Notice periods in Northern Ireland

If you have worked for your employer for a month or more, the legal minimum notice you must give in Northern Ireland is one week. Your employer must give you at least one week if you have worked for it for between one month and two years, then one week for each complete year of service up to a maximum of 12 weeks. If your contract sets a longer period, that is the one to follow. These rules come from nidirect.

What you must give

The statutory minimum is one week once you have a month’s service. Contracts can ask for more. The notice in your own contract is what counts, so read it before you write the letter. The how to resign properly guide covers the wording.

If your contract is silent on notice, you should give reasonable notice. What is reasonable depends on your seniority and how long you have been there. Leaving without giving proper notice is a breach of contract, and your employer could sue for damages. Agree any shorter period with your employer, ideally in writing. Employment then ends at the agreed time and you are paid only for that period.

What your employer must give

Your continuous service	Minimum notice from the employer
One month to under two years	one week
Two years to 12 years	one week for each complete year
12 years or more	12 weeks

Say you have seven complete years of service. The statutory minimum is seven weeks, and if your contract promises eight, you get eight. At 12 or more years the statutory figure stops at 12 weeks, though a contract can go higher. In every case your employer must give the longer of the contractual notice and the statutory minimum. The same figures apply to redundancy, which nidirect repeats on its redundancy page. Redundancy consultation and selection in Northern Ireland covers what else happens during that notice.

Fixed-term contracts

A fixed-term contract ends on its end date without notice. If the employer ends it earlier, notice is due. Time spent as an apprentice counts toward the statutory notice period if you stay on after finishing.

Garden leave and pay in lieu

On garden leave your employer gives notice and tells you to stay away from work. You remain bound by your contractual duties, such as confidentiality, and can be recalled. You are entitled to normal pay and company benefits throughout.

Payment in lieu of notice (PILON) is pay instead of working the notice. It can be written into your contract, or paid to cover damages for breach of contract. nidirect says it normally covers what you would have earned, including basic pay, commission and benefits such as a company car, phone or medical insurance. If the offer falls short, you can consider a breach of contract claim. If you have not been given proper notice, nidirect says you should ask for PILON, and put the request in writing.

Summary dismissal and constructive dismissal

An employer can dismiss without notice for gross misconduct. You may resign with or without notice if your employer is in serious breach of contract, which is called constructive dismissal. Both can end up before a tribunal. See unfair dismissal in Northern Ireland and disciplinary procedures in Northern Ireland.

Who is not covered

The statutory minimum notice rights do not apply to non-employees such as independent contractors or freelance agents, certain seafarers on UK-registered ships working under approved crew terms, civil servants and members of the armed forces. For civil servants the notice terms come from the employer’s own rules. The Great Britain position is in Civil Service notice periods and leaving.

What to check

• The notice clause in your contract or staff handbook.
• Your continuous service on the date notice is given.
• Whether the contract has a PILON or garden leave clause and what it covers.

The Labour Relations Agency gives free advice. The general guide to notice periods covers the same ideas for Great Britain.