Notice of termination is the warning period your employer must give you in writing before your employment ends. It exists so that losing a job is not a same-day surprise: you get either time to find new work while still being paid, or the money you would have earned during that time. The minimum sits in the National Employment Standards (NES) at section 117 of the Fair Work Act 2009, so it applies no matter what your contract says. This guide covers the full scale, the extra week some employees get, how to count the days correctly, who is excluded, and what happens to your leave while the clock runs. If your job is ending because the role itself is disappearing, read this alongside our severance pay guide, because notice and redundancy pay are two separate amounts.
Key takeaways
- The NES minimum runs from 1 week (under 1 year of service) to 4 weeks (over 5 years), plus 1 extra week if you are over 45 with at least 2 years of service, so 5 weeks is the NES maximum.
- Notice must be given in writing, and the period starts the day after you are told, not the same day.
- Your employer can make you work the notice, pay it out instead, or split it between the two.
- Casuals, fixed-term and seasonal employees, and anyone dismissed for serious misconduct do not get notice.
- Notice is separate from redundancy pay and from your unused leave; a redundancy means you get all three.
What notice of termination actually is
When an employer decides to end someone's employment, section 117 stops them from simply ending it that day. They must either let the employee keep working for the minimum notice period, or pay the employee the amount they would have earned across that period. The choice belongs to the employer, not the employee. What the employer cannot do is give no notice and no payment.
Notice applies to dismissals generally, not just redundancies. Whether the reason is poor performance, a restructure, or the business closing, the same minimum notice scale applies. Redundancy pay is different: it is an additional entitlement under section 119 that only applies when the job itself is no longer needed, and only for employers with 15 or more staff. An employee made redundant after six years typically receives four weeks of notice and eleven weeks of redundancy pay, plus their accrued leave. Our redundancy calculator works out the second of those figures.
The NES minimum notice scale
The amount of notice is set purely by your length of continuous service with that employer. It does not vary by industry, seniority or salary.
| Period of continuous service | Minimum notice period |
|---|---|
| 1 year or less | 1 week |
| More than 1 year but not more than 3 years | 2 weeks |
| More than 3 years but not more than 5 years | 3 weeks |
| More than 5 years | 4 weeks |
Note how the scale is capped. Someone with 6 years of service and someone with 26 years both receive 4 weeks under the NES. Long service does not keep increasing the notice period, which surprises many long-tenured employees. If you want more than the NES minimum after a long career, it has to come from your award, enterprise agreement or contract.
Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s.117 sets the minimum notice periods. The table is reproduced by the Fair Work Ombudsman at Dismissal (content last updated 25 June 2026).
The extra week for employees over 45
There is one addition to the table. If you are over 45 years old and have completed at least 2 years of continuous service at the time you receive notice, you get one additional week on top of the figure above. The logic is that older workers historically take longer to find new employment.
Both conditions must be met. A 50-year-old with 18 months of service gets 2 weeks, not 3, because the 2-year service test fails. A 44-year-old with 20 years of service gets 4 weeks, not 5. The age is measured when notice is given, so an employee who turns 45 the week after being given notice does not qualify. Because the base scale tops out at 4 weeks, the practical NES maximum is 5 weeks.
Notice must be given in writing
A verbal "today is your last day" does not satisfy section 117. The employer must give written notice specifying the day of termination, delivered by one of these methods:
- handed to the employee personally;
- left at the employee's last known address;
- sent by pre-paid post to the employee's last known address; or
- sent electronically, by email or text message, but only if the employee agrees to receive it that way.
The electronic option carries that consent condition, which employers frequently overlook. Casual employees are not entitled to written notice at all, although the Ombudsman describes putting it in writing as best practice.
How the notice period is counted
The notice period starts the day afterthe employer tells the employee their employment is ending, and finishes on the last day of employment. The day you are told is not counted. If you are given one week's notice on a Tuesday, Wednesday is day one and the following Tuesday is your last day.
Continuous service, which sets the length, includes authorised unpaid leave such as unpaid parental leave. It does not include unauthorised absences. Time worked as a casual usually does not count towards service for notice purposes, even if you later became permanent. So an employee with two years as a casual followed by 18 months permanent is generally treated as having 18 months, giving 2 weeks rather than 3.
Enter your start date, age and end date to get your NES minimum notice and its dollar value.
Who does not get notice
Section 123 excludes several groups from the notice entitlement entirely:
- Casual employees. No notice and no payment in lieu.
- Employees on a set period, task or season. A fixed-term contract that simply reaches its end date, or seasonal work such as fruit picking, does not attract notice.
- Dismissal for serious misconduct. Theft, fraud, assault, sexual harassment, causing serious and imminent risk to someone's health, or refusing a lawful and reasonable instruction. The employer can end employment immediately. They must still pay out time worked and accrued annual leave, and in some cases long service leave.
- Training arrangements for a set period (apprentices excepted).
- Daily hire employees in building and construction, or in the meat industry in connection with slaughtering livestock.
- Weekly hire employees in the meat industry whose termination depends on seasonal factors.
Apprentices do get notice, unless they are employed for a set period or dismissed for serious misconduct. Employees on probation also get notice: probation is a contractual concept with no special status under the NES, so a dismissal five months into a six-month probation still attracts one week. Our probation guide covers what else survives probation.
Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) s.123 and Fair Work Regulations 2009 reg 1.07, summarised in the FWO's notice of termination and redundancy pay fact sheet.
When awards or contracts give more
The NES is a floor. An award, enterprise agreement or employment contract can require a longer notice period, and where it does, the longer period wins. A contract can never provide less than the NES minimum; a clause purporting to do so is unenforceable to that extent.
Most awards simply mirror the NES scale for full-time and part-time employees. Some go further in other ways, for example by granting paid time off during the notice period to attend job interviews. Awards with daily hire provisions, such as the Building and Construction Award and the Plumbing Award, set as little as one day's notice. It is worth checking your specific award; our award pages and the modern awards guide explain how to find yours.
If an employer voluntarily gives more notice than required, the employee only has to work the minimum. The employer does not have to pay the extra period if the employee leaves once the minimum is up.
Leave and public holidays during notice
The ordinary leave rules keep running during a notice period. You can take paid annual leave if your employer agrees, and importantly, an employer cannot force you to take annual leave as part of your notice period. You can take paid sick or carer's leave if you give notice as soon as practicable and provide evidence when asked. If your employer tells you to stay away from work while still paying you, that is gardening leave.
Public holidays that fall inside a notice period do not extend it. A four-week notice period containing Anzac Day still ends four weeks after it started. Annual leave continues to accrue for as long as you remain employed, which matters if you are working the notice rather than being paid out.
A worked example
Priya is 47 and has worked full time for the same employer for 6 years and 4 months. Her base pay is $1,750 per week. On Monday 6 July her employer hands her a written termination letter.
Priya's 6 years and 4 months of service is "more than 5 years", which is 4 weeks under the NES.
She is over 45 and has completed at least 2 years of service, so she gets 1 additional week. Her minimum notice is 5 weeks.
The period starts Tuesday 7 July (the day after she was told), so her last day is Monday 10 August.
If her employer instead pays it out, the payment is 5 × her full rate of pay, which includes her regular overtime and allowances, not just the $1,750 base.
If the reason was redundancy, Priya would also receive 11 weeks of redundancy pay at her base rate, plus her accrued annual leave and long service leave.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum notice period under the NES?
Five weeks: four weeks for more than five years of continuous service, plus one extra week for employees over 45 with at least two years of service. Awards, agreements and contracts can set longer periods.
Does my notice period start the day I am told?
No. It starts the day after. The day you receive notice is not counted, and the period ends on your last day of employment.
Can my employer make me take annual leave during my notice period?
No. You can take annual leave during notice only if your employer agrees to it, and an employer cannot direct you to burn leave as a substitute for notice.
Do I get notice if I am dismissed during probation?
Yes. Probation has no special standing under the NES. You are entitled to notice based on your length of service, which for most probationary employees is one week.
Is notice paid on top of redundancy pay?
Yes. They are separate entitlements under separate sections. A redundancy means you receive notice (or pay in lieu), redundancy pay, and your accrued unused leave. See final pay for how the components combine.
What if my employer gives no notice at all?
Unless an exclusion applies, that is a breach of the NES and you can recover the amount you should have been paid. If you also believe the dismissal itself was unjust, a separate unfair dismissal claim has a strict 21-day deadline, and eligibility turns on the 2026 unfair dismissal thresholds. If you resigned rather than being dismissed, your own obligations are set out in resignation notice period.
Author & reviewer
Sarah has spent over a decade advising Australian SMBs on Fair Work, NES compliance, and payroll. Based in Sydney, she has worked across hospitality, retail and professional services.