Why use this calculator
Notice is the part of a termination package people check least and lose most often. It is governed by two overlapping rules, the statutory minimum and whatever your contract says, and the one that applies is simply whichever is longer, a point employers occasionally get backwards when the contract is the shorter of the two.
Beyond the length there is a second commonly missed element: holiday continues to accrue for the whole notice period, whether you work it, sit on garden leave or are paid in lieu, and any accrued leave you do not take must be paid out. On a twelve week notice period that is worth several days' pay.
This calculator sets out the entitlement, the pay and the holiday together so you can check a final payslip line by line.
How to use it
- Enter your gross weekly pay before tax, dividing an annual salary by fifty-two if you are paid monthly.
- Enter your complete years of continuous service, since statutory notice is one week for each one.
- Take the notice period from your written contract and enter it in weeks, multiplying by 4.33 to convert from months, or enter zero if the contract does not specify one.
- Add your full-year annual leave entitlement including bank holidays, and the number of days you normally work each week, which together let the calculator value the holiday that accrues while your notice runs.
What each result means
- Notice pay due
- Gross pay for the notice period. It is taxable in full and subject to National Insurance whether you work it, sit on garden leave or take it as a lump sum.
- Notice period applied
- The notice you are actually entitled to, being whichever of statutory and contractual notice is longer. A contract can improve on the statutory minimum but never reduce it.
- Statutory minimum
- One week per complete year of service, capped at twelve weeks. This is the legal floor and applies even if your contract says nothing about notice.
- Contractual notice
- What your written contract promises. Where it is longer than the statutory minimum, this is the figure that governs.
- Holiday accrued during notice
- Leave that builds up across the notice period. It must be taken or paid out, and is separate from any holiday already owed to you.
- Value of that holiday
- The cash value of the accrued leave at your daily rate. Check it appears as a separate line on your final payslip.
- Total due on termination
- Notice pay and accrued holiday combined, before tax. Any redundancy payment is additional to this and is taxed differently.
- Daily rate
- Your gross weekly pay divided by the days you normally work. Used to value holiday and any part week of notice.
The formula
Statutory notice = 1 week for each complete year of continuous service
Notice applied = the greater of statutory notice and contractual notice
Notice pay = gross weekly pay x notice weeks applied
Holiday accrued during notice = annual leave entitlement x notice weeks divided by 52, valued at the daily rate, which is gross weekly pay divided by working days per week
Total due = notice pay + holiday value
How this number is used in practice
Pay in lieu of notice, usually shortened to PILON, ends the employment immediately and pays the notice as a lump sum. Where the contract contains a PILON clause the employer is entitled to do this; where it does not, paying in lieu is technically a breach of contract, though in practice most employees are content to take the money.
The distinction still matters for one reason: a breach by the employer can release you from post-termination restrictive covenants such as non-compete and non-solicitation clauses. If you are moving to a competitor and there was no PILON clause, that point is worth taking advice on before signing anything.
Garden leave is the opposite arrangement. You remain employed and paid throughout the notice period but are told not to attend work or contact clients. Because employment continues, your service keeps accruing, your benefits continue, holiday continues to build, and your restrictive covenants remain fully in force.
Employers use it precisely to keep a departing employee away from customers while the relationship cools, and long notice periods in senior contracts exist mainly to make that possible.
All notice pay is taxable as earnings. Since the post-employment notice pay rules were introduced, the taxable amount includes what you would have earned during any unworked notice, even where it is bundled into a larger termination payment, so the thirty thousand pound tax-free allowance for redundancy cannot be used to shelter it.
Employers occasionally still present a package as if it can, and the shortfall surfaces later as an unexpected tax bill.
Worked examples
Eight years' service on £750 a week with a four-week contractual notice period
Statutory notice of 8 weeks beats the contract, giving £6,000 in notice pay plus about 4.3 days of accrued holiday worth £646
Three years' service on £900 a week with a three-month contractual notice period
The 13-week contractual notice beats the 3-week statutory minimum, giving £11,700 rather than £2,700
Twenty years' service on £1,000 a week with no contractual notice stated
Statutory notice stops at the 12-week maximum, giving £12,000 despite the much longer service
When people use it
- Checking a final payslip after being dismissed or made redundant
- Working out what resigning will cost you if you must serve a long notice period
- Employers budgeting for pay in lieu of notice when exiting an employee quickly
- Comparing a settlement offer against the notice pay you are contractually owed anyway
- Valuing accrued holiday that should be paid out on termination
Tips
- Statutory and contractual notice do not add together. You get whichever is longer, never both.
- Statutory notice caps at twelve weeks no matter how long you have served, so thirty years' service earns the same twelve weeks as twelve years.
- Holiday keeps accruing during notice, including garden leave and paid notice in lieu. Check it appears as a separate line on the final payslip.
- All notice pay is taxable as earnings and cannot be sheltered by the £30,000 termination payment allowance.
- If there is no pay in lieu of notice clause in your contract, an employer who pays you off may be in breach, which can release you from restrictive covenants.
- An employee is normally required to give only one week's statutory notice regardless of service, though a contract can require more.
What it assumes, and where it stops being accurate
- Assumes at least one month of continuous service, below which there is no statutory notice entitlement at all.
- Assumes notice is not being given for gross misconduct, where an employer may dismiss summarily with no notice and no notice pay.
- Holiday accrual is pro-rated evenly across the year. Schemes that front-load entitlement or run a different leave year will differ.
- Ignores contractual benefits that continue during notice, such as employer pension contributions, car allowance or medical cover.
- Assumes a fixed weekly wage. For variable pay, use the average of the 12 weeks before notice was given.
- Bank holidays are assumed to be included in the annual leave figure entered, as the statutory 28 days allows.
Terms used on this page
- PILON
- Pay in lieu of notice: a lump sum ending employment immediately instead of working the notice period.
- Garden leave
- Remaining employed and paid during notice but required not to attend work or contact clients.
- Summary dismissal
- Dismissal without notice, lawful only where the employee has committed gross misconduct.
- Wrongful dismissal
- A contract claim for notice pay not given, distinct from the statutory unfair dismissal claim.
- Restrictive covenant
- A post-termination clause limiting competing, soliciting clients or poaching staff.
Questions people ask
- Can my employer pay me in lieu of notice?
- Yes if your contract has a pay in lieu of notice clause. Without one it is technically a breach of contract, though most employees accept the money. The breach can matter if you are subject to restrictive covenants, because an employer in breach may lose the right to enforce them.
- What happens to my holiday during the notice period?
- It continues to accrue for the whole period, including garden leave. Untaken leave must be paid out on termination. Your employer can require you to take outstanding holiday during notice, provided they give notice of at least twice the length of the leave.
- Can I be dismissed without any notice?
- Only for gross misconduct such as theft, fraud, violence or a serious breach of trust. Summary dismissal without that justification is wrongful dismissal, and you can claim damages equal to the notice pay you should have received, separately from any unfair dismissal claim.
- How much notice must I give my employer?
- The statutory minimum for an employee is one week once you have a month's service, regardless of how long you have worked there. Your contract can require more, and most professional contracts do. Leaving without serving contractual notice is a breach, though employers rarely sue.
- Is notice pay taxed?
- Yes, in full, including income tax and National Insurance. The post-employment notice pay rules treat the value of any unworked notice as earnings even when it is wrapped into a larger termination payment, so the £30,000 tax-free allowance for redundancy cannot cover it.
- What is garden leave?
- You stay employed and paid through the notice period but are told not to work or contact clients. Service, benefits and holiday continue to accrue, and restrictive covenants stay in force. Employers use it to keep a departing employee away from customers while their knowledge goes stale.
Use this with
Notice Period Pay Calculator answers one part of the question. These pick up where it stops: Statutory Redundancy Pay Calculator, Unfair Dismissal Compensation Calculator, Unpaid Wages Claim Calculator and Constructive Dismissal Compensation Calculator.
Where these figures come from
Figures and rules on this page follow United Kingdom law.
- The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2026. The statutory instrument setting the limits used here, in force 6 April 2026
- GOV.UK: Calculate your statutory redundancy pay. Official redundancy entitlement tool and the age-banded weeks table
- GOV.UK: Redundancy: your rights. Week's pay cap of £751 and the £22,530 maximum
- Acas: Dismissals. Fair procedure, the Acas Code of Practice and the 25% uplift
- Employment Rights Act 1996, Part X and XI. Statutory basis for unfair dismissal, redundancy pay and notice
- GOV.UK: Employment tribunals. Time limits, Acas early conciliation and the hearing process
Notice Period Pay Calculator produces an estimate for general information. It is not financial, tax, medical, legal or engineering advice. read the full disclaimer. Spotted a wrong number? Report it and it gets fixed. The form picks up this calculator and the inputs you used.