Doubling the Redundancy Protective Award: What Employers Need to Know

From 6 April 2026, the maximum protective award in collective redundancy cases doubled from 90 to 180 days' pay per affected employee, meaning that the financial exposure in a large-scale redundancy exercise has increased significantly. 

The collective redundancy consultation obligation

Where an employer proposes to dismiss as redundant 20 or more employees at one establishment within a period of 90 days or less, collective consultation obligations apply. Employers must inform and consult appropriate employee representatives in good time and no later than:

• 30 days before the first dismissal, where 20-99 redundancies are proposed; or
• 45 days before the first dismissal, where 100+ redundancies are proposed.

The consultation must be undertaken with a view to reaching agreement on: 

• Ways to avoid the dismissals
• Reduce the numbers affected or
• Mitigate the consequences for those who are dismissed.

The Change: Maximum Award Doubled to 180 Days' Pay

From 6 April, 2026, the maximum protective award has been doubled from 90 to 180 days' pay, with the stated aim of deterring employers from deliberately seeking to avoid their collective consultation obligations. Employment Tribunals still retain discretion to make awards for such a period as is just and equitable in all the circumstances, having regard to the seriousness of the employer's default. 

“Pay” is the employee’s actual pay rather than a statutory amount so for some employers, the financial exposure, as well as reputational risks, will be significant. 

Implications for Employers

The financial risk shifted significantly on 6 April 2026. For larger employers, aggregate exposure across a workforce could run to millions of pounds. In 2022/23, Employment Tribunals received 5,026 cases where employers failed to inform and consult on redundancies¹, underlining how frequently these obligations are tested in practice. Even where redundancies are commercially justified, procedural failures (such as starting the consultation too late) can trigger a protective award at the higher level.

Practical Compliance Steps

The doubling of the protective award should be a prompt to businesses to audit and strengthen their collective redundancy procedures now. The following action points should be considered:

1. Review your redundancy policy and process map. Ensure your standard  procedure reflects current statutory minimum consultation periods and the correct identification of appropriate representatives.
2. Train your HR and senior leadership teams. Decision-makers must understand that the obligation to consult is triggered by a proposal to make redundancies. Starting consultation after the decision is effectively made is a common and costly error, a frequent basis for claims that the consultation was a sham as the decision had already been made.
3. Build in adequate lead times into restructuring and/or redundancy plans. Any business case should include a compliance timeline as a matter of course. Advice should be sought before, not after, the structure of a proposed redundancy programme is fixed.
4. Engage representatives early and genuinely. Meaningful consultation promotes fairness and transparency, helps affected employees input into the process, and can assist employers in retaining skilled workers and reducing the risk of disputes.
5. Document everything. Keep detailed records of when consultation began, what information was provided, what responses were received, and how those responses were considered. Documentation is a key line of defence in any Tribunal claim.
6. Take early advice on borderline situations. Where the number of proposed redundancies is close to a statutory threshold, or where identification of the relevant establishment complex, seek advice from the outset whilst changes to the process can still be made. 

Looking Ahead: The 2027 Threshold Changes and the Current Consultation

The doubling of the protective award is not the only collective redundancy reform employers need to plan for. As mentioned above, collective consultation obligations are triggered where 20 or more redundancies are proposed at one establishment within a 90 day period. In some cases, this has allowed employers to make large numbers of redundancies across multiple sites without triggering collective consultation obligations, 

The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a wider threshold involving more than one establishment, meaning that multi-site redundancies may be aggregated when assessing whether the new threshold is met.

The precise mechanics of the new threshold triggers are yet to be confirmed. The Government is currently consulting on this, with the consultation closing on 21 May 2026. The changes are expected to come into force in 2027.

Final thoughts

The doubling of the protective award on 6 April 2026 was a concrete and immediate change that raises the financial stakes for any employer that falls short of its collective consultation obligations. With further threshold reforms on the horizon the cost of getting it wrong has just doubled.

With further reforms still to come throughout 2026 and 2027, now is not the time to stand still. Keep your organisation informed and prepared by visiting the Bevan Brittan Employment Rights Act 25 Hub.

 1 Department of Business and Trade - Collective redundancy factsheet.