Notice is asymmetric, and most people do not realise by how much. Your employer owes you one week for every complete year of service up to twelve. You owe them one week, however long you have worked there.
This calculator applies section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and shows the date your employment would end. It also flags something most notice calculators miss: because statutory notice counts towards continuous service, working it can take you past a work anniversary and increase your redundancy pay.
Calculated using England & Wales statutory rules. Figures last checked against source on 21 September 2026.
How this was worked out
- Continuous service
- 5 years At the date notice is given.
- Statutory minimum
- 5 weeks One week for each of your 5 complete years of service.
Things that could change this figure
- This is the statutory minimum notice. Your contract may require longer, in which case the contractual period applies. Read the guide
- Pay in lieu of notice is taxed in full as earnings and does not benefit from the tax-free threshold. Read the guide
- Statutory notice counts towards continuous service. If working your notice takes you past a work anniversary, or past a birthday that moves you into a higher redundancy age band, you may be owed more than a calculation made at the notice date suggests. Read the guide
- No notice is owed where an employee is dismissed for gross misconduct. Read the guide
Sources
- Handing in your notice (GOV.UK)
- Employment Rights Act 1996, s.86 (legislation.gov.uk)
Please read
This shows the statutory minimum notice. Your contract may require longer, and the longer period is the one that applies.
It is not legal advice and it does not tell you whether a dismissal is fair or lawful.
The short version
- Your employer owes
- A week per complete year of service, up to twelve weeks.
- You owe
- One week, once you have a month's service — however long you have worked there.
- Contracts
- Can require more notice from either side, never less than the statutory minimum.
- Pay in lieu
- Ends employment immediately and is taxed in full, unlike a redundancy payment.
- Continuous service
- Statutory notice counts towards it, which can change your redundancy figure.
How to use the notice period calculator
- Choose who is giving notice The amounts are completely different. An employer owes one week per year of service; an employee owes one week regardless.
- Enter your employment start date The start of your continuous employment with this employer.
- Enter the date notice is given Notice normally runs from the day after it is given, unless your contract says otherwise.
- Add contractual notice if longer Your contract may require more than the statutory minimum, and the longer period is the one that applies. Anyone with under twelve years of service and a one-month clause is almost certainly on contractual notice.
- Check whether you cross an anniversary If the result warns that your service increases during notice, run the redundancy calculator using the later end date — it may be worth a week’s pay or more.
Common questions
Can my employer dismiss me without notice?
Only for gross misconduct, or where you have under a month of service. Summary dismissal still requires a proper investigation and a fair procedure — calling something gross misconduct does not remove that.
What is pay in lieu of notice?
Being paid for your notice instead of working it. Your employer needs a contractual right to do it, and the payment is taxed in full as earnings — the £30,000 termination exemption does not apply to it.
What is garden leave?
Serving your notice away from the workplace, still employed and still paid. You remain bound by your contract and generally cannot start another job. Your employer needs a contractual right to require it.
Can I leave without giving notice?
Technically that is a breach of contract, though employers rarely pursue it. What they cannot do is withhold pay for work you have already done as a penalty — deductions need a contractual right or your written agreement.
Does holiday build up during notice?
Yes. Your employer can also require you to take accrued leave during your notice period, provided they give notice of at least twice the length of the leave.
How much is notice pay after tax?
Notice pay is taxed as ordinary earnings — income tax and National Insurance, exactly as if you had worked those weeks. The £30,000 termination payment exemption does not apply to it, whether you work your notice or are paid in lieu. Tick the after-tax box above to see the net figure.
What am I paid during notice?
Normally your usual pay. Where your pay varies, or where you are off sick or on family leave during notice, statutory rules can require a minimum based on average weekly earnings.
Why do I owe less notice than my employer owes me?
Because the statutory minimums are not symmetrical. Your employer owes a week for each complete year, up to twelve. You owe one week once you have a month’s service, however long you have been there — twenty years still means one week. Your contract can raise either figure but not lower them.
What the terms mean
- Statutory notice
- The legal minimum notice period. Your employer owes a week per complete year up to twelve; you owe one week once you have a month's service.
- Pay in lieu of notice (PILON)
- Payment covering the notice period instead of working it. Employment ends immediately and the payment is taxed in full as earnings.
- Garden leave
- Remaining employed and paid but told not to work, usually to keep you from clients or information. Continuous service keeps building.
- Gross misconduct
- Conduct serious enough to end employment without notice. Anything less requires notice or pay in lieu.
- Continuous service
- Unbroken employment with the same employer. Statutory notice counts towards it, which can affect redundancy pay.
Guides on this subject
-
Statutory notice periods: how much notice you must give and receive
Your employer owes one week per year of service, capped at 12. You owe one week however long you have…
-
Pay in lieu of notice (PILON): what it is and how it is taxed
PILON means being paid for notice instead of working it. Since April 2018 it is taxed in full as earnings,…
-
How your notice period can increase your redundancy pay
Statutory notice counts towards continuous service. Crossing a work anniversary is worth a week's pay — crossing a birthday usually…
Figures on this page are checked against primary sources and dated. They are not legal, tax or financial advice.
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