Ask Marina: My company does not have as much business as before and people are talking about redundancies. If I am made redundant, what am I entitled to?

I am sorry to hear about your problems at work.

Before an employer can make redundancies it must go through a process of consultation with its employees to decide if there are any alternatives to redundancies such as working reduced hours or reducing pay.

If redundancies are still necessary, employers must select employees for redundancy on a fair and objective basis. The employer must then consider if it can offer any suitable alternative employment to those employees.

At the end of this process, if a person is made redundant, their entitlements will depend on various factors. An employee must have been employed for at least two years to be entitled to redundancy payment.

This will be one week’s pay (capped at £400 per week) for every full year worked to a maximum of 20 years. For the years an employee is over 41 years old, this is multiplied by 1.5 and for those under 22, this is multiplied by 0.5. Entitlements no longer increase after an employee is 61, no matter how long they have been working or their age. You can find a redundancy calculator at www.direct.gov.uk

You are also entitled to work or be paid your notice period and outstanding holiday pay.

If your employer goes bust, the Government will make some payment to you if you make a claim and you can find further information at www.insolvency.gov.uk

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