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Leaving-work help page

Final Pay and Leaving a Job

Use this page when the main question is what should appear in the last payment after employment ends, including holiday owed, notice pay, PILON, wages and other common leaving-work items.

Use this page to sense-check the last payslip

It is designed to help you work out which part of the leaving package you should question next, not just list possible items.

What this page covers

Final pay basics, unused holiday in final pay, notice pay, PILON, and what termination payments can include.

What this page does not cover

Detailed tax advice, settlement-agreement strategy, or every dispute about deductions and breach of contract.

Use this page first

When the question is about the last payment overall

Start here when you need to understand the whole leaving-work picture rather than one component in isolation.

Use the holiday tool first

When the key question is holiday built up

Check the holiday calculator first if you mainly want a simple estimate of accrued statutory holiday on a regular pattern.

Open holiday calculator

Use the notice tool first

When the key question is notice length

Check the notice calculator first if the dispute is really about how much notice should be given or paid.

Open notice period calculator

What often appears in final pay

Common items to look for

Wages already earned up to the leaving date.
Notice pay, whether worked or paid in lieu.
Unused accrued holiday that still needs to be paid.
Bonus, overtime or commission if contract terms require it.
Deductions that are allowed under the contract or by law.

What to check next

Before you rely on the figure

Check the leaving date used by payroll.
Check whether notice is being worked or paid instead.
Check how much holiday had built up and how much was already taken.
Check whether the package also includes a separate settlement or redundancy element.
Ask for a written breakdown if the final figure is not clear.

Fast last-payslip checklist

Match the leaving date on the payslip against the actual end date.
Check whether notice pay, PILON and holiday pay are shown as separate items.
Check whether deductions have been explained clearly.
Do not assume a single total covers redundancy, settlement and final pay correctly.

Useful links from this page

Best next pages

Notice period calculator

Use this first if the main question is how long the notice period should be.

Open notice period calculator

Holiday entitlement calculator

Use this if the main question is how much statutory holiday has been built up.

Open holiday calculator

Settlement agreement tax checker

Use this if the package contains compensation-style amounts and you need a first-pass tax split.

Open settlement checker

Unfair dismissal estimator

Use this if the real dispute is whether the dismissal itself was unfair and you need a rough compensation framework.

Open unfair-dismissal estimator

Compare page

Use this if you are still not sure whether the problem is redundancy, settlement, unfair dismissal or final pay.

Open compare page

Official sources used

Source and review block

Acas: final pay when someone leaves a job

Used for the overall framework of what final pay can include and why final pay may differ from normal pay.

Open official source

Acas: pay during the notice period

Used for notice pay, off-work situations during notice, and payment in lieu of notice.

Open official source

Acas: how holidays affect final pay

Used for the point that unused accrued statutory holiday must be paid when someone leaves.

Open official source

GOV.UK: termination payments and tax when you leave a job

Used for what a termination payment can include and who is responsible for tax treatment.

Open official source