Enter an employment start date to find the statutory minimum notice period for employer or employee, under ERA 1996 s.86. The working is shown so you can explain the figure.
Under ERA 1996 s.86, an employer must give one week's notice per complete year of service (minimum one week, maximum 12 weeks), once the employee has one month of service. An employee must give one week's notice from one month of service onward, regardless of total service length.
The calculator applies the statutory minimums in Employment Rights Act 1996, s.86. These are the legal minimums that apply to all UK employees; a contract can give longer notice but not shorter.
Click any example to load those values into the calculator.
Until an employee completes one full calendar month of service, neither side has a statutory notice obligation. What happens in practice depends entirely on the contract. Many employers include a short notice clause (one week, for example) that applies during the probation period. Without a contract clause, either party can walk away with no notice obligation in that first month.
An employer can require an employee to stop work immediately and receive a payment in lieu of notice instead, provided the contract allows it (a PILON clause) or both parties agree. The payment must cover everything the employee would have received during the notice period, including salary, pension contributions, and holiday accrual. Since April 2018, all PILON payments are taxable as earnings regardless of whether there is a contractual right to pay in lieu.
Garden leave is when an employer pays the employee their full salary during the notice period but instructs them not to attend work. The employee remains employed throughout, continues to accrue annual leave, and is bound by duties of good faith and confidentiality. Garden leave requires an express contractual right or the employee's consent. It is used most often where the departing employee has access to sensitive clients or competitive information.
A notice period can run concurrently with a period of sickness absence or statutory family leave. If the employee is sick during the notice period, SSP continues to be payable (from day one under the 2026 rules). Statutory holiday continues to accrue throughout. Any accrued but untaken holiday at the end of the notice period must be paid in lieu: see the leaver holiday pay calculator to work out what is owed.
Where an employee transfers under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, their period of continuous employment carries over to the new employer. This means an employee who has worked for the same role across multiple employers (via TUPE) accumulates continuous service for notice purposes from the original start date, not the most recent transfer.
Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, s.86, an employer must give at least one week's notice once an employee has one month of continuous service. For employees with two or more years of service, the minimum rises to one week per complete year, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. An employee must give at least one week's notice from one month of service onward, regardless of how long they have worked there.
The employer must give one week's notice for each complete year of continuous employment, once the employee has two or more years of service. A part-year does not add a further week. For example, an employee with four years and nine months of service is entitled to four weeks' notice, not five. The statutory maximum is 12 weeks, regardless of service length beyond that.
No. The statutory minimums in ERA 1996 s.86 cannot be reduced by agreement. An employer who gives less than the statutory minimum notice must pay the employee in lieu of the shortfall. A contract that purports to give shorter notice than the statutory minimum is unenforceable for that element.
Garden leave is when an employer tells an employee not to come to work during their notice period but keeps paying them as normal. The employee remains employed, continues to accrue benefits and holiday entitlement, and is bound by duties of confidentiality and fidelity. It is used to prevent an employee from working for a competitor immediately. It requires a contractual right to require the employee to stay away from the workplace.
Statutory annual leave continues to accrue throughout the notice period. An employer can require an employee to take outstanding holiday during their notice by giving notice equal to twice the amount of leave being required (for example, ten days' notice to require five days of leave). If the employee leaves with accrued but untaken statutory holiday, it must be paid in lieu.
Yes, by mutual agreement. If both the employer and the employee agree, the employment can end earlier than the notice date would require, typically with a payment in lieu of the remaining notice. The statutory minimum notice can be waived by consent, but the employer cannot unilaterally impose a shorter notice period than the statutory minimum.
| Source | Detail | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Employment Rights Act 1996, s.86 | Statutory minimum notice periods for employer and employee | June 2026 |
| ACAS: Giving notice and notice pay | Practical guidance on how notice works, PILON, garden leave and holiday during notice | June 2026 |
| Employment Rights Act 1996, s.210-219 | Definition of continuous employment for ERA purposes | June 2026 |
| GOV.UK: Notice rights during leave | Notice during maternity, paternity and other statutory leave periods | June 2026 |
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