# LAW-0002 - NES notice and redundancy pay on a genuine redundancy

*This is a benchmarking hypothetical, not legal advice. Law stated as at FY2025-26 (Commonwealth).*

## The answer

For a full-time employee of a national-system employer (not a small business employer) with **6 years** of continuous service, **under 45**, whose position is genuinely made redundant:

| Entitlement | Controlling provision | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Minimum notice of termination | *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth) **s 117** | **4 weeks** |
| (b) Redundancy pay | *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth) **s 119** | **11 weeks** of base pay |

Controlling Act: the **Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)** (the National Employment Standards in Part 2-2). The notice scale is **s 117** and the redundancy pay scale is **s 119**.

## Working

### (a) Notice of termination - s 117

Section 117(3) of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth) sets the minimum notice period on the employee's period of continuous service with the employer at the end of the day notice is given:

| Continuous service | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| Not more than 1 year | 1 week |
| More than 1 year but not more than 3 years | 2 weeks |
| More than 3 years but not more than 5 years | 3 weeks |
| More than 5 years | 4 weeks |

The employee has **6 years** of service, which is "more than 5 years", so the base notice is **4 weeks**.

Section 117(3)(b) adds **1 extra week** of notice where the employee is **over 45 years old** *and* has completed **at least 2 years** of continuous service. Here the employee is **under 45**, so the additional week does **not** apply.

**Minimum notice = 4 weeks.**

Paying out the notice rather than having the employee work it does not change the *length* of the entitlement. Section 117(2) lets the employer either give the required notice or pay in lieu (payment in lieu must be at least the amount the employee would have received for the notice period had they worked it). Either way the obligation is measured in the same number of weeks - here, 4 weeks.

### (b) Redundancy pay - s 119

Section 119(2) of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth) sets redundancy pay (in weeks of "base rate of pay" for the employee's ordinary hours of work) on a scale of continuous service:

| Continuous service | Redundancy pay |
|---|---|
| At least 1 year but less than 2 years | 4 weeks |
| At least 2 years but less than 3 years | 6 weeks |
| At least 3 years but less than 4 years | 7 weeks |
| At least 4 years but less than 5 years | 8 weeks |
| At least 5 years but less than 6 years | 10 weeks |
| **At least 6 years but less than 7 years** | **11 weeks** |
| At least 7 years but less than 8 years | 13 weeks |
| At least 8 years but less than 9 years | 14 weeks |
| At least 9 years but less than 10 years | 16 weeks |
| At least 10 years | 12 weeks |

The employee has **6 years** of service, which falls in the "at least 6 years but less than 7 years" band, giving **11 weeks** of base pay.

(Note on the scale: the entitlement peaks at 16 weeks for 9-to-10 years and then drops to 12 weeks at 10+ years, because at 10 years a long service leave entitlement typically arises.)

The facts confirm the entitlement is engaged rather than excluded: the position is a *genuine* redundancy (the trigger in s 119(1)(a) - the employer no longer requires the job to be done by anyone), the employer is **not a small business employer** (the s 121(1)(b) exclusion for small business employers does not apply), and the employee is full-time with more than 12 months' continuous service (so is not excluded by the short-service or other carve-outs in ss 121-123).

**Redundancy pay = 11 weeks of base pay.**

## Approach

I identified the two NES scales in the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth): the notice-of-termination scale in s 117(3) and the redundancy pay scale in s 119(2). I applied each to the facts (6 years' continuous service; employee under 45; national-system employer that is not a small business employer; genuine redundancy). For notice, 6 years falls in the "more than 5 years" band (4 weeks); the +1 week loading in s 117(3)(b) is not triggered because the employee is under 45. For redundancy pay, 6 years falls in the "at least 6 years but less than 7 years" band (11 weeks). I confirmed no exclusion applies (not a small business employer; full-time; genuine redundancy). Paying notice in lieu under s 117(2) does not change the number of weeks owed.