Introduction

Legislation provides for payments to be made to employees in certain circumstances. Employees may be entitled to guarantee payments, redundancy payments, payment by the Department of Trade and Industry of certain debts owed by insolvent employers, damages for unfair dismissal. All these payments and awards are subject to financial limits, and this document gives general information about the sums payable. It is not intended to be a complete or authoritative statement of the law.

Under the legislation, the Secretary of State is required to vary the limits on the various awards and payments mentioned above in line with the movement of the Retail Prices Index using the September Index in each year as the reference point. The changes are made by order as soon as is practicable.

Further information is available from any office of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).