Notice Periods (Minimum Notice)
The legally required warning period an employer or employee must give before ending employment, set by the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973.
Statutory minimums scale with service: one week after 13 weeks' service, rising to eight weeks after 15 years. Contracts can require more but never less. Employers can pay in lieu of notice if the contract allows. Getting notice wrong turns a clean exit into a WRC claim — and note that during probation, statutory notice still applies once the employee passes 13 weeks of service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, once they have 13 weeks' continuous service — probation does not switch off the Minimum Notice Act. An employee six months into a nine-month probation is entitled to one week's statutory notice (or their contractual notice if greater). Dismissing on the spot without notice is only lawful for genuine gross misconduct.
Yes, if the contract permits it or the employee agrees — payment in lieu ends employment immediately while compensating for the notice period. Get the arrangement in writing, pay all accrued entitlements (including untaken annual leave), and remember the payment is taxable in the normal way.
It scales with service under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973: one week for 13 weeks to 2 years of service, two weeks for 2–5 years, four weeks for 5–10 years, six weeks for 10–15 years, and eight weeks beyond 15 years. Contracts can provide for more notice than the statutory minimum, but never less.