The short answer
- Your employermust give at least 1 week’s notice after a month’s service, and 1 week for each full year from 2 years, up to 12 weeks.
- Youmust give at least 1 week’s notice after a month’s service.
- Your contract can ask for more notice, but not less. The longer one applies.
- Notice starts the day after it is given.
- Your final pay covers the days worked in your last pay period, untaken holiday and, if your employer ends your job early, pay in lieu of notice.
These rules are the same across the UK. Your contract may be more generous, so check it as well.
Notice your employer must give
The minimum notice an employer must give depends on how long you have worked there without a break. It applies to dismissals for any reason other than gross misconduct, including redundancy.
| Continuous service | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| Under 1 month | None |
| 1 month to under 2 years | 1 week |
| 2 full years | 2 weeks |
| 3 to 11 full years | 1 week per full year |
| 12 years or more | 12 weeks |
Only full years count. With 5 years and 11 months of service you are owed 5 weeks. The calculator counts your service from your start date to the date notice is given.
Notice you must give
If you resign, the legal minimum is 1 week once you have worked for a month. It does not grow with service. In practice most contracts set a longer period, often one month, and three months or more for senior roles.
You must give the notice in your contract. If it says one month, you must give one month, even though the law only asks for a week. Give notice in writing, keep a copy and note the date.
Contract notice and the longer rule
Your contract and the law both set a notice period. The longer one applies. A contract cannot give you less than the statutory minimum: any clause that tries to is overridden.
- Service
- 6 full years
- Contract notice
- 1 month
- Statutory notice
- 6 weeks
- Notice that applies
- 6 weeks
- Service
- 2 full years
- Contract notice
- 3 months
- Statutory notice
- 2 weeks
- Notice that applies
- 3 months
If your contract says nothing, you are entitled to "reasonable notice", which can be longer than the statutory minimum for senior staff. The calculator uses the statutory minimum in that case.
Counting the days
A notice period starts on the day afternotice is given. A week’s notice given on a Friday runs from Saturday and ends at the end of the following Friday. Six weeks’ notice given on Friday 30 October 2026 ends on Friday 11 December 2026.
Notice given by letter or email takes effect when you receive it and have had a chance to read it, not when it was sent. If you are on holiday when a letter arrives, notice may start when you get back. For important dates, give and ask for notice in a way that leaves a clear record.
Weekends and bank holidays count as part of the notice period: notice runs in calendar time, not working days. Our days between dates calculator is handy for checking long periods.
Notice in months
A month’s notice ends on the same date in the following month. Notice given on 30 October ends on 30 November. If the next month is shorter, it ends on the last day of that month: one month from 31 January 2026 is 28 February 2026.
A month is not the same as four weeks. One month is about 4.3 weeks, so three months is about 13 weeks. That is why a contract of three months beats the 12-week statutory maximum.
Last working day vs leaving date
Three dates matter, and they are not always the same:
- The end of the notice period: when notice runs out.
- Your leaving date(the "effective date of termination"): when your employment legally ends. It is the end of notice, unless you are paid in lieu, when it is the day notice is given.
- Your last working day: the last day you actually work. If notice ends on a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday, it is the working day before. On garden leave it is the day you were sent home.
The calculator uses the bank holidays for England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, which differ. For example, St Andrew’s Day is a bank holiday in Scotland only. See our bank holidays page for the full list.
Example: notice from an employer
Sam started on 15 January 2020 and is given notice on Friday 30 October 2026. Their contract says one month. They earn £36,000, work five days a week, have a holiday year starting on 1 January with 28 days, and have taken 15 days.
- Statutory notice6 full years6 weeks, to 11 Dec 2026
- Contract notice1 monthTo 30 Nov 2026
- Salary for December9 of 23 paid working days × £3,000£1,173.91
- Untaken holiday26.5 days built up − 15 taken = 11.5 days × £138.46£1,587.57
The statutory 6 weeks is longer than one month, so Sam’s notice ends on Friday 11 December 2026. Using calendar days instead (11 of 31 days in December), the salary part would be £1,064.52 and the total £2,652.08.
Example: resigning
Priya started on 1 January 2025, has nothing about notice in her contract and resigns on Saturday 31 October 2026. She must give the statutory 1 week, which ends on Saturday 7 November. Her last working day is Friday 6 November.
- Salary for November5 of 21 working days × £2,500£595.24
- Untaken holiday23.9 days built up − 20 taken = 3.9 days × £115.38£445.10
What goes in your final pay
Your last payslip should include:
- salary or wages for the days worked in the last pay period;
- pay for any holiday built up and not taken;
- pay in lieu of notice, if your job ended without you working your notice;
- overtime, commission and bonuses you have earned under your contract;
- statutory payments such as Statutory Sick Pay or maternity pay still due.
It is usually paid on your normal payday. If you are made redundant, redundancy pay is added; our redundancy pay calculator works out that part and the tax on it.
Pay for part of a month
If you leave part way through a month, your employer pays a share of the monthly salary. There is no single legal method, so contracts and payroll systems differ:
| Method | How it works |
|---|---|
| Working days in the month | Monthly pay × working days paid ÷ working days in that month |
| Calendar days in the month | Monthly pay × calendar days paid ÷ days in that month |
| Yearly working days | Yearly pay ÷ 260 × working days paid |
| Yearly calendar days | Yearly pay ÷ 365 × calendar days paid |
The methods can differ by a hundred pounds or more on a month’s pay, as Sam’s example shows. Check your contract or staff handbook, and ask payroll which method it uses if the figure looks wrong.
Untaken holiday
Holiday builds up through the holiday year. When you leave, you are paid for statutory holiday built up but not taken. The usual sum is your yearly entitlement × the share of the holiday year you worked, minus the days you have taken.
The statutory entitlement is 5.6 weeks: 28 days for a five-day week, including bank holidays if your employer counts them. Part-time staff get 5.6 times their working week. Use our holiday entitlement calculator for other patterns, or the irregular hours holiday pay calculator if your hours vary.
Your employer can ask you to use it
Your employer can tell you to take holiday during your notice, as long as it gives notice at least twice as long as the holiday. If you are on garden leave, you may be told to take holiday then.
Pay in lieu of notice
With pay in lieu of notice (PILON), your employer ends your job on the day and pays you for the notice period instead. Your leaving date is the day notice is given.
- Salary for OctoberFull month to 30 October£4,333.33
- Untaken holiday6.3 days × £200£1,267.95
- Pay in lieu of notice3 months × £4,333.33£13,000.00
PILON is taxed as normal pay, with National Insurance. Since April 2018 that has applied to all the basic pay for unworked notice, even if your contract does not mention PILON. Holiday stops building up on the day your job ends, so Alex is paid for holiday up to 30 October only.
Garden leave
On garden leave you are told not to come to work, but you stay employed until your notice ends. You are paid as normal and keep your benefits, such as pension contributions and a company car.
- Still employed
- Yes, to the end of notice
- Pay
- Normal salary each month
- Holiday builds up
- Yes
- Can start a new job
- Not until notice ends
- Still employed
- No, ends on the day
- Pay
- Lump sum in final pay
- Holiday builds up
- No
- Can start a new job
- Straight away
Jo, on £42,000, resigns on 30 October with one month’s notice and is put on garden leave. Her employment ends on 30 November. Her November pay is the full £3,500, plus £1,731.34 for 10.7 days of holiday not taken, giving £5,231.34 before tax.
Deductions from final pay
Your employer can only take money from your final pay if the law allows it (tax, National Insurance, student loan, a court order), your contract allows it, or you have agreed in writing in advance. Common examples:
- holiday taken but not yet built up;
- a season ticket loan, training costs or a salary advance;
- an earlier overpayment of wages.
Training cost clauses
Clauses that make you repay training costs if you leave must be clear and reasonable. A deduction cannot take you below the National Minimum Wage for the hours in that pay period, except for some recovery of earlier overpayments.
Tax, your P45 and code 0T
Final pay, holiday pay and PILON are taxed through payroll in the normal way. Your employer then gives you a P45, which your next employer uses to carry on your tax code.
If something is paid after the P45 has been issued, payroll must use tax code 0T for that payment. That gives no tax-free allowance, so it can take too much tax for now. It is put right through your next job or a refund from HMRC.
Pay during notice
While you work your notice you are paid as normal. If you are off sick or on holiday during the statutory notice period, special rules can protect your pay: if your contract notice is less than a week longer than the statutory minimum, you must normally be paid your usual pay during the statutory notice even when off sick. Acas can explain how this applies to you.
Leaving early or extending
- You want to go soonerAsk to shorten your notice
Many employers agree. Get the new leaving date in writing.
- Employer wants you soonerPILON or garden leave
Your employer can end your job early by paying in lieu, or keep you at home.
- You change your mindAsk to withdraw notice
Your employer does not have to agree once notice is given.
- New job offerCheck the start date
Starting before your notice ends could breach your contract.
If final pay is wrong
Start by asking payroll for a breakdown. If it is still wrong, raise a written grievance or complaint. If that fails, contact Acas for early conciliation, which you must do before an employment tribunal claim. Claims for unpaid wages and holiday pay must usually start within three months less one day of the payment that was missed.