What's the NHS notice period for a band 5 nurse?

Three months is the standard contractual notice for AfC bands 5 to 9, including most band 5 nurses. Local variations exist, so confirm with your trust HR.

Can I leave the NHS sooner than three months?

You can ask. Trusts will sometimes agree if cover is sorted, particularly for non-clinical roles or where a postholder is moving within the NHS. Get the agreed leaving date in writing.

Do bank holidays count in NHS notice periods?

Yes — notice runs in calendar time, the same as other UK contracts. Bank holidays don't pause the count.

What happens to my NHS pension if I resign?

Your accrued pension stays in the scheme and can be drawn at retirement age. If you join another NHS employer, your service is continuous for pension purposes. If you leave the NHS entirely, the NHS Business Services Authority can talk you through your options.

NHS Notice Period Calculator (UK)

Resignation date

Notice period

If the final day falls on a weekend, use the previous Friday

Pick a valid resignation date.

This calculator is for general guidance only. Always check your employment contract.

Notice periods by Agenda for Change band

Most NHS clinical and admin staff are employed under Agenda for Change (AfC), which sets pay bands and standard contractual terms. Notice periods follow a tiered pattern: one month for bands 1 to 4, three months for bands 5 to 9. Some trusts apply slightly different terms via local variations, so the trust-specific contract is the document to read.

Senior medical and dental staff sit outside AfC and typically have longer notice — three to six months is normal for consultants, and executive contracts can be longer still. Junior doctors in training have notice tied to their rotation, with specific arrangements for moves between trusts.

Junior doctors and training contracts

Notice for doctors in training has its own conventions because rotations are co-ordinated nationally. Resigning mid-rotation usually requires three months' notice, and trusts will expect you to give as much warning as practical so cover can be arranged for the rest of the rota.

If you're leaving the NHS rather than moving trusts, the same notice applies but you'll also need to think about your training number, GMC licence status, and any return-of-service obligations from previous funded training.

Pension, holiday, and final pay

If you're staying in the NHS Pension Scheme, your service is portable across employers within the scheme — leaving one trust to join another doesn't affect accrual. If you're leaving the scheme entirely, request a retirement benefits statement well before your final working day so you understand your options.

Holiday accrued but not taken should be paid out in your final pay, along with any owed enhancements. Trust HR will issue your P45 and final payslip in the normal way; chase if either hasn't arrived a fortnight after your last day.

Frequently asked questions

What's the NHS notice period for a band 5 nurse?: Three months is the standard contractual notice for AfC bands 5 to 9, including most band 5 nurses. Local variations exist, so confirm with your trust HR.
Can I leave the NHS sooner than three months?: You can ask. Trusts will sometimes agree if cover is sorted, particularly for non-clinical roles or where a postholder is moving within the NHS. Get the agreed leaving date in writing.
Do bank holidays count in NHS notice periods?: Yes — notice runs in calendar time, the same as other UK contracts. Bank holidays don't pause the count.
What happens to my NHS pension if I resign?: Your accrued pension stays in the scheme and can be drawn at retirement age. If you join another NHS employer, your service is continuous for pension purposes. If you leave the NHS entirely, the NHS Business Services Authority can talk you through your options.

Planning your next move?

A few things worth lining up before your last day.

Update your CV

Refresh your CV before you start applying — most hiring managers spend under a minute on the first scan.

Build your CV

Search for your next role

Browse openings that match your experience and notice period, with filters for remote and hybrid roles.

See open roles

Prepare for interviews

Practical interview prep — common questions, structured answers, and a short framework for tough ones.

Start preparing

Notice periods in the UK — a practical guide

How is a notice period calculated?

A notice period runs from the day you hand in your resignation to the last day you’re contractually required to work. If your contract says “one month’s notice”, you add one calendar month to the date you resign — so handing notice in on 15 March gives a final working day of 15 April. Weeks work the same way: two weeks is fourteen calendar days, not ten working days.

When the notice is in months and the target month doesn’t have your start day (e.g. resigning on 31 January with one month’s notice), the convention is to roll back to the last day of the next month — 28 February in most years, 29 February in a leap year.

Do weekends count in a notice period?

Yes. Notice is measured in calendar time, so weekends and bank holidays are included. If your final day lands on a Saturday or Sunday, most employers treat the previous Friday as your last working day — but that’s a practical convention, not a legal rule. The toggle in the calculator above mirrors that approach.

What is the minimum notice period in the UK?

If you’ve been employed for one month or more, the statutory minimum notice you have to give is one week — even if your contract is silent on the subject. Employers, by contrast, owe you at least one week’s notice for each full year of service, up to a cap of twelve weeks after twelve years.

Most contracts ask for longer than the statutory minimum (typically one or three months), and the longer of the two periods applies. Senior roles often have three or six months written in.

Can your employer ask you to work longer?

Not unilaterally. Your notice period is whatever your contract says (or the statutory minimum, whichever is longer). An employer can’t simply extend it. They can, however, ask you to leave earlier and pay you for the unworked notice (a payment in lieu of notice, or PILON), or place you on garden leave — keeping you on the payroll but away from the office.

If you’d like to leave sooner than your contract allows, the best route is usually a polite conversation. Many employers will agree to a shorter notice period in writing if cover is in place.

What should you do after resigning?

Get written acknowledgement of your resignation and the agreed final working day. Check that any accrued holiday will be paid out, and ask when to expect your final payslip and P45. Tidy up handover notes early so the last fortnight isn’t a scramble, and line up references before access to work systems is removed.

If you don’t already have your next role lined up, give yourself a week to refresh your CV and shortlist roles before starting applications in earnest — the resources below are a decent starting point.