How much notice does an employer have to give in the UK?

The statutory minimum is 1 week after one month's service, then 1 week per full year of service from 2 years, capped at 12 weeks. The employment contract can set longer notice, and the longer period applies.

Yes. Payment in lieu of notice is treated as normal earnings and taxed with NI in full - unlike statutory redundancy pay, which is tax-free up to £30,000.

Is notice pay capped like redundancy pay?

No. Notice is paid at the employee's real gross pay with no £751 weekly cap - that cap only applies to statutory redundancy pay.

What is garden leave?

The employee remains employed and paid through their notice period but is told not to work. It costs the same as worked notice and is used when access to systems, clients or competitors is sensitive.

Notice pay calculator (UK)

Statutory minimum notice from length of service, what the contract adds, and what paying in lieu (PILON) costs. After the dates instead? The notice period calculator works out the exact last day.

Calculator · Pay & rates · Updated for the 2026/27 tax year

The notice

Full years of service

Gross weekly pay (£)

Contractual notice (weeks, if longer)

0 = statutory only

Statutory minimum

5 weeks

1 week per year of service

Notice that applies

5 weeks

the longer of statutory and contract

PILON cost

£3,000

gross, taxed as normal earnings

Statutory minimum notice FROM the employer: 1 week after a month's service, then 1 week per full year from 2 years, capped at 12 weeks. The contract can require more, never less. Notice pay - worked or in lieu - is taxable earnings.

This calculator needs JavaScript. Statutory notice: 1 week between 1 month and 2 years, then 1 week per full year, max 12. Multiply the applicable weeks by gross weekly pay for the PILON cost.

In short

Statutory minimum notice from an employer is one week after a month's service, rising to one week per full year from two years, capped at twelve weeks (gov.uk). Contracts often set more; whichever is longer applies. Employees owe at least one week's notice after a month - their statutory side never rises.

How much notice does an employer have to give?

Statutory minimum notice from the employer.
Service	Minimum notice
1 month - 2 years	1 week
2 - 12 years	1 week per full year
12+ years	12 weeks (the cap)

Working notice vs PILON vs garden leave

Worked notice - normal pay for normal work; costs nothing extra.
PILON (payment in lieu of notice) - employment ends now, notice paid as a lump sum. Taxable in full. Cleanest exit; needs a PILON clause to avoid technical breach.
Garden leave - employed and paid through notice but told to stay home; useful when access or competition is sensitive. Same cost as worked notice.

What counts as a week's pay?

Normal gross weekly pay - and unlike statutory redundancy, it is not capped at £751. Variable-pay staff use a 12-week average. During statutory notice most absence (sickness, leave) must be paid at full rate. Costing a whole exit? The redundancy cost calculator combines notice, statutory redundancy and holiday payout; the underlying figures are on the statutory rates table.

Not legal advice

This calculator applies the statutory rules as published and shows its working, but it cannot know your contracts, your policies or anything unusual about the case. Treat the figure as a starting point, and take advice on anything contested or expensive.

More tools: All 24 calculators · 66 guides behind the numbers · 30 templates to go with them

Service dates you never have to look up

CoDash tracks start dates, notice periods and leave balances per person - so the day you need these numbers, they're already right.

See pay and overtime in the demo See the product