As redundancies continue to rise, a new report from career resource platform Zety® reveals that almost all UK workers reject email terminations, with 98 per cent of small-to-medium employers also preferring to deliver redundancy news in person.
Drawing on nearly 1,000 worker responses, as well as UK data from YouGov and the CIPD, the Zety UK Redundancy Report highlights how layoffs are increasingly handled remotely, despite strong cultural and professional resistance.
Key UK findings:
- Only3 per cent of Britons say email layoffs are acceptable; a further 7 per cent say they’re “somewhat acceptable”
- 98 per cent of SMEs prefer face-to-face notifications, compared with just 2 per cent for email and 11 per cent for phone calls
- 43 per cent of UK employers offer enhanced redundancy pay to support staff financially
- 37 per cent use enhanced pay to encourage voluntary redundancies and reduce compulsory layoffs
- UK payroll fell by135,000 employees between May 2024 and May 2025, signalling a wider spike in redundancies
From an international perspective, in the US, where Zety have surveyed nearly 1,000 workers laid off in the past two years:
- 29 per cent were fired via email
- 28 per cent by phone
- Only30 per cent in person
- 70 per cent lost their jobs in the past six months, mainly due to cost-cutting, downsizing, or mergers
What happens after the redundancy?
We asked workers what would have made the experience less painful. Here’s what they told us:
- 65 per cent wanted a better severance package
- 64 per cent wanted career support
- 49 per cent wanted better communication
- 35 per cent wanted more advanced notice
“What’s clear from our research is that while remote working has normalised digital communication, people still value humanity when it comes to life-changing moments like redundancy,” said Maciej Tomaszewicz, career expert at Zety. “Delivering such news face-to-face, even via video, can preserve dignity, trust, and future relationships.”
