Notice period

A notice period or period of notice within a

Contractual provisions

A contract may state a period of notice which either/any party is required to give to the other contractual parties. The contract between

In the United Kingdom, the statutory redundancy notice periods are:^[5]

• at least one week's notice if employed between one month and two years
• one week's notice for each year if employed between two and twelve years
• twelve weeks' notice if employed for twelve years or more.

These statutory periods constitute the minimum notice period to be given by the employer; however, some employers may opt to give employees longer notice periods, in order to give the employees a better opportunity to find alternative employment.^{[note 1]}

Notice periods in Poland

In Poland the same notice period applies regardless of which party (employer or employee) withdraws the contract. The statutory periods apply, unless both parties agree on other terms:

• 2 weeks if employed below 6 months
• 1 month if employed below 3 years
• 3 months if employed 3 or more years.

The week-measured period ends on Saturday. The month-measured period ends on the last day of calendar month—for instance, if 1-month period applies, a resignation or dismissal produced between 1st and 30 April results in contract termination on 31 May.^[6]

Notice periods in the United States

Because most employment in the U.S. is at-will, no notice period is required. In practice, most employees provide two weeks' notice.^[7]

Notice periods in Denmark

Notice periods for

Notice periods in Switzerland are governed by the Code of Obligations,^[9] which sets the default time scales. The notice period depends on the employee’s length of service within the company as follows:

• 7 days during the trial period
• 1 month if employed below 1 year
• 2 months if employed below 10 years
• 3 months if employed more than 10 years

The default trial period is the first month of employment, but may be extended up to three months. After the trial period, the notice period may be amended by a written contract, but not under one month, unless set by a collective labor agreement and only for the first year of employment.^[10]

Notes

References