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Redundancy pay calculator for Australia
Under the National Employment Standards, a redundant employee with at least a year of continuous service gets 4 to 16 weeks of base pay depending on service, dropping to 12 weeks at 10 years. Employers with fewer than 15 employees usually pay none under the NES. This calculator applies the scale and shows the notice owed beside it.
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How it works
- 1
Enter the dates
Type the first day of work and the day notice of redundancy is given.
- 2
Enter base pay
Type the base weekly pay for ordinary hours, leaving out overtime and loadings.
- 3
Set the employer size
Tick the box if the employer has fewer than 15 employees, counted with associated entities.
- 4
Read the result
The tiles show redundancy pay, the weeks on the scale, the notice weeks and the service.
The NES scale
The Fair Work Ombudsman lists the minimum: at least 1 year but less than 2, 4 weeks; 2 to 3 years, 6 weeks; 3 to 4, 7 weeks; 4 to 5, 8 weeks; 5 to 6, 10 weeks; 6 to 7, 11 weeks; 7 to 8, 13 weeks; 8 to 9, 14 weeks; 9 to 10, 16 weeks; and 10 years or more, 12 weeks. Service is continuous service with the employer, counted in completed years. Some unpaid leave does not count towards service, though it does not break it.
Why the scale drops at 10 years
The scale falls from 16 weeks at 9 years to 12 weeks at 10 years. The Fair Work Ombudsman explains the drop in its library article on redundancy after 10 years: by then most employees have a long service leave entitlement, and the scale assumes that leave covers part of what redundancy pay would otherwise provide. Some employees whose state long service leave law does not cover them at 10 years can ask the Fair Work Commission about it.
The small business exemption
An employer with fewer than 15 employees at the time of notice is a small business employer and does not have to pay NES redundancy pay. The count includes the employee being made redundant, employees of associated entities and regular casuals, and excludes irregular casuals. An award or agreement can still require redundancy pay, and an insolvent business that was not small when the employee was told can still owe it. Tick the box only when the count is below 15.
Notice comes as well
Redundancy pay is separate from notice. An employee made redundant also gets notice under the NES, or pay in lieu of it, from 1 week for a year or less up to 4 weeks after 5 years, plus a week for an employee over 45 with 2 years' service. The calculator shows the base notice weeks so the letter can state both. Accrued annual leave and long service leave are paid out on top.
Writing it into the letter
A redundancy letter should give the reason, the last day, notice or pay in lieu, the redundancy pay with its weeks, leave owed and the payment date. The AI document generator can write that letter from a short description; give it the figures from this calculator and the employee's dates and it sets them out in numbered paragraphs.
Continuous service, in practice
Service starts on the first day of employment and runs to the day notice is given, as long as it is continuous. Paid leave counts. A period of unpaid leave or unauthorised absence generally does not count towards the length of service but does not break it, so the years before and after join up. A transfer between associated entities or a sale of the business can carry service across. Because the scale moves in whole years, a notice date a few days before an anniversary can cost several weeks of pay, which is worth checking before notice is given.
Limits
- Law checked on 21 October 2026 against the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work Ombudsman. This is arithmetic, not legal advice.
- Base pay is the rate for ordinary hours without overtime, loadings, allowances or bonuses; type that figure.
- Awards and enterprise agreements can give more, and some awards require redundancy pay from small businesses.
- Casuals, fixed term staff at the end of their term and staff dismissed for serious misconduct are outside the scale.
What it does not do
- It does not count the employees for the small business test.
- It does not work out tax, leave owed or long service leave.
- It does not store the dates or pay.
Questions people ask
How many weeks redundancy do I get after 5 years?
Ten weeks of base pay under the NES for at least 5 years but less than 6 years of continuous service. At 6 years it rises to 11 weeks, at 7 years to 13 weeks and at 9 years to 16 weeks, before dropping to 12 weeks from 10 years.
Does a small business pay redundancy?
Not under the NES if it has fewer than 15 employees, counting associated entities and regular casuals. Check the award or agreement, because some require redundancy pay regardless of size, and an employment contract can promise it too. The test is applied when notice is given.
Is redundancy paid on base rate?
Yes. NES redundancy pay uses the base rate of pay for ordinary hours, without incentive payments, bonuses, loadings, monetary allowances, overtime or penalty rates. Notice in lieu, by contrast, uses the full rate of pay, which includes many of those amounts.
Is redundancy pay taxed in Australia?
A genuine redundancy payment is tax free up to a limit that the ATO sets each year from a base amount plus an amount for each completed year of service; the rest is taxed as an employment termination payment. Leave paid out is taxed separately.
Can redundancy pay be reduced?
An employer can apply to the Fair Work Commission to reduce it if it finds the employee other acceptable work or cannot pay. The Commission decides; the employer cannot simply pay less. The calculator shows the full NES figure. Until then, the NES amount is the one owed.
Do casual employees get redundancy pay?
Not under the NES. Casual employees are excluded from the redundancy scale. A casual who has converted to permanent employment counts their service from the start of continuous employment, subject to the rules on casual service. A contract or agreement can still promise more than the NES gives.
Write the redundancy letter
Take what you made here into documents.
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- Long service leave calculator for NSWLong service leave calculator for NSW: 8.67 weeks after 10 years, 4.33 weeks per 5 years after that, and the pro rata test from 5 years when employment ends.
- Statutory redundancy pay calculator for the UKStatutory redundancy pay calculator for the UK: years counted back from your last day, weeks by age band, and the £751 weekly cap from 6 April 2026.
- Salary to hourly calculatorSalary to hourly calculator: turn a yearly salary into an hourly rate, or an hourly rate into a salary, with daily, weekly, fortnightly and monthly pay.
Background reading: the question page on this.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .