What is a notice period?

Notice runs both ways. When an employee resigns, the notice period gives the employer time to hand over work and start hiring. When the employer ends the employment, it gives the employee time, or pay, to find the next job. The contract can set a longer period than the law; it cannot set a shorter one where a statutory minimum applies. Many contracts let the employer pay in lieu of notice (PILON) instead of having the person work it.

In the UK, an employer must give at least one week’s notice to someone employed for between one month and two years, then one week for each full year of service, up to 12 weeks after 12 years. An employee who has worked for more than a month must give at least one week, unless the contract asks for more. A payment in lieu of notice needs a clause in the contract, and tax and National Insurance are deducted from it. In Australia, the Fair Work Act requires written notice from the employer of one week (up to one year’s service), two weeks (one to three years), three weeks (three to five years) or four weeks (over five years), plus a further week if the employee is over 45 with at least two years’ service; pay in lieu is allowed. In Canada, federally regulated employers must give two weeks’ notice after three months’ continuous employment, rising by a week a year to eight weeks after eight years; each province sets its own rules for everyone else.

In the US, most employment is at will and no federal law requires notice for an individual resignation or dismissal. “Two weeks’ notice” is a convention, not a legal rule, though a contract or company policy can require it. The federal WARN Act is the main exception: employers with 100 or more employees must give 60 calendar days’ written notice of a plant closing or a mass layoff affecting 50 or more employees at a single site. In India, the Industrial Relations Code 2020 requires one month’s written notice, or wages in lieu, before retrenching a “worker” with at least a year’s continuous service; for other staff the notice period comes from the appointment letter and service rules.

For the employer, the practical work is in the paperwork: state the notice period in the offer letter, say whether it changes after probation, say whether you can use garden leave or pay in lieu, and confirm the last working day in writing when notice is given. This is general information, not legal advice.

Also called: two weeks’ notice, notice of termination, resignation notice.