UK law sets a minimum notice period based on continuous service. After an initial qualifying month it is one week, then one week for each complete year of service up to a maximum. Employees owe a shorter statutory minimum in return.
Contract versus statute
An employment contract commonly specifies a longer notice period, and where it does, the contractual period applies. Where the contract is silent or specifies less than the statutory minimum, the statutory minimum governs. A contract cannot reduce it.
- Notice can be worked, or paid in lieu where the contract permits
- Garden leave keeps the employee employed but away from work during notice
- Statutory notice is unaffected by the reason for dismissal, except for gross misconduct
- Notice pay during the period must generally reflect normal pay
Why it matters when hiring internationally
Notice is easy to get wrong at the margins, particularly the interaction with pay in lieu: dismissing immediately without a contractual right to pay in lieu is a breach of contract even where the payment is made. Long-serving employees also accrue substantially more notice than a standard contract clause might suggest, and the statutory floor rises silently with each year of service.