Notice period calculator
UK statutory minimumOr your contractFrom the day after
3 years of continuous employment. Statutory minimum notice: 1 week.
Last day: Friday, 6 November 2026
Notice runs from the day after it's given, so 1 week from Friday, 30 October 2026 ends on Friday, 6 November 2026. Weekends and bank holidays count. The longer statutory periods only apply when your employer gives notice. Most contracts give more than the legal minimum, and then the contract applies.
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Statutory notice in the UK
The law sets a floor, not the usual number. Once you’ve been in a job for a month without a break, your employer has to give you at least:
- one week, if you’ve worked there for less than two years;
- one week for each complete year, from two years up to eleven;
- twelve weeks, once you’ve been there twelve years or more.
If you resign, you have to give at least a week. Most contracts set something longer, often a month, and then the contract applies. Pick your contract’s notice in the calculator and it will use whichever ends later.
Working out the last day
Notice runs from the day after it’s given. Five weeks’ notice handed over on Thursday 1 October 2026 ends on Thursday 5 November 2026. A month’s notice given on 1 October ends on 1 November. Weekends and bank holidays inside the period make no difference.
Your employer can pay you for the notice period instead of having you work it, and the two of you can agree to waive notice altogether. Holiday you haven’t taken is paid out or taken during the notice period, which can bring your last working day forward.
Sources
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 86 (legislation.gov.uk) · statutory minimum notice
- Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, article 118 (legislation.gov.uk) · the same rule in Northern Ireland
- Handing in your notice: giving notice (GOV.UK) · when the period starts
- Redundancy: your rights, notice periods (GOV.UK)
- Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v Haywood [2018] UKSC 22 (UK Supreme Court) · notice sent by letter
Last checked 1 October 2026
Questions people ask
What is the statutory notice period in the UK?
If your employer gives you notice, at least one week once you’ve worked there a month, then one week for every complete year from two years, up to twelve weeks after twelve years. If you resign, the legal minimum is one week. Your contract can give more, and usually does.
How much notice do I need to give when I resign?
Whatever your contract says. If it says nothing, one week, as long as you’ve worked there for at least a month. The longer statutory periods only bind the employer.
When does my notice period start?
Usually the day after you hand your notice in. A notice sent by letter counts from when you actually read it, or had a fair chance to.
Does a notice period include weekends and bank holidays?
Yes. Notice is counted in calendar weeks or months, so weekends and bank holidays inside it count. A week’s notice handed in on a Thursday ends the next Thursday.
Do I have to give notice during probation?
Under a month into the job, the law sets no minimum, so your contract decides. Probation clauses often set a shorter notice, such as a week, for both sides.
Need the working days between two dates? Try the business days calculator.