Voluntary Redundancy Offer: What to Check Before You Decide -- 48-Hour Guide

Your employer has offered you voluntary redundancy. You have days to decide. Before you accept or decline, read this.

A voluntary redundancy offer is a significant financial and legal decision. Accept the wrong offer and you leave money on the table. Decline without understanding the risk and you may face compulsory selection on worse terms. Sign a settlement agreement without advice and you waive claims you did not know you had.

This guide covers: how to calculate the full value of the offer (redundancy pay, notice, holiday, benefits, tax), the seven questions to ask before you decide, whether you can negotiate and how, what happens if you decline, the tax treatment of each element, settlement agreements and what you give up by signing, and post-termination restrictions.

Written by Eugene Pienaar, Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales (non-practising). For educational purposes only. Not legal advice.