Notice Pay Calculator UK

When a job ends, whichever side ends it, notice is where the money questions start. How many weeks are you owed? Do you have to work them? What if your employer wants you gone today? And why does the payslip for your notice period sometimes look different from a normal one? The rules here are a layered mix of statute and contract, and the answer to "how much notice am I owed?" is always the more generous of the two.

This calculator works out your statutory minimum notice, and what it's worth in pay.

Statutory minimum notice from your employer

The legal floor, based on continuous service:

So someone with 7 full years of service is owed at least 7 weeks' notice; someone with 20 years is owed 12 weeks, the statutory scale stops climbing at 12.

Statutory minimum notice from you

The rules are asymmetric. If you resign, the statutory minimum you owe your employer is just 1 week, once you've been employed at least a month, regardless of how long you've worked there. Anything more, the familiar one month or three months, comes from your contract, not the law.

Contractual notice: the layer on top

Most contracts specify longer notice than the statutory minimum, commonly one month for junior roles and three months or more for senior ones. The rule is simple: the longer of statutory and contractual notice applies. A contract saying "one month" can't shrink the 8 weeks statute owes an 8-year employee, but statute can't shrink a contractual three-month period down to one week either.

Pay in lieu of notice (PILON)

Instead of having you work your notice, your employer may end employment immediately and pay you for the notice period. Key points:

• PILON is always taxed as normal earnings, it never shares the £30,000 tax-free redundancy exemption, even when paid alongside a redundancy package
• If your contract contains a PILON clause, your employer can lawfully use it; without one, ending employment instantly with a payment is technically a breach of contract, though usually a settled one
• PILON should generally reflect what you'd have earned during notice, salary, and depending on the contract wording, sometimes benefits too

Garden leave

Garden leave is different from PILON: you remain an employee for the full notice period, paid as normal, but told not to come to work. You keep your salary and benefits, but you also remain bound by your employment duties, you can't start a new job during garden leave, and confidentiality and loyalty obligations continue. Employers use it to keep departing staff away from clients, live deals, or sensitive information while restrictive covenants tick down.

Pay during your notice period: a quirk worth knowing

If you're off sick, on holiday, or on family leave during your notice period, an odd statutory rule can apply. Where your contractual notice is less than a week longer than your statutory entitlement, you're entitled to full normal pay during notice even while off sick, better than SSP. But if your contract gives at least a week more notice than statute requires, this protection doesn't apply and you get whatever your contract says (often just SSP while sick). It's counterintuitive, more generous contractual notice can mean less generous sick pay during it, and worth checking if you're serving notice while unwell.

What if your employer doesn't pay?

Being dismissed without proper notice or PILON is wrongful dismissal, a breach of contract claim for the pay you should have received. This is distinct from unfair dismissal, which is about the fairness of the reason and process. Notice pay disputes can be pursued through Acas early conciliation and then an employment tribunal, generally within three months of dismissal.

Notice and redundancy: separate entitlements

If you're made redundant, notice pay is owed on top of statutory redundancy pay, they're independent entitlements. A redundancy package should include both, plus accrued holiday.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. For a notice dispute, check your contract and contact Acas, and take advice before signing any settlement agreement.