Notice periods, explained

A notice period is the time between one side saying the job will end and the day it actually ends. The law sets minimums. If your employer is ending your employment, you are entitled to at least one week’s notice once you have worked there for a month, rising to one week for each full year of service from two years, up to a maximum of twelve weeks. If you are resigning after a month or more, you must give at least one week.

Your contract can give either side more notice than this, but never less. Whether your employer can pay you instead of letting you work your notice, or tell you to stay at home on garden leave, depends mainly on what your contract says. This guide covers Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own employment law.

Statutory minimum notice

Section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 sets these minimums for employees with at least one month’s continuous employment.

Your length of service	Minimum notice from your employer	Minimum notice from you
Less than 1 month	None by law (check your contract)	None by law (check your contract)
1 month to under 2 years	1 week	1 week
2 to 12 years	1 week for each full year	1 week
12 years or more	12 weeks	1 week

As an illustration only: if you have worked somewhere for five full years and are dismissed, the statutory minimum is five weeks. If your contract says three months, you get three months.

Contractual notice

Most written contracts set their own notice periods. If your contract gives more than the statutory minimum, the longer period applies. If it gives less, the statutory minimum applies anyway. This applies during probation too, once you have worked a month.

Your written statement of employment particulars, offer letter or contract is the place to look for your notice terms.

When notice starts

Acas says notice usually starts the day after it is given, whether you tell your employer you are resigning or your employer tells you in person you are being dismissed. If your employer gives notice in writing, it starts once you have had a reasonable amount of time to read it. A letter that arrives while you are on holiday, for example, may only take effect once you are home and have read it.

Pay during notice

You are normally paid as usual during notice. There is extra protection if you are off sick, on holiday or on leave.

Under sections 87 and 88, if you have normal working hours, your employer must pay you for the statutory notice period even if, during it, you are:

• ready and willing to work but no work is provided;
• unable to work because of sickness or injury;
• on maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, parental, parental bereavement, neonatal care or carer’s leave;
• on holiday in line with your contract.

There is an important exception. Under section 87(4), this protection does not apply if your contractual notice from your employer is at least one week more than the statutory minimum. In that case, your contract and normal sick pay rules decide what you get.

Pay in lieu of notice (PILON)

Instead of having you work your notice, your employer may end your employment straight away and pay you for the notice period.

• If your contract has a PILON clause, Acas says your employer must give you full pay for the notice period, and the contract ends immediately.
• If it does not, your employer can ask you to agree to pay in lieu, but Acas says it cannot force you to.

GOV.UK says that when you are paid in lieu you get all the basic pay you would have received during the notice period, plus any contractual benefits such as pension contributions or health insurance. Acas puts it differently for a contractual PILON clause, saying that because the contract ends straight away it is unlikely your employer will have to provide other contractual benefits. The wording of your PILON clause is what decides this, so it is worth reading closely. Payment in lieu of notice is taxed in full as earnings, with National Insurance, and does not count towards the £30,000 that is usually tax-free in a redundancy package.

Garden leave

Garden leave is when your employer tells you not to work some or all of your notice. Acas says it is often used where the employer does not want you to have access to sensitive or confidential information. During garden leave:

• you are still employed;
• you must be paid as usual, including contractual benefits;
• you remain bound by your contract, so you generally cannot start working for someone else until it ends.

Whether your employer can put you on garden leave depends on your contract. Check whether yours has a garden leave clause. If your contract also has restrictive covenants, check whether it says time on garden leave is deducted from the restriction.

Leaving early, or not giving notice

If you want to leave before your notice runs out, Acas suggests asking your employer and getting any agreement in writing. Without agreement, Acas says you are likely to be in breach of contract, and your employer could try to claim the cost of replacing you. Section 86 allows either side to waive notice or accept pay in lieu.

There is no notice requirement where the other side’s conduct justifies ending the contract without notice. For employers, that usually means gross misconduct: Acas says someone dismissed for gross misconduct is not entitled to notice or notice pay. For employees, if your employer has seriously breached your contract, you may be able to resign without notice and claim constructive dismissal.

If you are not given proper notice

If your employer dismisses you without the notice you are entitled to, and without paying in lieu, that is usually wrongful dismissal, a breach of contract. It is a different claim from unfair dismissal.

You can claim in an employment tribunal or the civil courts:

• Employment tribunal: up to £25,000. In England and Wales, where your employment ended on or after 1 October 2026, you have six months less a day. In Scotland, the six-month limit for breach of contract claims takes effect on 9 November 2026; before then it is three months less a day. Contact Acas for early conciliation first.
• Civil courts: generally six years in England and Wales and five years in Scotland.

Notice and the January 2027 unfair dismissal change

The unfair dismissal qualifying period is due to fall from two years to six months where the effective date of termination is on or after 1 January 2027. That date depends on when your notice ends. If you are working notice that runs into 2027, the new rule is due to apply to you.

What to check in your contract or letter

• The notice clause: how much notice each side must give, and whether it increases with service.
• Notice during probation, and when probation ends.
• A PILON clause, and what it says is included (basic pay only, or benefits and bonus too).
• A garden leave clause, and whether your benefits continue during it.
• Restrictive covenants, and whether garden leave is set off against them.
• The date your notice was given and the date your employment ends, as stated in your letter.
• Holiday during notice: whether your employer can require you to take leave, or will pay for untaken leave.
• Contractual sick pay, which matters if you are off sick during notice.
• Any repayment or clawback clause for training, bonuses or relocation if you resign.

When to speak to a solicitor

Notice is often straightforward. It can help to speak to a solicitor if your employer has refused notice pay, claims gross misconduct, wants to hold you to a long garden leave before a new job, or is relying on restrictive covenants after you leave.

Common questions

How much notice do I have to give when I resign?

If you have worked for your employer for at least a month, the legal minimum is one week, however long you have been there. Your contract can require more, and many do. If you leave without giving the notice your contract requires and your employer does not agree, Acas says you are likely to be in breach of contract, and your employer could try to claim its losses.

Can my employer pay me instead of letting me work my notice?

If your contract has a payment in lieu of notice (PILON) clause, yes. Acas says your employer must then give you full pay for the notice period and the contract ends straight away. If there is no PILON clause, your employer can ask you to agree to it but cannot force you. GOV.UK says you get all the basic pay you would have received, plus contractual benefits such as pension contributions.

What is garden leave?

Garden leave is when your employer tells you not to work some or all of your notice. You are still employed, so Acas says you must be paid as usual, including contractual benefits. Because you are still employed, you are generally still bound by your contract, so you cannot start work elsewhere until it ends. Whether your employer can put you on garden leave depends on what your contract says.

Do I get notice pay if I am off sick during my notice?

Often, yes. If your contractual notice is less than one week more than the statutory minimum, sections 87 and 88 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 say your employer must pay you during the statutory notice period even if you are off sick, on holiday or on certain family leave. If your contractual notice is at least a week longer than the statutory minimum, this protection does not apply and your contract decides.

Is notice pay taxed?

Yes. GOV.UK lists notice pay, including payment in lieu of notice, among the payments that are taxed in full as earnings and attract National Insurance. It does not count towards the £30,000 that is usually tax-free when redundancy and severance payments are added together, so a package can be partly tax-free and partly taxed.

What can I do if I was not given notice or notice pay?

Unless you were dismissed for gross misconduct, failing to give notice or pay in lieu is usually wrongful dismissal, a breach of contract. You can raise it with your employer, then claim in an employment tribunal, up to £25,000, or in the civil courts. Where your employment ended on or after 1 October 2026, the tribunal time limit in England and Wales is six months; in Scotland that applies from 9 November 2026.

Sources

1. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 86 (rights of employer and employee to minimum notice) checked Fri Oct 02
2. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 87 (rights during notice; exception where contract notice is a week or more longer) checked Fri Oct 02
3. Employment Rights Act 1996, section 88 (pay during notice for employments with normal working hours) checked Fri Oct 02
4. GOV.UK: Redundancy, your rights: notice periods checked Fri Oct 02
5. Acas: Notice periods checked Fri Oct 02
6. Acas: Notice when being dismissed or made redundant checked Fri Oct 02
7. Acas: Notice when resigning checked Fri Oct 02
8. Acas: When the notice period starts checked Fri Oct 02
9. Acas: When an employee does not have to work their notice checked Fri Oct 02
10. GOV.UK: Tax on termination payments: what you pay tax and National Insurance on checked Fri Oct 02
11. Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) Order 1994, article 10 (£25,000 limit) checked Fri Oct 02
12. Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) (Amendment) Order 2026, SI 2026/759 checked Fri Oct 02
13. Acas: Employment tribunal time limits (updated 1 October 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
14. Limitation Act 1980, section 5 checked Fri Oct 02
15. Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, section 6 and Schedule 1 checked Fri Oct 02
16. SI 2026/559: unfair dismissal changes apply where the effective date of termination is on or after 1 January 2027 checked Fri Oct 02

This guide is general information about employment law in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). Northern Ireland has its own employment law. It isn't legal advice and doesn't take your circumstances into account.