How to Handle Redundancy on Your CV (UK 2026)

Why this matters

Redundancy is increasingly common in UK 2026 — tech, retail, consulting, and financial services have all seen rounds in 2024-2026. UK hiring managers don't penalise redundancy; they penalise candidates who frame it badly. The candidates who handle it well integrate it as a normal career event in their narrative; the ones who apologise or over-explain create more problems than the redundancy itself.

Exact steps

1. 1 Show the role with full dates including the end date
2. 2 Don't mention 'redundancy' explicitly on the CV — irrelevant to the next role
3. 3 Add substantive bullets about what you delivered in the role
4. 4 If asked about the gap or end date in interview, brief honest answer is fine
5. 5 In cover letters, brief mention is OK if relevant to the timing of your search
6. 6 Don't apologise or extensively explain redundancy on the CV
7. 7 Frame current job-search status as 'available immediately' rather than 'recently made redundant'

What good looks like

Senior Product Manager · Acme Corp · Apr 2022 - Jan 2026
• Owned activation roadmap; week-1 activation moved from 22% to 41%
• Led pricing redesign that lifted gross margin 4 points on £8m ARR
• Hired and managed team of 3 PMs and 1 product designer

[Cover letter mentions: 'My role was made redundant in the recent restructure; I'm taking the opportunity to be deliberate about my next move.']

What bad looks like

Senior Product Manager · Acme Corp · Apr 2022 - Jan 2026 (made redundant)
• Worked on various product management things
• Was part of the team that was restructured
• Looking for new opportunities since being made redundant

Common mistakes

• ✗Adding 'made redundant' to the CV directly — irrelevant to next role
• ✗Apologetic framing in CV — creates problems where there are none
• ✗Vague bullets that hint at redundancy — frame the work, not the ending
• ✗Pre-emptively explaining redundancy at the top of CV
• ✗Missing strong outcomes from the affected role because focus shifts to the redundancy