Notice when being dismissed or made redundant: Notice periods - Acas

Overview
Notice when being dismissed or made redundant
Notice when resigning
When the notice period starts
When an employee is not required to work their notice

Notice when being dismissed or made redundant

An employee should get at least the legal minimum notice period ('statutory notice period') if:

they are legally classed as an employee
they have worked for the employer for at least a month

If they have worked for the employer for:

1 month to 2 years – statutory notice is 1 week
2 to 12 years – statutory notice is 1 week for each full year they have worked
12 years or more – statutory notice is 12 weeks

For example, if an employee has worked for their employer for 4 years and 9 months, they're entitled to a statutory notice period of 4 weeks.

The employee's contract or a staff policy might say a different amount of notice. This is called 'contractual' notice. The employer may give more notice than the statutory minimum, but they cannot give the employee less.

You should talk to your employer if you're not sure how much notice you’ll get.