Collective Redundancy Protective Awards: The 180-Day Maximum Since April 2026
Checked 13 October 2026. From 6 April 2026, the maximum protective award a tribunal can make for failure to comply with collective redundancy consultation requirements increased from 90 to 180 days’ pay per affected employee. The change is now in force for dismissals taking effect on or after that date; it is not a proposal or a new redundancy-pay formula.
This guide covers Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). Northern Ireland has a separate employment-law system, so check current nidirect redundancy consultation guidance before applying it there. This is general information, not case-specific legal advice.
Illustrative stock photo of colleagues meeting; it does not depict an actual redundancy consultation. Photo by Edmond Dantès on Pexels.
What changed?
The maximum protective award for a failure to consult collectively doubled from 90 to 180 days’ pay. A tribunal decides whether to make an award and its period; 180 days is a ceiling, not an automatic payment or a flat redundancy entitlement.
The change is distinct from statutory redundancy pay, notice pay and holiday pay. It does not calculate or replace those amounts. An employee may have separate entitlements depending on their circumstances.
When does collective consultation apply?
Current GOV.UK and Acas guidance says collective consultation is required when an employer proposes to dismiss 20 or more employees as redundant at one establishment within a 90-day period. The process involves appropriate employee representatives and must begin in good time. The statutory minimum period before the first dismissal takes effect is generally 30 days for 20–99 proposed redundancies and 45 days for 100 or more.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 includes a future organisation-wide threshold change, but do not treat a consultation or an uncommenced measure as current law. Check the latest commencement timetable before relying on future proposals. The existing 20-at-one-establishment threshold remains the current trigger in the guidance checked for this article.
Which dismissals get the new maximum?
The commencement regulations provide that the increased maximum applies where dismissals take effect on or after 6 April 2026. That makes the dismissal date relevant; the date a proposal was announced is not, by itself, the test. If a restructuring spans the commencement date, get advice on the specific timeline rather than assuming one date settles every part of the process.
A practical employer records check
- Keep a dated count of proposed redundancy dismissals by establishment and rolling 90-day period.
- Record when representatives were selected or elected, when information was provided and when consultation began.
- Keep meeting notes, alternatives considered, employee and representative feedback, and the employer’s responses.
- Track when notices are issued and each dismissal takes effect.
- Separate consultation evidence from individual selection and statutory-pay calculations.
For a process with scoring, the site’s Redundancy Score Matrix offers an editable way to record criteria and scores; it cannot determine whether a pool or selection is fair. The consultation meeting script can help organise discussion points, but it does not make a consultation meaningful by itself. Our alternative-role trial-period checklist covers a different part of the process.
FAQs
Does every employee automatically receive 180 days’ pay?
No. A tribunal may make a protective award if collective consultation duties were breached and decides the period, up to the statutory maximum.
Does this change the 20-employee trigger?
The current published guidance continues to describe the trigger as 20 or more proposed redundancy dismissals at one establishment within 90 days. Separate future reforms should not be reported as in force without checking commencement.
Does the award replace redundancy pay?
No. Protective awards concern failures in collective consultation. Statutory redundancy pay, notice and holiday pay are separate issues.
