UK notice periods explained

Statutory minimum notice

From employer to employee (Employment Rights Act 1996): - Less than 1 month service: no statutory notice - 1 month to 2 years: 1 week - 2 to 12 years: 1 week per year served - 12+ years: 12 weeks maximum

From employee to employer: - Less than 1 month: no notice - 1 month+: minimum 1 week statutory

Contractual notice

Contract typically extends statutory minimum. Common patterns: - Junior: 1 month either way - Mid: 1-3 months - Senior: 3-6 months - Executive: 6-12 months

Contract cannot reduce below statutory.

Pay in lieu of notice (PILON)

Employer pays the notice period as a lump sum + terminates employment immediately.

• Contractual PILON: taxable as normal pay
• Non-contractual (breach) PILON: since 2018, taxable as normal pay (Post-Employment Notice Pay rules)

Garden leave

Employee remains employed + paid but does not attend work + not permitted to work for competitors.

• Prevents solicitation of clients/staff
• Maintains contractual obligations
• Preserves confidential information
• Fully taxable as normal pay

Notice during probation

Contract typically specifies shorter probation notice (1 week each way). Statutory floor still applies after 1 month's service.

Redundancy notice

Statutory notice applies whether termination is redundancy or ordinary. Redundancy adds statutory redundancy pay separately.

Working notice vs paid notice

• Working notice: employee works period + is paid normally
• Paid notice (garden leave): employee at home + paid
• PILON: employee not paid ongoing salary; lump sum for notice period

In short

UK notice = statutory floor OR contractual maximum. PILON + garden leave common at senior levels. Statutory floor: 1 week per year, capped 12 weeks.