Reviewed, edited and approved by Editor-in-chief Daniel Sköld · Updated 31 October 2026
Contents
It usually happens in a meeting room booked for half an hour with no agenda. There’s someone from HR, a box of tissues nobody mentions, and a phrase like “new structure” or “fresh direction”. A few weeks later you see your old job on LinkedIn, given to someone who was doing their GCSEs when you got your first company car.
This happens to a lot of men in their fifties, and the damage to your pride tends to last longer than the damage to your bank balance. Here’s how to get the money and the law right, and then how to get going again.
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How much redundancy pay am I actually entitled to?
Less than you’d hope, unless your contract says otherwise. Statutory redundancy pay applies if you’ve worked for your employer for at least two years. For each full year of service you get half a week’s pay for years worked under 22, one week’s pay for years between 22 and 40, and a week and a half for years worked from 41 onwards. Only your last 20 years count.
The catch is the cap. For redundancies on or after 6 April 2026, a week’s pay is capped at £751 in England, Scotland and Wales, so the most anyone can get is £22,530. Northern Ireland sets its own limit, which is a little higher at £783 a week, up to £23,490. If you were on £90,000 a year, the law treats you as if you earned about £39,000. That’s why your contract, any enhanced company scheme and your negotiating position matter far more than the statutory sum.
On tax, the first £30,000 of a genuine redundancy or termination payment is free of income tax and National Insurance. Pay in lieu of notice, holiday pay owed and bonuses are taxed as normal earnings. Check the breakdown on any offer before you sign.
Is it age discrimination if they replaced me with someone younger?
It might be. Under the Equality Act 2010, age is a protected characteristic in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own rules under separate age regulations, but they cover similar ground. A redundancy has to be a real redundancy, meaning the work you did has gone or shrunk. If the same job turns up again under a new title with a younger person in it, that’s a warning sign.
Watch for indirect discrimination too. That means selection criteria that look neutral but hit older staff harder, such as “digital fluency” scored on gut feel, or a restructure that keeps the “high-potential” grades and cuts the senior ones. Age is unusual among protected characteristics because an employer can sometimes justify treating people differently by age. But they have to show a legitimate aim and proportionate means. “We wanted fresh energy” doesn’t usually pass that test.
The best-known British case is still Miriam O’Reilly, who won her age discrimination claim against the BBC in 2011 after being dropped from Countryfile. It reminded every employer that age bias doesn’t stay hidden just because it’s never written down.
The deadline is tight. You normally have three months less one day from the dismissal to start a claim, and you must go through early conciliation with Acas first. In Northern Ireland that’s the Labour Relations Agency. Discrimination compensation isn’t capped, which is why employers often prefer a quiet settlement agreement. If you’re offered one, you must get independent legal advice for it to be valid, and employers usually pay towards that advice.
The law can get you a fair exit. It can’t give you the next job, so don’t spend a year arguing with your old employer instead of looking.
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What help can Jobcentre Plus give a redundant manager?
Many men in their fifties would sooner have a filling than go to the Jobcentre. Get over it. You’ve paid National Insurance for 30 years, and New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance exists for exactly this. It depends on your contributions, not your savings or your partner’s income, and it’s paid for up to six months. Universal Credit is different because it’s means-tested, and a large redundancy payment counts as savings.
Bigger redundancies also bring in specialist support. That’s the Rapid Response Service in England, PACE in Scotland and ReAct+ in Wales, which can help with retraining. The DWP also promotes a Mid-Life MOT, a free review of work, money and health for people in their fifties. It’s more useful than it sounds.
Outplacement: worth fighting for
If you’re leaving a senior role, ask for outplacement support as part of the deal. Firms such as LHH and Right Management provide coaching, help with your CV and interview practice. The best ones are honest about what you’re really worth in the market, which can be hard to hear. Outplacement counselling paid for by your employer is generally tax-free for you, so it’s often easier to win than a bigger cheque. Ask for at least three months of it. A weekend workshop won’t do much.
How do I get back into work through LinkedIn after 50?
Treat LinkedIn as your shop window. Most recruiters search it before they read a CV. Update your profile before you tell anyone, write a headline about what you fix rather than what you were called, and cut your career history down to the last 15 years. The 1993 graduate scheme isn’t helping you.
The “Open to Work” setting can be shown only to recruiters if you’d rather not have the green banner. More importantly, message people. Former colleagues, suppliers and people you once helped are far more likely to find you a role than any number of applications through job boards. Roughly seven in ten people aged 50 to 64 are in work, according to the Office for National Statistics, so finding work at this age is normal. What usually blocks people is falling out of the habit of looking.
Finally, the motivation problem. Losing a title hurts because many of us let it do the job of a personality. The men who bounce back fastest stop asking “how do I get back to where I was?” and ask “what am I good at that someone will pay for?” The answer might be interim management, consultancy, a smaller firm, or a step down that turns out to be easier to live with.
In short
If you’re made redundant and replaced by someone younger, start by checking your contract, statutory redundancy pay (capped at £751 a week from April 2026, £783 in Northern Ireland) and how the first £30,000 is taxed. If the job wasn’t really cut, you may have an age discrimination claim under the Equality Act 2010, but you need to contact Acas within three months less one day. Push for outplacement support as part of your exit, claim the New Style JSA you’ve paid for, and put most of your energy into your contacts rather than your grievances. Has losing a title ever done you a favour? Readers who’ve been through it may have the most useful answers.
Andy Irwin writes about the way we live now for men 45 and over: work, relationships, mental health, getting older, and the trends and debates that land on men in the middle of life. With the facts, a dry sense of humour, and no lectures.
One of Midcent's writers. Spotted something? Write to andy@midcent.uk.
Turned down for a job because you’re the wrong side of 50? The Equality Act 2010 covers applicants too. Here’s how Acas conciliation, tribunals and compensation actually work.
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One year you’re running the meeting, the next you’re left off the invite. Why power drains away from men over 50 at work, and what the law lets you do about it.
Passed over, plateaued or quietly put out to grass? Here’s how to deal with a stalled career in your fifties, from redundancy rights to free careers advice.
