How to work out a notice period (UK): length, start date and last day

Law checked: 2 November 2026. This article covers England, Wales and Scotland.

Working out a notice period takes three questions. How long is the notice? When does it start? When does it end? Most mistakes come from the second and third, not the first. If you just want the answer, our notice period calculator does all three.

Step 1: how long is the notice?

Start with the contract. The written statement of particulars must say how much notice the employee must give and is entitled to receive (Employment Rights Act 1996, s.1(4)(e)).

Then check the statutory minimum. Once someone has been continuously employed for one month, the employer must give at least (s.86(1)):

| Continuous employment | Minimum notice from the employer |

|---|---|

| Less than one month | None under s.86 |

| One month to less than two years | One week |

| Two years to less than twelve years | One week for each complete year |

| Twelve years or more | Twelve weeks |

Only complete years count. Someone with three years and eleven months' service is entitled to at least three weeks, not four.

An employee who has worked for a month must give at least one week, however long they have been there (s.86(2)). The contract can ask for more, and usually does.

Where the contract and the statute differ, the longer one wins. A contract term giving less than the statutory minimum has effect subject to s.86 (s.86(3)). Either side can still waive notice, or accept a payment in lieu.

Step 2: when does notice start?

Notice usually starts to run on the day after it is given, unless the contract or the notice letter says otherwise ([West v Kneels Ltd [1987] ICR 146](https://employmentcasesupdate.co.uk/content/wang-v-university-of-keele-ukeat-0223-10-cea.c0f2d2537c0e437ea75eeb5e7fbb2cd6.htm); Wang v University of Keele UKEAT/0223/10).

Written notice is given when it actually comes to the employee's attention and they have read it, or had a reasonable opportunity to read it. Posting, emailing or delivering it is not enough on its own, unless the contract says when notice is treated as given ([Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v Haywood [2018] UKSC 22](https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/uksc/2018/22)). Handing the letter over in a meeting, or asking the employee to confirm when they have read an email, removes the argument.

Step 3: when does notice end?

Weeks. A week's notice is seven days. One week's notice given on a Monday ends on the following Monday. Four weeks' notice given on Monday 2 November ends on Monday 30 November.

Months. In a contract, "month" means a calendar month unless the context shows otherwise (Law of Property Act 1925, s.61). Notice ends on the corresponding date in the later month, so a month's notice given on 2 November ends on 2 December. Where that month has no corresponding date, notice ends on the last day of the month: a month's notice given on 31 January ends on 28 February, or 29 February in a leap year ([Dodds v Walker [1981] 1 WLR 1027](https://employmentcasesupdate.co.uk/content/tanveer-v-east-london-bus-coach-company-ltd-ukeat-0022-16-rn.5ab548bd09d3463eaf32bc9c5f855848.htm)).

Four weeks is not a month. Four weeks is always 28 days. A calendar month is 28 to 31 days. The difference matters once an employee has five complete years' service: the statutory minimum is then five weeks, which is longer than any calendar month, so a contract that says one month gives way to the five weeks.

The notice period calculator applies these rules, including the end-of-month fallback.

Step 4: what is paid during notice?

The employee is normally paid as usual for the notice period. If the employer ends the employment straight away under a payment in lieu of notice (PILON) clause, the payment is taxed as earnings, and post-employment notice pay rules can make part of a wider termination package taxable too (Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, s.402D). Take advice on the tax treatment of any package.

Where the employer's contractual notice is less than one week more than the statutory minimum, ss.88 to 91 can require the employee to be paid during the statutory notice period even when they are off sick, on holiday or on family leave (s.87(4); s.88). The calculator flags when this applies.

Common mistakes

1. 1.Counting the day notice is given. It usually does not count.
2. 2.Treating four weeks as a month. They end on different days.
3. 3.Counting part-years. Statutory notice goes up only with each complete year of continuous employment.
4. 4.Assuming the email date is the start date. Notice is given when it is read, or could reasonably have been read.
5. 5.Forgetting the statutory floor. A short contractual notice clause does not override s.86.

If notice is part of a dismissal, the notice date also fixes the effective date of termination, which matters for tribunal time limits. See Tribunal time limits doubled on 1 October 2026 and Can I dismiss someone for poor performance?.

If you are about to give notice and want the process checked first, talk to us.

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