worked, between 2 and 12 years.
  • 12 weeks if you've worked there 12+ years.
  • Your contract may give you longer — you get whichever is greater.

Payment in lieu of notice (PILON)

PILON is when your employer ends your job immediately and pays you for the notice period you would have worked. It's taxed as normal earnings — not as a redundancy lump sum.

How PILON affects Universal Credit

PILON usually counts as earnings in the UC assessment period it's paid in. That can reduce or wipe out UC for one or two months, but you can normally claim again once the payment is gone.

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Sources

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