Getting made redundant at a UK fintech in the middle of the sector's heaviest layoff wave in years doesn't change what you're legally owed, but very few people going through it actually check the numbers against the law before signing whatever the company puts in front of them. This is general information on UK employment law, not legal advice for your specific situation, so treat it as a starting checklist and verify the details with ACAS or an employment solicitor before you sign anything.
Statutory notice, the legal minimum
Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, you're entitled to at least one week's statutory notice for each full year worked, up to a maximum of 12 weeks, unless your contract specifies a longer notice period, in which case the contractual term applies instead. A lot of fintech contracts, especially at senior levels, specify one to three months regardless of tenure, so check your actual contract before assuming the statutory minimum is what applies to you.
Statutory redundancy pay
If you've been continuously employed for two years or more, you're entitled to statutory redundancy pay calculated by age band for each full year of service: half a week's pay for each year under age 22, one week's pay for each year between 22 and 40, and one and a half week's pay for each year 41 and over, capped at 20 years of service and subject to a statutory weekly pay cap reviewed annually. Many companies, particularly at the senior levels common in fintech, offer an enhanced package above the statutory minimum, and that enhanced portion is exactly where negotiation room actually exists.
Collective consultation, if the layoff is large enough
If an employer is proposing 20 or more redundancies at one establishment within a 90-day period, they're legally required to consult with employee representatives for a minimum of 30 days before the dismissals take effect, rising to 45 days for 100 or more redundancies, and to notify the Insolvency Service via an HR1 form. If your fintech employer skipped or shortened this process on a large-scale layoff, that's a specific, checkable legal failure, not just a grievance, and it's worth raising with ACAS.
Where the actual negotiation room is
The statutory minimums above are a floor, not a target. The realistic negotiation points are the enhanced redundancy component above statutory, the treatment of unvested equity or options (fintech offer letters increasingly tie this to specific vesting-acceleration clauses worth reading carefully before you sign anything), continued health coverage, and outplacement support. None of that is guaranteed by law, all of it is on the table if you ask before signing.
What to do next
Check your statutory entitlement against what's actually been offered before you sign anything, and don't let a tight signing deadline pressure you into skipping that step. Once the exit terms are settled, set up job alerts for roles matching your background and benchmark your next offer before you accept it, so you're not re-entering the market underpriced. For the broader picture on why 2026's cuts happened in the first place, see Fintech Layoffs 2026: Record Job Cuts and what the AI-driven cuts mean for your career.