Redundancy Notification Letter (Ireland)

A Redundancy Notification Letter in Ireland records an employer decision affecting an employee's engagement and the reasons and procedure followed, under the framework of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967–2014. Redundancy in Ireland is defined by the Redundancy Payments Acts as a dismissal that arises wholly or mainly from the employer's need to reduce the workforce due to the closure of the business, the closure of the employee's place of work, or a diminished need for work of a particular kind. A genuine redundancy is a fair reason for dismissal under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977–2015, provided the employer follows fair procedures. If a dismissal is effected in the guise of redundancy but is in fact motivated by performance concerns, misconduct, or any other reason unconnected to genuine workforce restructuring, it is likely to be found unfair by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) or the Labour Court. The Redundancy Payments Acts 1967–2014 provide for a statutory redundancy payment for employees with at least two years of continuous service. The payment is calculated as two weeks' pay per year of reckonable service plus one bonus week, subject to a weekly pay ceiling of EUR 600. Reckonable service for this purpose includes all continuous service with the employer, and certain periods of absence (such as maternity leave, adoptive leave, and carer's leave) count towards reckonable service. An employee who receives a statutory redundancy payment must be provided with a Redundancy Certificate (Form RP50) as required under the Redundancy Payments Acts. The Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973–2005 prescribe the minimum statutory notice periods that must be given on termination, ranging from one week (for employees with 13 weeks to two years of service) to eight weeks (for employees with 15 or more years of service). An employee may also be entitled to a longer contractual notice period if the employment contract specifies a period exceeding the statutory minimum, and the employer must give whichever is the greater. The employee may be entitled to pay in lieu of notice where the employer requires the employee to leave immediately, and such payment is subject to income tax, USC, and PRSI in the normal way unless it qualifies for statutory exemption. The Protection of Employment Act 1977 (as amended by the Protection of Employment (Amendment) Act 2024) imposes additional consultation and notification obligations where 20 or more employees are being made redundant within a 30-day period (collective redundancy). In a collective redundancy situation, the employer must initiate consultations with employee representatives at least 30 days before the first redundancy takes effect and must notify the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Failure to comply with these obligations is a criminal offence. Section 7 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 entitles an employee under notice of redundancy to reasonable paid time off during working hours to seek new employment or arrange training. The Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977–2015 protect employees from dismissal motivated by discriminatory reasons or protected characteristics, and any redundancy selection that operates to penalise an employee for trade union activity, pregnancy, or making a protected disclosure will be found unfair by the WRC. The redundancy notification letter serves as the formal written record of the employer's decision and the employee's statutory and contractual entitlements.

An Irish Redundancy Notification Letter is needed whenever an employer makes a decision to make one or more positions redundant and wishes to communicate that decision formally and in compliance with the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967–2014.

You need a Redundancy Notification Letter when you are: closing the business entirely or closing a particular location; restructuring the organisation and eliminating specific roles; experiencing a genuine downturn in business that necessitates a reduction in the workforce; automating or outsourcing functions that were previously performed by employees; or merging departments or combining roles as part of an efficiency programme.

The letter should be issued after the consultation process has been completed. The employer should have explored alternatives to redundancy — such as redeployment to a suitable alternative role, reduced hours, temporary lay-off or short-time working, or an invitation to apply for voluntary redundancy — and should have consulted with the employee about the selection criteria, the possibility of alternative roles, and the proposed redundancy payment, giving the employee a meaningful opportunity to respond before the final decision is communicated.

For collective redundancies involving 20 or more employees, the notification letter should be issued after the mandatory 30-day consultation period required by the Protection of Employment Act 1977 (as amended) has been completed and after the required notification has been sent to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Where the employer is a company that has entered insolvency, the letter should be prepared in conjunction with the appointed liquidator, examiner, or receiver, who will have specific obligations under the Insolvency Payments Scheme administered by the Department of Social Protection.

From the employee's perspective, receiving a written redundancy notification letter is important because it starts the clock running on several time-sensitive entitlements — including the employee's right to give counter-notice (under section 10 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967) to terminate the employment before the employer's notice period expires while preserving the right to statutory redundancy pay, and the right to appeal the selection decision. The letter also provides documentary evidence of the redundancy for the employee's records and for any Revenue Commissioners or Department of Social Protection purposes.

The redundancy notification letter should be prepared with care, as it may be relied upon in any subsequent WRC proceedings brought by the employee challenging the fairness of the redundancy or seeking to dispute the calculation of the statutory payment. Employers are strongly advised to take legal advice from a solicitor experienced in employment law before issuing a redundancy notification letter in any but the most straightforward cases, particularly where the redundancy is disputed, where the employee has a potential discrimination or whistleblowing claim, or where enhanced payments are being offered subject to conditions.

Under the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015, enforced by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), parties to this agreement retain rights under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977-2015 and the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 grants the WRC adjudication officers jurisdiction to hear claims. The Data Protection Act 2018, implementing GDPR in Ireland, governs personal data processed under this agreement. Revenue Commissioners require PAYE/PRSI compliance for all employment arrangements.

A thorough Irish Redundancy Notification Letter should contain several essential elements to protect both the employer and the employee and to comply with the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967–2014 and the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973–2005.

The reason for redundancy section should explain the business reason for the redundancy in clear, factual terms — such as the closure of a location, the elimination of a role due to automation, or a reduction in the workforce due to a downturn in business — demonstrating that a genuine redundancy situation exists within the meaning of the Redundancy Payments Acts.

The selection criteria section should explain the criteria used to select the employee for redundancy from the pool of affected employees and confirm that the criteria were applied fairly, objectively, and without discrimination on any of the protected grounds under the Employment Equality Acts 1998–2015.

The consultation summary section should briefly record that the employer has consulted with the employee, explored alternatives to redundancy, and given the employee an opportunity to respond, in compliance with the fair procedures requirements established by the WRC and the Labour Court under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977–2015.

The statutory redundancy payment section should calculate the employee's statutory redundancy entitlement in full, showing the start date of employment, the years and months of reckonable service, the weekly pay (capped at EUR 600 if applicable), and the total statutory payment. This section should also state the proposed payment date and the method of payment.

The enhanced payment section (if applicable) should detail any enhanced or ex gratia redundancy payment being offered above the statutory minimum, the conditions under which it is offered (including whether a signed waiver or settlement agreement is required), and any tax treatment under section 123 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 and the Revenue Commissioners' exemptions for ex gratia termination payments.

The notice period section should state the contractual or statutory notice period being given in accordance with the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973–2005, and whether the employee will work the notice period, be placed on garden leave, or receive payment in lieu of notice.

The right to time off section should inform the employee of their entitlement under Section 7 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 to reasonable paid time off during the notice period to look for new employment or to arrange training.

The appeal section should inform the employee of their right to appeal the redundancy selection decision and set out the appeal process and timeframe. The employee also has the right to bring a claim to the WRC if they believe the redundancy is unfair.

The final pay section should confirm the arrangements for payment of final salary, any accrued but untaken annual leave (which must be paid out on termination under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997), and any other outstanding amounts.

The return of company property section should specify the company property (laptop, phone, access cards, confidential documents) to be returned and the date by which it must be returned, and should confirm the employee's ongoing obligations regarding confidential information and, where applicable, post-termination restrictions in the employment contract. The RP50 Redundancy Certificate section should confirm that the employer will complete and issue Form RP50 (the Redundancy Certificate) to the employee as required under section 17 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 — the RP50 is the formal statutory document certifying the redundancy and is required by the Department of Social Protection for processing the statutory redundancy payment where the employer is insolvent or fails to pay. The tax treatment section should confirm the tax treatment of redundancy payments under section 123 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (the basic exemption of EUR 10,160 plus EUR 765 per complete year of service) and section 201 of the 1997 Act (the Standard Capital Superannuation Benefit exemption for long-serving employees), and advise the employee to seek independent tax advice. Where the WRC has jurisdiction to adjudicate on a redundancy dispute under the Workplace Relations Act 2015, a claim must be brought within six months of the date of dismissal (extendable to 12 months for reasonable cause shown), and the letter should note this time limit so the employee can take timely advice if they intend to challenge the selection or payment. The forms-legal.com Redundancy Notification Letter (Ireland) template covers the mandatory elements under Redundancy Payments Acts 1967–2014.