TUC 2025: Congress supports the Usdaw call to end age discrimination in redundancy pay

Addressing delegates, Rab Donnelly – Usdaw deputy general secretary said: “It should go without saying that young workers, like all workers, deserve a fair deal at work. But too often we see young workers treated differently because of their age. They can be paid less than their colleagues, while they're doing the same job, even though they’re often paying the same housing bills, the same grocery bills and the same utility bills.

“Some have added pressures, with student debts and tuition fees, while many others are supporting families and caring for relatives. But we shouldn't have to justify why young workers deserve fair pay. Whether it's unfair youth rates in the National Minimum Wage, or age discrimination in the calculation of redundancy pay, the overall principle is the same. If you're old enough to do the work, you're old enough to be paid the full rate. This is why we continue to campaign for fair pay, whatever your age; it's why we continue to push back against stereotyping and assumptions about young people, and it's why we continue to challenge the misconception that young workers should be paid less. 

“It's great news that after many years of campaigning, we're making progress towards a statutory real living wage for all workers from the age of 18. The Government has already made a commitment to abolishing rip-off youth rates and they are delivering a new deal for all workers with the Employment Rights Bill. A huge step forward in the fight against insecure work, something which young workers are particularly vulnerable to.  

“It's right that we acknowledge these successes, but there is a lot more work to be done to deliver fair pay for young people. Fair pay also means fair redundancy pay, but as it stands, young workers are discriminated against when they're made redundant. Statutory redundancy pay gives workers under the age of 22 just half a week's pay for every year of service. That's a third of the level for people aged over 41 and you get nothing at all until you’ve had two years of service. This is unfair and it needs to change. 

“The Government has already committed to a consultation on collective redundancy, which is welcome news, but now we need them to commit to fair redundancy pay, so we can make sure young workers have a cushion of protection when the worst happens. We need to remove age discrimination from redundancy calculations, so that all workers get at least one and a half weeks’ pay for each year of service. I'm confident that by working together we can help to deliver a fair deal for young workers and build a bigger, stronger, more diverse trade union movement to deliver for all workers.”