Money Helpdesk: Am I due back pay for work before my redundancy?

I WAS made redundant by my employer after 19 years' service and finished work on 15 April. I was paid my redundancy and pay in lieu of notice entitlement on 23 April and was issued with a P45.

In the past two weeks I have learned that my ex employer has agreed a pay increase of 2.5 per cent for the year 2009-2010 retrospectively and is paying back pay from April 2009.

Am I right in thinking that I am entitled to be paid back pay and equivalent arrears on the redundancy lump sum, and if so, what action should I take, since I have heard nothing from the company in this regard?

AH,Edinburgh

Jacqueline McCluskey, employment partner at HBJ Gateley Wareing, writes:

I AM assuming your employment terminated on 23 April. Firstly, you need to establish whether the decision to pay back pay was made before or after 23 April and whether it applied to all employees. If it was made before your termination date and applied to all employees who were employed at the time, then it should also apply to you.

If the decision was made after you left, you need to check whether or not there is a clause in your contract of employment entitling your ex-employer to pay your notice in lieu. If there is no such clause, then your ex-employer did not have the contractual right to pay your notice in lieu and your ex-employer will have breached your contract.

Had you been allowed to work your notice, you may have been entitled to the pay rise if you remained in employment at the time.

If the decision was made after you left, and your employer did have the right to pay your notice in lieu, your contract will not have been breached on termination. A claim would therefore be more difficult, unless perhaps negotiations began before you left with a body such as a trade union which was collectively representing your interests.

However, even if you do establish an entitlement to claim backdated pay, there may still not be any loss relating to your redundancy payment. This will depend on whether your weekly pay is less than 380, which is the current limit on a week's pay for statutory redundancy purposes, and whether the company offers any enhanced redundancy package.