Working Out Your Notice Period in the UK: A Practical Guide for 2025

Working out your notice period in the UK starts with two questions: how long have you been employed, and what does your contract say? Statutory minimum notice depends on length of service. If you have worked between one month and two years, your employer must give you at least one week. After two years, it rises to one week per complete year of service, capped at 12 weeks. Your contract may require more than the statutory minimum.

Employees must give at least one week's notice once they have been employed for one month, regardless of how long they have worked in total. Many contracts require one month's notice or longer, particularly for senior roles. When contractual notice exceeds the statutory minimum, the longer period applies.

This guide explains how to calculate notice period entitlements, what 1 month notice actually means in practice, and the common situations that trip people up. Use our notice period calculator to work out your statutory entitlement based on your start date and length of service.

Statutory notice periods: the baseline rules

UK employment law sets minimum notice periods under the Employment Rights Act 1996. These apply unless your contract provides for longer notice. Employers who dismiss employees must give at least the statutory minimum. Employees who resign must give at least one week once they have passed one month of continuous employment.

The employer's statutory notice obligation increases with service. Less than one month of employment means no statutory notice is required from either side. Between one month and two years, the employer must give one week. From two years onward, the employer must give one additional week for each complete year of service, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

For a detailed explanation of your legal rights, see our guide on UK notice period employment law and rights. If your employer places you on garden leave during notice, read gardening leave in the UK explained.

Contractual notice: when your contract says more

Most UK employment contracts specify a notice period longer than the statutory minimum. One month's notice is the most common contractual term for employees across all levels of seniority. Senior roles, managers, and specialists often have contracts requiring two or three months, and executive positions may require six months or more.

The rule is straightforward: whichever notice period is longer, statutory or contractual, applies. An employee with eight years of service has a statutory entitlement of eight weeks from the employer. If their contract says three months, the employer must give three months. If the contract says four weeks, the statutory eight weeks applies instead.

Check your contract carefully for the notice clause. It is usually in the termination or notice section. Some contracts distinguish between notice given by the employee and notice given by the employer, with longer periods required from the employee. This is legal provided the employee's notice period is not less than one week after the first month of employment.

What 1 month notice actually means

One month's notice does not always mean four weeks. In UK employment law, a month's notice typically means the same calendar date in the following month. If you hand in your notice on 15 March, your last day is 15 April. If you resign on 31 January, your last day is 28 February, or 29 February in a leap year, not 31 March.

Some contracts define a month as four weeks or 28 days. This is less common but creates a shorter notice period than the calendar month approach. Read your contract wording precisely. If it says "one calendar month" or simply "one month," the calendar date rule applies. If it says "four weeks," count 28 days from the day after you give notice.

Notice runs from the day after you formally give it. If you email your resignation on a Monday evening, notice typically starts on Tuesday. Verbal resignation is valid but harder to prove. Written notice, whether email or letter, creates a clear record of the start date.

How to calculate your notice period step by step

Step one: find your continuous employment start date. This is usually in your contract or on your payslip. Continuous employment includes any period covered by a TUPE transfer or an acknowledged break of less than one week. Step two: calculate complete years of service from that date to the date notice is given.

Step three: look up the statutory minimum using the table above. Step four: check your contract for the contractual notice period. Step five: use whichever is longer. The notice period calculator does this automatically when you enter your start date and whether you are calculating employer or employee notice.

For employee notice, the statutory minimum is one week after one month of service. Your contract may require more. For employer notice, the statutory minimum depends on years of service. Your contract may again require more.

Worked examples

Example one: an employee started on 1 June 2021 and resigns on 15 July 2025. They have four complete years of service. Their statutory obligation as an employee is one week minimum, but their contract requires one month's notice. They give written notice on 15 July, so their last working day is 15 August.

Example two: the same employee is dismissed by their employer on 15 July 2025. With four complete years, statutory employer notice is four weeks. If the contract requires one month, the calendar month rule gives roughly four to five weeks depending on the month. The employer must pay notice pay for the full contractual period even if they ask the employee to leave immediately, unless the employee agrees to a payment in lieu of notice.

Example three: an employee with 14 years of service is made redundant. Statutory notice is capped at 12 weeks. If their contract says 12 weeks, that is what they receive. If their contract says six months, they are entitled to six months of notice pay or garden leave. The statutory cap does not limit contractual notice upward, only sets the floor.

Payment in lieu of notice (PILON)

Many employers include a payment in lieu of notice clause in employment contracts. This allows the employer to end employment immediately by paying the notice period as a lump sum rather than requiring the employee to work through it. The payment should cover basic salary for the notice period. Whether benefits, bonus and pension contributions are included depends on the contract wording.

If there is no PILON clause, an employer cannot simply pay you off and end employment without your agreement. Doing so is a breach of contract, and you may have a claim for wrongful dismissal. The remedy is typically the net value of what you would have earned during the notice period.

Employees can also propose leaving early by mutual agreement. If your employer accepts your request to shorten notice, get the agreement in writing. Confirm your last day, final pay date, and any impact on references or restrictive covenants.

Garden leave during notice

Garden leave means you remain employed and on payroll during your notice period but are not required to attend work or perform duties. Your employer may ask you to stay away to prevent access to clients, projects or confidential information before you join a competitor.

You continue to receive your full salary and benefits during garden leave. You are usually still bound by your contract terms, including exclusivity and confidentiality. You cannot start a new job until the garden leave period ends, unless your employer agrees otherwise. For a full explanation, see our gardening leave guide.

Garden leave is not the same as being paid in lieu. On garden leave, you remain an employee. With PILON, employment ends immediately. The distinction matters for things like share vesting, bonus eligibility, and restrictive covenant start dates.

Notice during probation

Probationary periods typically have shorter notice requirements, often one week for both employer and employee. This must be stated in the contract. If the contract is silent on probation notice, the standard statutory rules apply once the employee has completed one month of service.

An employer can dismiss during probation with one week's notice after the first month, provided the reason is not discriminatory or automatically unfair. Employees on probation who resign usually give one week, or whatever the contract specifies. Confirm your probation terms before giving notice, as they override the general contract notice clause in many cases.

Passing probation does not reset your continuous employment start date. Your service clock runs from your original start date, not from the end of probation. An employee who started in January and passed probation in April still has only a few months of service for statutory notice purposes in May.

Redundancy and notice

Redundancy notice periods follow the same statutory and contractual rules as other dismissals. With two or more years of service, you are also entitled to statutory redundancy pay in addition to notice pay. Notice pay is based on your normal weekly wage. Redundancy pay uses a separate formula based on age, length of service and weekly pay capped at £700.

Your employer must give you the correct notice period even during redundancy consultation. Rushing to dismiss without proper notice, or without following a fair consultation process with two or more years of service, can give rise to an unfair dismissal claim in addition to any wrongful dismissal claim for inadequate notice.

If your employer offers an enhanced redundancy package that includes payment in lieu of notice, read the settlement agreement carefully. You may be asked to waive your right to bring tribunal claims in exchange for the enhanced payment. Take legal advice before signing if the amount is significant or the circumstances are disputed.

Common mistakes when working out notice

Counting partial years as complete years is the most common error. Statutory notice uses complete years only. An employee with two years and eleven months of service gets two weeks statutory notice, not three. The third week only applies once the third complete year is reached.

Assuming four weeks equals one month catches many people out. Four weeks is 28 days. A calendar month from 10 January ends on 10 February, which is 31 days. For resignation purposes, this difference can affect holiday accrual, start dates at a new employer, and pay calculations.

Forgetting that notice is a two-way obligation leads to problems on both sides. Employees who walk out without giving notice may be liable for breach of contract. Employers who dismiss without notice or pay in lieu face wrongful dismissal claims. Both parties should calculate the correct period before acting.

Using a notice period calculator

A notice period calculator takes your employment start date and calculates complete years of service as of today or a chosen notice date. It applies the statutory formula and lets you compare against a contractual notice period you enter separately. This removes the manual counting errors that cause disputes.

Use the calculator when you are considering resignation, when you receive notice of dismissal, or when negotiating a settlement. Knowing your exact entitlement puts you in a stronger position whether you are an employee planning your next move or an employer managing a leaver.

Enter your dates in the notice period calculator and keep a record of the result alongside your contract. If your employer's figure differs, you have a clear basis for the conversation.

Notice period calculations are straightforward in most cases, but disputes arise when contracts are ambiguous or when employment history includes mergers or TUPE transfers. ACAS provides free guidance, and employment solicitors can advise on complex situations.