Notice Period
The amount of time an employee or employer must give before ending an employment contract, allowing for an orderly transition.
A notice period is the advance warning required before an employee leaves a role or an employer terminates one. Notice periods protect both parties: the employer has time to begin a search for a replacement and manage knowledge transfer, while the employee has a period of income security while they transition.
Notice periods are often set by employment contract or by statute. In the UK, the statutory minimum is one week after one month of service, rising by one week per year of service (up to 12 weeks). Notice periods are typically longer for senior roles — it is not unusual for executives to have three- to six-month notice periods.
For remote and internationally distributed teams, notice periods vary significantly by country and must be carefully understood when hiring globally. Longer notice periods in some jurisdictions (particularly Germany, France, and the Netherlands) can significantly slow a company's ability to make workforce changes.