Termination Notice Periods Compared: All 7 Countries 2026

Last verified: 2026-05-02

The notice period a departing or dismissed employee receives is one of the most-asked HR questions in cross-border hiring. Each country sets a different statutory floor: from zero in the United States (at-will default) to three months in France for cadres. Some jurisdictions count by service length, others by category, and one (UK) is undergoing reform. This guide compares all seven with statute citations and worked examples.

Quick Answer (TL;DR)

• Longest: France cadres (3 months by Code, often more by collective agreement).
• Strict service-based: UK ERA s.86 (1 week per year up to 12 weeks), Australia NES (1–4 weeks + extra week age 45+ with 2+ years).
• “Reasonable notice” doctrine: New Zealand (no statutory minimum), Canada (statutory + common-law combined).
• Zero default: United States (at-will employment in 49 states).
• Mutual termination: France rupture conventionnelle allows shorter window via agreed payout.

Comparison Table at a Glance

Country-by-Country Deep Dive

United Kingdom — ERA s.86 + Notice Pay

Statute: Employment Rights Act 1996 s.86 (statutory minimum); contract may exceed.

Statutory floor (employer notice):

• Less than 1 month service: nil.
• 1 month to <2 years: 1 week.
• 2 years to 12 years: 1 week per complete year.
• 12+ years: 12 weeks (capped).

Employee notice: 1 week if 1+ month service.

Payment in lieu of notice (PILON). Common; must be expressly authorised in the contract. Tax: from April 2018 PILON is fully taxable as earnings (Finance (No.2) Act 2017).

Wrongful dismissal. Even a justified summary dismissal is “wrongful” if no notice/PILON paid for non-gross-misconduct grounds. Damages = lost notice pay.

Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/86

France — Code du travail Articles L.1234-1, L.1237-1

Statute: Code du travail L.1234-1 (employer); L.1237-1 (employee). Convention collective often increases.

Code default — préavis (employer or employee notice):

Note: the convention collective applicable to the company often dictates longer notice — many CCNs have 3-month notice for non-cadres after a few years.

Indemnité de licenciement (severance, employer-initiated termination, since 2017): L.1234-9 — 1/4 month per year service for first 10 years; 1/3 month per year above 10. Adds to notice pay.

Rupture conventionnelle (mutual termination, L.1237-11 ff.):

• Negotiated separation agreement.
• Indemnité spécifique de rupture conventionnelle ≥ statutory severance.
• 15-day cooling-off + DREETS homologation.
• Employee retains right to chômage (unemployment) benefits.

Source: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/texte_lc/LEGITEXT000006072050

Australia — NES s.117 + Award

Statute: Fair Work Act 2009 s.117; modern awards.

NES employer notice:

• Less than 1 year: 1 week.
• 1–3 years: 2 weeks.
• 3–5 years: 3 weeks.
• 5+ years: 4 weeks.
• Plus 1 additional week if employee aged 45+ at termination AND 2+ years’ service.

Employee notice: No NES minimum; check the Award and contract.

Redundancy pay (s.119): 4 weeks (1+ years) up to 16 weeks (9+ years).

Modern Awards may impose extra notice. E.g. Building & Construction Award has trade-specific extension.

Closing Loopholes introduced no new notice rules; the right to disconnect is a separate right (s.333M).

Source: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/

New Zealand — Reasonable Notice + Contract

Statute: Employment Relations Act 2000 s.4 (good faith); s.65 (mandatory clauses).

NZ does not impose a statutory minimum notice. The IEA must specify a notice period (s.65(2)(g) implicitly, in dispute resolution and “expression”). The notice in the IEA is enforceable; absent contract, “reasonable notice” applies — typical 2–4 weeks for permanent employees, longer for senior roles.

Personal grievance. A dismissal without proper notice may also be unjustified under ERA s.103A, exposing employer to grievance damages.

90-day trial period (s.67A, sub-20 employers). Allows dismissal on reasonable notice without grievance — but the notice still applies as per the IEA.

Source: https://www.employment.govt.nz/

Canada — ESA + Common Law

Canadian termination has a unique two-layer structure:

1. Statutory minimum (provincial / federal).

Ontario ESA s.57:

• 1–<3 months: 0
• 3 months–<1 year: 1 week.
• 1 year–<3 years: 2 weeks.
• 3–<4: 3 weeks.
• 4–<5: 4 weeks.
• 5–<6: 5 weeks.
• 6–<7: 6 weeks.
• 7–<8: 7 weeks.
• 8+ years: 8 weeks.

ESA s.64 severance (separate from notice): 1 week per year if employee has 5+ years service AND employer payroll ≥$2.5M.

2. Common law “reasonable notice” (Bardal v Globe & Mail Ltd, 1960).

When termination is without cause and the employment contract does not validly limit notice to ESA minimum, common-law notice applies. Factors (Bardal): age, length of service, nature of employment, availability of similar work. Senior managers often receive 12–24 months common-law notice.

Federal sector — Canada Labour Code s.230: 2 weeks (3+ months service) or pay in lieu.

Source: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/00e41

United States — At-Will Default

Statute: Fair Labor Standards Act 1938 (no notice rule); state laws.

In 49 states, employment is at-will: either party may terminate at any time without notice for any reason except an illegal one (discrimination, retaliation, public policy violation).

Exceptions:

• WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act): 60 days’ notice for mass layoffs (100+ employees) in plants/sites.
• State Mini-WARN: California Cal-WARN, New York NY WARN, Illinois.
• Contract: many executive contracts specify 30/60/90 days’ notice.
• Just cause: a few unionised contracts and Montana (exception state) require cause.

Source: https://www.dol.gov/

Decision Framework / Q&A

Q1: My UK employee resigned with 2 weeks’ notice. I want them out today. Can I?

Yes, you may pay in lieu (PILON) provided the contract authorises it. PILON is fully taxable.

Q2: My French CDI cadre is being made redundant. What do I owe?

3 months notice (or PILON) + indemnité de licenciement (1/4 month × years up to 10, then 1/3 × years above) + accrued unused holiday + chômage entitlement.

Q3: Australian employee with 6 years and aged 50. What’s my notice?

NES s.117: 4 weeks (5+ years bracket) + 1 week age 45+ with 2+ years = 5 weeks notice or pay in lieu.

Q4: NZ employee with no notice clause in IEA. How long?

“Reasonable notice” — case-by-case. For a typical permanent role, 2–4 weeks is generally accepted. ERA s.4 good-faith standards apply.

Q5: Ontario senior executive with 10 years. ESA says 8 weeks; what’s the real number?

ESA 8 weeks is the statutory floor. Common-law “reasonable notice” for a senior executive with 10 years often falls in the 12–18 month range under Bardal. Wrongful dismissal lawsuit will reference the higher number.

Common Pitfalls (Gyoseishoshi View)

1. UK PILON tax — pre-2018 employers treated PILON as tax-free by drafting around the contract. Finance (No.2) Act 2017 closed this; PILON is taxable income now.

2. France skipping rupture conventionnelle DREETS homologation — without homologation the agreement is void, employee retains right to grievance and chômage.

3. Australia missing the +1 week age 45+ bonus — common payroll error; ATO and FWC may pursue underpayment.

4. NZ employer relying on 90-day trial without proper drafting — trial period void = unjustified dismissal claim.

5. Ontario contract with ESA-minimum-only clause invalid — if any aspect of the clause violates ESA, the entire clause is struck and Bardal common law applies.

6. US assuming at-will without WARN compliance — 100+ employee mass layoffs require 60 days’ notice federally, regardless of at-will.

Conclusion

Notice periods range from zero (US at-will) to 3+ months (France cadre) across the seven jurisdictions. Always layer the statutory floor with the contract clause AND the applicable convention collective / Modern Award / common-law standard. A Canadian termination clause can collapse the entire dismissal defence if drafted to ESA minimum but found unenforceable.

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Disclaimer

Legal information, not legal advice. MmowW Scribe is operated by a licensed Gyoseishoshi (行政書士) office in Japan. We are not solicitors, barristers, attorneys, avocats, or licensed legal practitioners in any jurisdiction.

Sources

• UK ERA 1996 s.86: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/86
• UK PILON tax (FA 2017): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/32
• France Code du travail L.1234-1: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000006901119
• France rupture conventionnelle: https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F987
• Australia Fair Work NES: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employment-conditions/national-employment-standards
• Australia FW Act s.117: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2024C00194
• New Zealand ERA: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2000/0024/
• New Zealand employment.govt.nz: https://www.employment.govt.nz/
• Canada Ontario ESA s.57: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/00e41
• Canada Labour Code s.230: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-2/section-230.html
• US WARN Act: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/layoffs/warn