Statutory redundancy pay by country
Germany and the UK base redundancy pay on length of service and age; Australia uses a weekly allowance increasing with service; Spain requires 20 days per year of service; France and Canada follow statutory schedules; Austria provides severance on social plan grounds. Formulas and eligibility vary considerably.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
| Country | Payment formula | Minimum service | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 0.5–1.5 weeks' pay per year (based on age and service) | Two years continuous service | Employees dismissed due to redundancy |
| Australia | 4–16 weeks at base rate (by service years) | One year continuous service | Employees terminated at employer's initiative for redundancy |
| Germany | Up to 12 monthly salaries (higher for older workers with longer service) | Statutory dismissal protection (after probation) | Employees with written termination notice accepted by court |
| France | Determined by regulation; minimum requirement after 8 months service | 8 months continuous service | Employees with permanent contract dismissed for cause, not gross misconduct |
| Austria | No statutory severance; paid through social plan or settlement | By agreement or court order | Employees with regular employment contracts |
Under review
The statute text for these countries has changed since we last checked it, so their figures are hidden until we review them again: Spain, Canada.
Country by country
United Kingdom
- Rule
- Employment Rights Act 1996, s 162
- Calculation: 0.5 weeks for each year under age 22, 1 week for each year aged 22–40, 1.5 weeks for each year over 40.
- Maximum of 20 years counted toward payment; capped at statutory limit.
- Service must be continuous; normal turnover does not trigger payment.
one and a half weeks' pay for a year of employment in which the employee was not below the age of forty-one, b one week's pay for a year of employment (not within paragraph (a)) in which he was not below the age of twenty-two, and c half a week's pay for each year of employmentWhere twenty years of employment have been reckoned under subsection (1), no account shall be taken under that subsection of any year of employment earlier than those twenty years Australia
- Rule
- Fair Work Act 2009, s 119
- Schedule: 4 weeks for 1–2 years, 6 weeks for 2–3 years, up to 16 weeks for 9–10 years service. After 10 years: 12 weeks.
- Calculated at employee's base rate for ordinary hours.
- Casual employees do not receive redundancy pay.
An employee is entitled to be paid redundancy pay by the employer if the employee's employment is terminatedat the employer's initiative because the employer no longer requires the job done by the employee to be done by anyone Germany
- Rule
- Kündigungsschutzgesetz (KSchG) § 10
- Base: up to 12 months. Enhanced for workers aged 50+ with 15+ years service (15 months), or aged 55+ with 20+ years service (18 months).
- Calculated on monthly earnings in the month employment ends.
- Set by court when employer applies for dismissal permission.
Als Abfindung ist ein Betrag bis zu zwölf Monatsverdiensten festzusetzenhat der Arbeitnehmer das fünfundfünfzigste Lebensjahr vollendet und hat das Arbeitsverhältnis mindestens zwanzig Jahre bestanden, so ist ein Betrag bis zu achtzehn Monatsverdiensten festzusetzen France
- Rule
- Code du travail, art. L1234-9
- Statute requires severance except for gross misconduct (faute grave).
- Calculation method and rates set by regulation, varying by length of service.
- Does not apply to probationary period or gross misconduct.
Le salarié titulaire d'un contrat de travail à durée indéterminée, licencié alors qu'il compte 8 mois d'ancienneté ininterrompus au service du même employeur, a droit, sauf en cas de faute grave, à une indemnité de licenciement Austria
- Rule
- Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB) § 1159
- Austria has no statutory redundancy pay; severance is negotiated.
- Social plans (Sozialpläne) between employer and works council may provide payments.
- Courts may order compensation for procedurally unfair dismissals.
kann der Dienstgeber das Dienstverhältnis mit Ablauf eines jeden Kalendervierteljahres durch vorgängige Kündigung lösen Countries not in this table yet
Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Japan are not included; their statutory redundancy pay regimes are not yet fully ingested or require additional specialist employment law statutes.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
Use this data
The table and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit LawAsked and link to this page. Quoted statute text stays under the terms of its official source.
How to cite this page
LawAsked, “Statutory redundancy pay by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/redundancy-pay (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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