Statutory Notice Period Calculator

Statutory minimum notice

Employees only ever owe one week under statute, however long they have served. If you want longer notice from senior staff, it must be written into the contract and kept reasonable, because unreasonably long notice is hard to enforce in practice.

Serving notice properly

1. Put it in writing and state the termination date, not just the length.
2. Check when the contract says notice takes effect: on posting, on delivery, or on receipt.
3. Notice does not start on the day it is given unless the contract says so, so count from the following day where the contract is silent.
4. Confirm whether notice will be worked, spent on garden leave, or paid in lieu.
5. Set out final pay, accrued holiday, benefit end dates and the return of company property in the same letter.

Pay during notice

• Where the contractual notice is at least one week longer than the statutory minimum, ordinary contractual pay rules apply, so an employee on unpaid sick leave may receive nothing.
• Where contractual notice equals or is less than one week above the statutory minimum, the employee is entitled to full pay during notice even if they are sick, on maternity leave, or laid off.
• Holiday continues to accrue during worked notice and garden leave.
• Payment in lieu is taxable in full as post-employment notice pay.