Dismissed without notice? Your notice pay rights
Last verified: 12 October 2026 by LexSpeakAI Editorial. Sources: Employment Rights Act 1996, Part IX (ss.86 to 91).
Unless you were dismissed for conduct serious enough to justify it, your employer has to give you notice or pay you for it. Once you have worked there a month, the legal minimum is one week, rising to one week for each complete year of service from two years, up to twelve weeks. Your contract can give you more, never less. Not getting the notice you were owed is a claim for notice pay, and it needs no minimum length of service.
Start with two numbers. The notice your contract gives, and the statutory minimum for your length of service. You are owed whichever is longer.
Does this apply to you?
- You were an employee, dismissed with no notice or with too little. This page covers what notice you were owed and how to claim the pay for it.
- Your employer says it was gross misconduct. An employer can end the contract without notice for conduct that justifies it, but whether your conduct did is a question of fact, and you can dispute it.
- You think the dismissal itself was unfair. That is a different claim, with its own qualifying period. Unfair dismissal qualifying period.
This covers employment in England and Wales.
What the law says
Once you have been continuously employed for a month or more, your employer must give at least the statutory minimum notice (ERA 1996, s.86). A contract term giving less has effect subject to that minimum, so the minimum applies instead. A contract can give more. Either side can waive notice, or accept a payment in lieu of it.
Statutory minimum notice from your employer
| Continuous employment | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| Less than one month | No statutory minimum; your contract governs |
| One month, but less than two years | One week |
| Two years, but less than twelve | One week for each complete year |
| Twelve years or more | Twelve weeks |
If you resign, you have to give at least one week’s notice once you have worked there a month.
Dismissal without notice for conduct
The notice rules don’t stop either side treating the contract as ended without notice because of the other’s conduct. Whether particular conduct justified it is decided on the facts. An employer calling something gross misconduct doesn’t settle it.
Pay during your notice
During the statutory notice period you are protected if you are off sick, on holiday, on family leave, or ready to work but given none. Your employer must still pay at least your normal rate for that time (ERA 1996, ss.88 and 89). Sick pay, holiday pay or other payments for the same time count towards it. These rules don’t apply where your contract gives at least one week more notice than the statutory minimum. Then the contract decides your pay during notice (ERA 1996, s.87).
Claiming notice pay
Failing to give the notice you were owed is wrongful dismissal, a breach of contract. The claim is usually for the pay you would have earned during the notice you should have had, using the longer of your contractual and statutory periods (ERA 1996, s.91). It needs no qualifying period. It can be brought in the civil courts within the ordinary six-year limit for contract claims, or in the employment tribunal, where there is a cap on contract claims. A tribunal contract claim has its own time limit, separate from the unfair dismissal one, so check it before you rely on the civil court period. The £751 weekly figure you may see quoted is used for statutory awards, not for working out what you are owed for notice.
Key dates and deadlines
| Situation | Rule | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Three weeks in the job, no contractual notice term | Under one month | No statutory minimum |
| Eighteen months’ service, contract says one week | Under two years | One week |
| Five complete years, contract says one week | Statutory minimum is higher | Five weeks |
| Three complete years, contract says one month | Contract is longer | One month |
| Fourteen years’ service | Statutory maximum | Twelve weeks, or more if your contract gives more |
What people in this situation usually do next
Most people check their contract for its notice term and compare it with the statutory minimum for their service. Then they put a written claim for the notice pay to the employer, setting out the period owed and the pay for it. Where the employer relies on gross misconduct, many set out in the same letter why they dispute it. If the job ended unfairly as well, the unfair dismissal deadline runs separately, so many check that at the same time.
A formal written claim to your employer for the notice pay you are owed, drafted from your contract, your service and your dates. If you also want the full picture of the law and your options, including on unfair dismissal, that is LexSpeak Counsel™ (£149).
Every dismissal turns on its own contract and facts. Lex can go through yours with you, in plain English, and set up LexSpeak Agent™ for you on the call if it fits.
Common questions
How much notice should I have been given?
At least one week once you have worked there a month, rising to one week for each complete year of service from two years, up to twelve weeks. If your contract gives more, you are owed the contractual notice.
Can my contract give me less notice than the legal minimum?
No. A contract term giving less than the statutory minimum has effect subject to it, so the minimum applies instead. A contract can always give more.
My employer said it was gross misconduct and paid no notice. Is that the end of it?
Not necessarily. An employer can end the contract without notice for conduct that justifies it, but whether your conduct did is a question of fact. If you dispute it, you can still claim the notice pay, and the facts decide it.
Do I need two years’ service to claim notice pay?
No. A claim for notice you weren’t given is a contract claim, and it needs no qualifying period. The qualifying period applies to ordinary unfair dismissal, which is a separate claim.
I was off sick during my notice. Do I still get paid?
Usually, yes. During the statutory notice period, your employer must pay at least your normal rate while you are off sick, on holiday or on family leave. This doesn’t apply where your contract gives at least one week more notice than the statutory minimum. Then the contract decides your pay during notice.
Legal information for England and Wales, not legal advice. LexSpeakAI® is not a law firm.