UK · Employment rights

Notice period rights UK

Notice periods exist on both sides: how much warning you have to give your employer before leaving, and how much warning they have to give you. The longer of the statutory minimum and the contractual figure applies. The rest of this page covers what each side can do during the notice period, the rights that protect you, and the calculators that do the dates.

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Statutory notice

Statutory notice is the legal minimum either side must give the other. It is set by section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and applies regardless of what your contract says. If your contract gives less than the statutory minimum, the statutory figure overrides (the contractual figure cannot undercut the legal floor).

From the employer to the employee, statutory minimum scales with service:

  • Less than one month of service: no statutory notice.
  • One month to under two years: one week.
  • Two years to under twelve years: one week per complete year of service.
  • Twelve years or more: twelve weeks (capped).

From the employee to the employer, the statutory minimum is one week once you have at least one month of continuous service, regardless of length. So someone with twenty years of service still only needs to give one week’s statutory notice. Most contracts give a longer figure.

The redundancy notice period calculator gives you the statutory minimum from your service length. The notice period calculator on the homepage calculates the final working day from any contractual notice.

Contractual notice

Contractual notice is the figure in your employment contract. It almost always exceeds the statutory minimum for any role above the most junior level. Typical patterns by seniority:

  • Junior roles: one to two weeks during probation, one month afterwards.
  • Mid-level professionals: one to three months.
  • Senior managers: three months.
  • Director and C-suite: six months to twelve months.

Probation periods typically carry a shorter notice (often one week) than the post-probation figure. The contract spells out each. Check your contract’s notice clause specifically; ambiguity is rare but does occur, and the interpretation matters when you decide to leave.

What the employer can do during your notice period

When you have given (or received) notice, the employer has three options for how the notice period actually runs:

Working notice. You carry on with your role until the last day, completing handovers and tidying up open work. This is the default.

Garden leave. The employer tells you to stay home for the notice period while continuing to pay your full salary and benefits. You remain employed; the contract continues in force; restrictive covenants apply. The employer needs a garden-leave clause in the contract to do this unilaterally. See the garden leave guide for the detail. The garden leave calculator does the dates including non-compete stacking.

Payment in lieu of notice (PILON). The employer pays you a lump sum equal to your salary for the unworked notice and ends employment immediately. The employer needs a PILON clause in the contract to do this unilaterally; without one, PILON requires mutual agreement. Since 6 April 2018, all PILON is fully taxable as earnings. The PILON calculator handles the gross figure.

Employee rights during notice

During the notice period, your normal employment rights continue. You are entitled to:

  • Your full pay (or PILON equivalent), without deductions for failing to find a replacement or other employer-side issues.
  • Continued accrual of holiday entitlement.
  • Statutory sick pay (or contractual sick pay if your scheme provides) for any sickness during the notice period.
  • Pension contributions on the same terms as before notice.
  • Continued access to all employer benefits (private medical insurance, life cover, share scheme participation, etc.) until the last day of employment.
  • The right to request reasonable time off to look for work or attend training during redundancy notice (limited to 40% of working time, paid).
  • Protection against discrimination, victimisation and unfair treatment for the duration of employment.

Employer rights during notice

The employer retains certain rights during your notice period too:

  • The right to require you to work the notice period as normal, subject to the contract.
  • The right to enforce contractual obligations including confidentiality, non-solicitation and non-competition.
  • The right to direct your work, allocate tasks, and supervise performance during working notice.
  • The right to invoke a garden leave or PILON clause where the contract allows.
  • The right to require you to use accrued holiday during notice rather than be paid out (most contracts include this clause).
  • The right to recover company property at the end of the notice period (laptop, phone, access cards, documents).
  • The right to discipline you for genuine misconduct that occurs during notice, including summary dismissal for gross misconduct.

Sick leave during notice

Calling in sick during your notice period works the same as any other time. You are entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP) if you have been off for four or more consecutive days and meet the earnings threshold, or contractual sick pay if your scheme is more generous. Sickness counts as notice days; the final working day does not move because of the absence.

If you exhaust your notice while off sick, your employment ends on the scheduled date and you are paid up to that point. Contractual sick pay can be reduced or paused during notice in some schemes; check the wording. The statutory minimum is always payable where you are eligible and have followed the employer’s sickness reporting process.

Holiday during notice

Holiday continues to accrue throughout the notice period. You can request to take holiday during notice through the normal approval process; the employer can refuse for reasonable operational reasons but cannot block all leave unreasonably.

Many employers include a contractual clause requiring you to use accrued leave during the notice period rather than be paid out at the end. If your contract has that clause, the employer can effectively force the issue. Statutory holiday accrued but not taken must be paid out as cash at termination; the employer cannot refuse and you cannot waive it. The holiday entitlement calculator handles the accrual maths; the unused holiday pay guide covers the legal detail.

Resignation rights

Resignation is a unilateral act. Once you have given valid written notice in the form your contract requires (almost always written), your employment will end at the end of the notice period regardless of whether the employer accepts it. There is no acceptance step in UK employment law.

What employers actually mean when they say they will not accept a resignation is usually one of three things: they want you to reconsider and stay (which is a conversation rather than a block); they want to negotiate the leaving date (fair to discuss); or they are testing whether you really mean it. None of these has legal force once a written notice has been served.

One narrow exception: case law treats heat-of-the-moment resignations as ambiguous. If you have resigned in anger and immediately regret it, a reasonable employer is expected to check that the resignation was deliberate. If you have calmed down within a day or two and want to stay, ask in writing while the moment is still fresh. Once written notice has been formally served and acted on, retraction is no longer automatic; the employer can accept it but is not obliged to.

Leaving before your notice ends

You have three legitimate options if you want to leave before the contractual notice period ends:

Negotiate a shorter notice. The simplest route. Tell your manager you would like to leave earlier than the contractual date, propose a specific new last working day, and get any agreement in writing. Most employers will agree to some flexibility when there is no operational reason to refuse.

Accept PILON if offered. If your contract has a PILON clause and your employer wants to use it, your employment ends immediately and the unworked notice is paid as a lump sum. Most often used when the employer wants you off the payroll quickly.

Walk out and breach the contract. Rarely worth doing. The employer is entitled to refuse to pay you for unworked days, give a less favourable reference, and (in theory) sue for damages caused by your breach. Damages claims against individual ex-employees are very uncommon in practice but the loss of pay and reference consequences are real.

What to do if your rights are not respected

The escalation path during a notice-period dispute is similar to other employment-rights issues:

  1. Raise the issue in writing with your line manager or HR, citing the specific contractual or statutory entitlement at stake.
  2. Use the employer’s formal grievance procedure if the initial conversation does not resolve it.
  3. Contact ACAS (0300 123 1100) for free advice.
  4. Initiate ACAS early conciliation if a tribunal claim looks viable. Mandatory before lodging any tribunal claim.
  5. Lodge a tribunal claim within three months less one day of the act complained of. Common claim types in notice-period disputes: unauthorised deduction from wages (unpaid notice or holiday pay), wrongful dismissal (employer terminating without proper notice), unfair dismissal (if you have two or more years of service).

Related calculators on this site

Related guides and articles

Frequently asked questions

What are my notice period rights in the UK?
You are entitled to either the statutory minimum notice (set by section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996) or the notice in your contract, whichever is longer. From the employer to you, statutory minimum scales with service: one week between one month and two years, one week per year between two and twelve years, capped at twelve weeks. From you to the employer, statutory minimum is one week from one month of service. Most contracts give a longer figure.
Can my employer reject my resignation?
No. Resignation is a unilateral act in UK employment law. Once you have given valid written notice, your employment ends at the end of the notice period whether the employer accepts it or not. The employer can decide how to handle the period (working notice, garden leave, or PILON), but cannot extend or refuse the end date. The exception is heat-of-the-moment resignations where case law treats spoken-in-anger statements as ambiguous.
Can my employer make me work my notice period?
Yes. The notice period in your contract is binding on both sides. The employer is entitled to your full notice unless they offer PILON or garden leave, or unless you negotiate a shorter notice. Refusing to work the notice is a breach of contract, although the practical consequences are usually limited to losing pay for unworked days and a more cautious reference.
Can I take holiday during my notice period?
Yes, subject to the same approval rules that apply at any other time. Many employers actively encourage or require accrued leave to be used during the notice period rather than paid out at the end. Whether you can take a specific week off is still a matter of your manager's sign-off.
Can I call in sick during my notice period?
Yes. Sickness during notice works exactly the same as any other time. You are entitled to statutory sick pay (or contractual sick pay if your scheme is more generous). The absence counts toward your notice as normal, and your final working day does not move.
What is garden leave?
Garden leave is when your employer tells you to stay home during the notice period while continuing to pay your salary in the normal way. You remain legally employed; all standard contractual obligations (confidentiality, non-solicit, non-compete) remain in force; benefits keep running. Whether the employer can put you on garden leave depends on whether your contract has a garden leave clause.

General information about UK notice period rights, not legal advice. For your specific situation, contact ACAS or an employment-law solicitor.

Sources and further reading