Notice Periods Guide: Rules, Costs and Employer Obligations

By Tony Davies, Director of Global Partnerships at Acumen International

A notice period is the time between formal notification of resignation or dismissal and the date the employment contract legally terminates. During this period, the employee may continue working, remain away from the business on garden leave or leave immediately with payment for the notice they would otherwise have served.

How long that period lasts differs considerably across countries. It may be set by law, contract or collective agreement; increase with tenure; vary by employee category; and differ depending on whether the employer or employee gives notice.

In some countries, the obligation lasts only a few weeks. In others, it can keep the employment relationship in place for several months.

Notice periods therefore shape much more than the final working day. They affect employment cost, handover and replacement planning, access to employees and information, the timing of restructures and, in some cases, the choice of where to employ.

The headline number matters, but so do the rules that determine when notice starts, what continues during it and whether it can be worked, waived or paid in lieu.

The starting point is how each country establishes the applicable notice period, because the figure written into the employment contract is not always the one that governs the exit.

What Determines the Applicable Notice Period?

A country-level figure gives employers a useful reference point, but it does not apply uniformly to every employment relationship. The final period results from the interaction between local law, the employment terms and the circumstances in which employment ends.

1. Statutory requirements. Local law may prescribe a fixed minimum or increase notice with length of service. Employer and employee obligations may follow different rules, so the notice required for dismissal is not necessarily the notice required for resignation.
2. Employment contract. An employment contract can provide more notice than the statutory minimum, particularly for senior or specialist roles. A shorter contractual clause will not displace mandatory local protection, and some countries limit how the employer’s and employee’s obligations can differ.
3. Collective agreement. Industry, occupational or company-level agreements may determine notice by employee category, grade or seniority. Where one applies, the contract cannot be reviewed in isolation.
4. Stage of employment. Probation often carries a shorter period, while notice for established employees may increase over time. Fixed-term contracts can follow separate rules on expiry, non-renewal and early termination.
5. Reason for the exit. Ordinary dismissal, redundancy, resignation and serious misconduct do not always produce the same notice entitlement. The employer may also have to complete a prescribed process before the notice period begins.

Any cross-country comparison therefore needs a consistent scenario: who gives notice, how the employment ends and how long the employee has served.

How Notice Periods Develop Across Countries

Notice obligations do not follow one international pattern. Some remain fixed throughout employment, while others rise with tenure or depend mainly on the contract or collective agreement.

The table compares statutory or default employer notice for ordinary termination of an indefinite contract. It does not include probation, summary dismissal, longer contractual terms or any dismissal process required before notice begins.

Country	Initial notice	How it changes with service
United States	No general federal requirement	Usually governed by contract, policy or state law; separate rules may apply to mass layoffs
United Kingdom	1 week after one month of employment	1 week per completed year after 2 years, capped at 12 weeks
Germany	4 weeks	Employer notice increases at statutory service thresholds, reaching 7 months after 20 years
France	Determined by law, collective agreement or custom below 6 months	Generally 1 month from 6 months to 2 years and 2 months thereafter; collective agreements may provide more
Netherlands	1 month	2 months after 5 years, 3 after 10 years and 4 after 15 years
Belgium	1 week during the first 3 months	Increases through detailed tenure bands, reaching 18 weeks after 5 years and continuing to rise
Poland	2 weeks	1 month after 6 months and 3 months after 3 years
Australia	1 week	Rises to 4 weeks after 5 years; qualifying employees aged 45 or over receive an additional week
Japan	30 days	Does not increase with tenure under the general statutory rule
Singapore	1 day where service is below 26 weeks and the contract is silent	Rises to 1 week, 2 weeks and then 4 weeks after 5 years
UAE	30 to 90 days	The contract sets the period within the statutory range rather than tenure
South Africa	1 week	2 weeks after 6 months and 4 weeks after 1 year

The contrast matters from the beginning of employment. In some countries, notice remains fixed; in others, the employer’s obligation increases within months or at successive service thresholds. Comparing the initial period, the rate of progression and the longest applicable period gives a more useful picture than any single tenure-based figure.

Why the Stated Notice Period May Not Match the Exit Timeline

The period shown in a contract or country guide may cover only the final stage of an employment exit. Depending on the jurisdiction and the reason for termination, four stages can determine the actual timeline.

1. Establish the termination ground. Performance, misconduct, redundancy and other employer-led exits may require different evidence and preparation.
2. Complete the required procedure. Consultation with the employee, a works council, trade union or public authority may be required before notice can take effect. In the Netherlands, an employer may need permission from the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) or a decision from a subdistrict court before ending employment, depending on the grounds for dismissal.
3. Serve the applicable notice. The statutory, contractual or collectively agreed period begins once notice has been validly given. Its start and end dates may follow specific rules: Belgium begins the period on the Monday following the week of notification, while Polish notice expressed in months ends on the final day of the month.
4. Account for events affecting the end date. In France, annual leave approved before notice is given suspends the notice period and moves the final employment date. An occupational accident or illness arising during notice can also extend it, while ordinary non-work-related sickness does not. French Public Service: annual leave and sickness during notice.

Two countries can therefore prescribe the same notice period but produce different exit timelines. The relevant comparison is the time between the decision to terminate and the date employment legally ends.

Working Notice, Garden Leave and Payment in Lieu

Once notice has been given, the employee does not necessarily continue working until the employment end date. The available arrangements, and their legal effect, differ across countries.

Arrangement	Does employment continue?	Does the employee work?	How the employee is paid
Working notice	Yes	Yes	Normal salary and benefits continue
Garden leave or release from duties	Usually yes	No, or duties and access are restricted	Salary and contractual benefits generally continue
Payment in lieu of notice	Usually no	No	The employee receives payment for the notice not worked

These arrangements are not interchangeable. Garden leave keeps the employment relationship in place, so continuing duties, including confidentiality and contractual restrictions, may still apply.

Payment in lieu usually brings employment to an immediate end and replaces the unworked period with a payment, subject to local law and the contract.

The party requesting the release can also change the result. In France, if the employer releases the employee from working notice, the employee receives compensatory notice pay and the original contract end date remains unchanged. If the employee requests the release and the employer agrees, the unworked period is generally unpaid.

In the United Kingdom, an employer can use payment in lieu where the contract permits it or the employee agrees. During garden leave, the employee remains employed and continues to receive the same pay and contractual benefits.

Pay, Benefits and Obligations During Notice

Where employment continues through working notice or garden leave, the employment contract remains in force until the termination date. Removing the employee from their duties does not automatically remove the employer’s payment obligations or the employee’s continuing responsibilities.

1. Salary and benefits. Normal salary generally continues alongside contractual benefits such as health insurance, pension contributions, allowances and company-provided equipment.
2. Bonus and commission. Variable pay depends on the scheme rules, the date it was earned and any requirement to remain employed or actively working on the payment date. Garden leave can produce a different outcome from immediate termination with payment in lieu.
3. Annual leave. Holiday entitlement may continue to accrue during notice. Depending on local rules, the employee may take leave during the period or receive payment for the unused balance when employment ends.
4. Employee obligations. Confidentiality, fidelity, intellectual property and other contractual duties continue while the employee remains employed. Garden leave may also delay the point at which post-termination restrictions begin.
5. Employment-linked status. Insurance cover, immigration sponsorship and other rights connected to employment may continue until the legal termination date, although reporting and cancellation deadlines differ by country.

Payment in lieu requires a separate calculation. The amount may extend beyond basic salary to benefits, variable remuneration and other entitlements the employee would have received during the unworked notice period.

How Notice Periods Affect Workforce Decisions

Notice creates both a cost and a time commitment. Its effect depends on when the organisation needs flexibility and whether the employee or employer is more likely to initiate the exit.

Workforce decision	Relevance of the notice period
Choice of hiring country	A notice obligation that increases quickly with tenure can make one location less flexible than another with similar salary and employer costs
Probation and early-stage hiring	Shorter probationary notice can limit exposure while the employer and employee assess whether the role works
Senior and specialist roles	Longer contractual notice can protect continuity if the employee resigns, but creates the same or a greater commitment when the employer terminates
Replacement planning	Working notice can support handover; garden leave or immediate departure may require the employer to fund the outgoing and incoming employee at the same time
Restructuring	Different notice periods across a workforce can produce staggered exit dates and delay the point at which the planned cost reduction takes full effect
Market exit	Employment obligations may continue after commercial activity has stopped, particularly where notice rises with tenure or must follow a dismissal procedure

Longer notice is not automatically a disadvantage. It can preserve knowledge, support handover and reduce the disruption of an unexpected resignation. Its value or cost depends on the role, the likely direction of the exit and the flexibility the organisation expects to need.

Notice Period Versus Severance Pay

Notice and severance can arise from the same termination, but they cover different obligations.

Notice can involve continued salary or a payment for the period not worked, which makes it easy to group it with severance. The two may arise from the same termination, but they cover separate obligations and require separate calculations.

Aspect	Notice period	Severance pay
Purpose	Sets the time between notification and the end of employment, or compensates for that time if it is not worked	Provides a separate termination payment where law, contract or agreement requires it
When it applies	Can apply to resignation and employer-led termination	Most commonly linked to employer-led termination, redundancy or a statutory end-of-service entitlement
Employment status	Employment usually continues during working notice or garden leave	Usually becomes payable when employment ends
Calculation	Based on the remuneration and benefits due for the applicable period	May depend on tenure, salary, termination ground or a statutory formula
Can both apply?	Yes	Yes

An employee may therefore receive salary throughout notice and a separate severance payment at the end. Alternatively, the employer may pay notice in lieu alongside severance and other final entitlements. One payment should not be assumed to replace the other unless local law or a valid termination agreement provides for that result.

Notice Periods and Global EOR Risk

A Global EOR arrangement connects three parties: the client company, the Global EOR and the employee. The client directs the employee’s work and decides whether it still needs the role. The Global EOR’s local entity signs the employment contract and acts as the legal employer.

That distinction becomes critical at termination. A client can end the assignment, but it cannot dismiss an employee it does not legally employ. The Global EOR must assess whether the proposed termination is lawful, complete the required local process and issue notice in its own name.

As the legal employer, the Global EOR carries direct exposure to:

• wrongful or unfair dismissal claims;
• back pay, damages or reinstatement following an invalid termination;
• salary, benefits and social contributions due during notice;
• errors in notice, leave, severance and final-pay calculations;
• failures to consult employees, unions, works councils or authorities;
• discrimination or protected-status claims;
• immigration and sponsorship obligations connected to the end of employment.

The Global EOR therefore cannot treat every client instruction as executable. It may require evidence supporting the termination ground, performance-management records, a redundancy rationale or confirmation that a protected situation does not prevent dismissal. Where the requested approach creates legal risk, the Global Employer of Record (EOR) may need to change the process, move the termination date or refuse the instruction.

The Global EOR carries the employer liability, but the client funds the employment. If the client removes the employee from the assignment before employment can legally end, it must continue funding salary, benefits, employer contributions and other employment costs throughout the remaining process and notice period.

The Global EOR assumes this exposure from the beginning of employment, not only when termination occurs. This explains why its commercial terms may include termination-related charges and financial protection from the start.

1. Severance fee or provision. Statutory severance exposure may accrue or increase as the employee’s service continues. The commercial arrangement may provide for this cost from the beginning rather than leave the Global EOR with a substantial unfunded liability when employment ends.
2. Termination fee. This covers the legal and operational work required to manage a future dismissal. Depending on the country and circumstances, this may include assessing the termination ground, engaging local counsel, reviewing evidence, managing consultation, preparing notices and settlement documents, calculating entitlements, communicating with the employee and handling filings or deregistration. It is a fee for the Global EOR’s work, not money paid to the employee.
3. Security deposit. This protects the Global EOR if the client stops funding the employment while the local entity remains legally obliged to pay salary, benefits, employer contributions, notice, severance or other liabilities. The deposit is not severance and does not automatically belong to the employee.

These commercial protections remain separate from the employee’s termination entitlements. When employment ends, the client must still fund the notice period, statutory or contractual severance, unused leave and any other final amounts due under local law.