How much notice do I have to give an employee?

Under section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the minimum notice you must give depends on the employee's continuous service:

• less than 1 month: no statutory minimum (check the contract)
• 1 month to less than 2 years: 1 week
• 2 years to less than 12 years: 1 week for each full year
• 12 years or more: 12 weeks

Only full years count, so someone with 4 years and 9 months' service is entitled to 4 weeks.

Unless the contract says otherwise, notice given in person starts the next day. Written notice starts once the employee has had a reasonable time to read it. Putting notice in writing, with the last day of employment, avoids arguments later.

The employee's minimum notice to you is one week once they have worked for a month, however long they have been with you, unless the contract says more.

These rules apply in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own, very similar, legislation.

The statutory figure is a floor. The contract, written statement or staff handbook may give a longer period, such as one or three months. You must give whichever is longer. A term giving less than the statutory minimum doesn't work: the statutory period applies instead.

If you give less notice than the contract requires, the employee can claim the shortfall as breach of contract. From 1 October 2026 most employment tribunal claims can be brought within six months rather than three. For breach of contract claims in Scotland, the longer limit starts on 9 November 2026.

Pay in lieu of notice (often called PILON) means ending the employment straight away and paying the employee for the notice period instead.

• If the contract has a PILON clause, you can usually rely on it, depending on its wording.
• If it doesn't, you can't force the employee to accept pay in lieu. Ending the employment early without their agreement risks a breach of contract claim.
• Garden leave is the alternative: the employee stays employed and is paid as usual, but is told not to work for some or all of the notice period.

Notice pay, including pay in lieu, is taxed and subject to National Insurance like normal earnings. It doesn't fall within the £30,000 tax-free allowance for some termination payments. On top of notice pay, you must pay for any untaken statutory holiday.

Section 86 doesn't stop either side ending the contract without notice because of the other's conduct. If an employee commits gross misconduct serious enough to justify dismissal, such as theft or violence, they are not entitled to statutory notice or pay for it.

Be careful before relying on this. Investigate, hold a disciplinary meeting, let them be accompanied and offer an appeal, following the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. If a tribunal decides the conduct wasn't gross misconduct, you may owe notice pay. You still have to pay wages already earned and untaken holiday.

Giving the right notice is separate from having a fair reason and process. Employees currently need two years' service to claim unfair dismissal. For dismissals on or after 1 January 2027, that falls to six months and the cap on compensation is removed.

If you dismiss without notice, or with pay in lieu, the statutory minimum notice is added on when working out whether the employee has reached the qualifying period (Employment Rights Act 1996 s 97).