Redundancy During Your Probation Period: What Rights Do You Actually Have? (2026)
Can you be made redundant during a probation period in the UK? What statutory redundancy pay, notice pay and protections apply — and which don't — for employees dismissed while still on probation in 2026.
Can you actually be made redundant while on probation?
Yes. There is no UK employment law provision that shields an employee on probation from redundancy. A probation period is a trial phase for assessing suitability for a role — it has no bearing on whether the role itself continues to exist. If a business genuinely no longer needs the position (due to restructuring, a lost contract, automation, or a broader headcount reduction), that role can be made redundant whether the person in it has worked there for three days or three years.
Redundancy Pay Calculator
Calculate your statutory redundancy pay based on age, length of service and weekly pay.
Open Redundancy Pay calculatorWhy statutory redundancy pay almost never applies
Statutory redundancy pay is calculated using a formula based on age, weekly pay (capped) and complete years of continuous service, but it only becomes payable once an employee has at least two years of continuous service with the same employer. Because a probation period typically covers the first three to six months of employment, someone made redundant during probation will not have reached the two-year threshold, and therefore will not be entitled to statutory redundancy pay, regardless of how the dismissal is labelled.
Some employers choose to pay an enhanced or discretionary redundancy payment to short-service employees anyway, as a goodwill gesture or to reduce the risk of dispute, but this is not a legal requirement in the way it is for employees who have passed the two-year mark.
What you are still entitled to
| Entitlement | Applies during probation? |
|---|---|
| Statutory redundancy pay | No (requires 2 years' service) |
| Statutory minimum notice | Yes, once employed 1 month or more |
| Contractual notice (if longer/shorter) | Whichever is longer of statutory minimum or contract terms usually applies |
| Accrued but unused holiday pay | Yes, always |
| Genuine redundancy consultation | Yes, in principle, though process is often lighter-touch for short service |
| Unfair dismissal claim (ordinary) | Almost never (requires 2 years' service, with narrow exceptions) |
| £30,000 tax-free threshold on redundancy element | Yes, if a redundancy payment is made, though notice pay itself is always taxable |
Notice Period Calculator
Calculate UK statutory and contractual notice period plus PILON or garden leave pay.
Open Notice Period calculatorNotice pay: what you should expect
Once you've been continuously employed for one calendar month, you're entitled to at least the statutory minimum notice period — one week, rising with length of service after two years. Many contracts specify a shorter notice period specifically for the probation window (commonly one week, sometimes even shorter), but the statutory minimum always applies once the one-month threshold is passed, so you should receive whichever figure is longer.
If your contract includes a pay in lieu of notice (PILON) clause, your employer can end your employment immediately and pay you the equivalent of your notice period as a lump sum instead of requiring you to work it. This payment is fully taxable as earnings and subject to employee National Insurance in the normal way — it does not benefit from the £30,000 tax-free redundancy threshold, because notice pay is treated as ordinary earnings rather than a redundancy payment.
Is it really redundancy, or something else?
Because short-service employees generally cannot bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim, there is understandably less external scrutiny of whether a dismissal labelled "redundancy" during probation is genuine. However, a small number of dismissal reasons are classed as automatically unfair and require no minimum length of service to challenge — these include dismissal connected to pregnancy or maternity leave, whistleblowing, asserting a statutory right (such as requesting the National Minimum Wage), or trade union membership. If you believe your redundancy is a pretext for one of these reasons, seeking advice from ACAS or a solicitor promptly is worthwhile, since short time limits (usually three months less a day from the dismissal date) apply to any tribunal claim.
Take-Home Pay Calculator
Calculate your net salary after income tax, National Insurance and student loan deductions.
Open Take-Home Pay calculatorFinancial planning after a probation redundancy
Because statutory redundancy pay is unlikely and notice periods are often short during probation, the financial cushion after this type of redundancy is typically much smaller than for a long-serving employee. Practical steps worth taking immediately:
- Confirm in writing the exact reason for dismissal and the final payment breakdown (notice pay, accrued holiday, any discretionary payment).
- Apply for Universal Credit or Jobseeker's Allowance promptly if needed — a genuine redundancy dismissal does not typically trigger the sanctions that a dismissal for misconduct might.
- Request a reference confirming the redundancy reason, to reassure future employers that the short tenure reflects a business decision rather than a performance issue.
- Review your budget against a shorter runway than a full statutory redundancy payment would have provided, since the notice pay and any accrued holiday may be the only cushion available.
Frequently asked questions
Can I be made redundant during my probation period?
Yes. There is no legal rule preventing an employer from making a role redundant while an employee is still on probation. A genuine redundancy — where the role itself has disappeared, not the individual being singled out — can happen at any point in employment, including in the first weeks or months of a new job.
Do I get statutory redundancy pay if I'm made redundant during probation?
Almost never. Statutory redundancy pay requires at least two years of continuous service with the employer. Someone on probation, by definition, is usually within their first few months of employment, so they will not meet the two-year qualifying threshold and will not receive statutory redundancy pay.
Am I still entitled to notice pay if made redundant on probation?
Yes, generally. Statutory minimum notice (at least one week once you've been employed for one month or more) applies regardless of probationary status, though many probation periods have a shorter contractual notice period specified in the contract — check whether the contract's probation-specific notice clause or the statutory minimum applies, as you're entitled to whichever is longer once the one-month threshold is passed.
Can my employer just say it's redundancy to avoid unfair dismissal claims?
An employer must be able to demonstrate a genuine redundancy situation — that the role itself is no longer needed, due to business closure, workplace closure, or a reduced need for employees to do a particular kind of work. If the real reason is performance or conduct, mislabelling it as redundancy doesn't change the underlying issue, though for employees with under two years' service this rarely matters in practice for unfair dismissal purposes, since ordinary unfair dismissal protection also requires two years' service in most cases.
Should I still get a redundancy consultation process during probation?
Employers are legally required to consult employees individually in a genuine redundancy situation regardless of length of service, though the statutory collective consultation rules (for 20+ redundancies at one establishment) apply separately based on numbers affected, not individual service length. In practice, many employers apply a lighter-touch process for short-service employees, but a complete absence of any consultation can still be challenged in limited circumstances.
Does being made redundant during probation affect my next Universal Credit or Jobseeker's Allowance claim?
No specific penalty applies simply because the redundancy happened during probation. The usual rules apply: if you were dismissed for gross misconduct rather than genuine redundancy, a sanction could apply, but a genuine redundancy dismissal does not trigger the same conduct-related sanctions that a dismissal for misconduct might.
Can I claim unfair dismissal if I think the redundancy during probation wasn't genuine?
Ordinary unfair dismissal claims generally require two years' continuous service, which almost no probationary employee will have. However, a small number of 'automatically unfair' reasons for dismissal — such as pregnancy, whistleblowing, or asserting a statutory right — do not require any minimum service length, so if one of those applies, a claim may still be possible regardless of how short your service was.
Will a redundancy during probation appear as a gap or red flag to future employers?
A short period of employment ending in redundancy is common and increasingly well understood by employers and recruiters, particularly during periods of wider economic restructuring. Being able to explain clearly that the role was made redundant (rather than a performance issue) is usually sufficient, and a reference confirming redundancy as the reason for leaving can help reassure future employers.
Do I get pay in lieu of notice (PILON) if my contract has one during probation?
If your contract includes a PILON clause, your employer can pay you a lump sum instead of requiring you to work your notice, and this pay is taxable and subject to National Insurance in the normal way. If there is no PILON clause, terminating early without working notice can, in principle, constitute breach of contract, though most employers still choose to pay in lieu by agreement even without an explicit clause.
Is redundancy pay during probation tax-free like standard redundancy payments?
The same £30,000 tax-free threshold that applies to genuine redundancy payments generally would apply here too, though because statutory redundancy pay itself is unlikely to be due, most probationary redundancy payments are actually enhanced contractual or discretionary payments, or notice pay, which have their own distinct tax treatment — notice pay itself is always fully taxable as earnings, regardless of the £30,000 threshold that applies to the redundancy element.
Try the calculators
Redundancy Pay Calculator
Calculate your statutory redundancy pay based on age, length of service and weekly pay.
Notice Period Calculator
Calculate UK statutory and contractual notice period plus PILON or garden leave pay.
Take-Home Pay Calculator
Calculate your net salary after income tax, National Insurance and student loan deductions.
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