A notice period is the warning time an employer or employee must give before employment ends. Most countries set a statutory minimum, and it usually scales with how long the person has worked. The length, and whether it can be paid out instead of worked, varies widely — there is no single global figure.
Last updated July 24, 2026. Jump to: What a notice period is · The country table · How notice scales with tenure · Notice vs severance · What it means for employers · How to use this data · FAQ
What a notice period is
A notice period is the gap between telling someone their employment is ending and the actual last day. Either side can owe it — an employee resigning, or an employer dismissing — though the rules for each side often differ. Across our country guides, three things shape what is owed:
- Who is giving notice. Employer-initiated notice is usually the more regulated side. Kenya sets separate minimums depending on pay frequency; Namibia scales its minimum by length of service.
- How long the person has worked. Notice is almost always tenure-linked, the way severance is. Malta sets out one of the clearest tiers in our corpus: one week under a month's service, rising in steps to twelve weeks past four years.
- Whether pay in lieu is allowed. Many countries let the employer skip the working notice and pay it out instead. Georgia and Kenya both state this option directly; others simply require notice without addressing the alternative.
The table below states each country's notice term the way our guide records it — an exact figure where the guide gives one, or the statutory requirement as described where it does not reduce to a single number.
Notice periods by country
The table lists 25 countries whose guides state a notice requirement on termination, checked July 2026. Where a figure or a tenure-based scale exists, it is shown; where the guide confirms a notice requirement without stating a length, that is noted instead. Open a country's guide for the full termination process, exceptions, and interplay with severance.
| Country | Notice term, as our guide states it | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Dismissal without cause requires proper written notice or payment in lieu, on top of severance. | Argentina guide |
| Australia | Notice period payment is due alongside redundancy pay, for employees with at least one year of continuous service. | Australia guide |
| Brazil | A no-cause dismissal requires proper notice or payment in lieu, in addition to severance dues. | Brazil guide |
| Canada | Non-unionized employees can be dismissed without cause, but statutory and common-law notice periods, or pay in lieu, must be honored. | Canada guide |
| Croatia | Written notice with a clear explanation is required; the period ranges from 2 weeks to 3 months, depending on service length. | Croatia guide |
| Denmark | Notice applies once an employee has been employed over 1 year; written notice isn't legally required but is strongly recommended. | Denmark guide |
| Estonia | Notice is set by length of employment, and the employer must give written, specific grounds for the dismissal. | Estonia guide |
| Georgia | Employer-initiated termination needs at least 30 calendar days' notice, or payment in lieu. | Georgia guide |
| Germany | Ordinary dismissal needs the statutory minimum notice period, plus a justified reason once the contract has run over 6 months at a company with 10+ employees. | Germany guide |
| Ghana | Notice depends on contract terms and length of service, but is generally 1 month. | Ghana guide |
| India | Notice is set by statute and contract; larger establishments need government approval before retrenching "workmen" in non-supervisory roles. | India guide |
| Ireland | Notice periods vary by tenure; notice pay is required even where the dismissal carries no mandatory severance. | Ireland guide |
| Jordan | Notice for indefinite-term contracts is 1 month, on top of any compensation owed for dismissal without valid cause. | Jordan guide |
| Kenya | Minimum statutory notice, or pay in lieu, is 28 days for employees paid monthly and 7 days for employees paid weekly. | Kenya guide |
| Malta | Notice scales precisely with tenure: 1 week under 1 month's service, rising in tiers to 12 weeks beyond 4 years. | Malta guide |
| Morocco | Notice for indefinite-term contracts ranges from 8 days to 3 months, depending on seniority and contract type. | Morocco guide |
| Namibia | Notice is 1 week under 4 weeks' service, 1 month from 4 weeks to 1 year, and longer as specified for longer service. | Namibia guide |
| Nigeria | Minimum notice is 1 day for daily-rated workers, 1 week for monthly workers under 3 months' service, and 1 month beyond 3 months' service. | Nigeria guide |
| Philippines | Authorized-cause dismissals (redundancy, closure) require at least 30 days' advance notice to the employee and the labour department. | Philippines guide |
| Poland | Notice-based termination needs an appropriate notice period plus a documented reason, for indefinite contracts. | Poland guide |
| South Africa | Written notice must meet BCEA minimum periods or the contractual notice period, whichever is longer. | South Africa guide |
| Spain | A 15-day notice period is typical. | Spain guide |
| Sweden | Notice must be given in writing at least 2 weeks in advance, with the employee's re-employment and challenge rights disclosed. | Sweden guide |
| Switzerland | Both resignation and employer-initiated termination follow statutory notice periods; resignation notice is based on length of service. | Switzerland guide |
| United Kingdom | Statutory minimum notice periods apply, or the enhanced contractual period — whichever is greater. | United Kingdom guide |
Source: our country guides, checked July 2026. Figures are the notice position as each guide records it; the guide sets out the full process, exceptions, and how notice interacts with severance.
This list covers the countries whose corpus states a notice requirement in the termination field. It is not every country we cover — some full guides describe termination without stating a notice term in that field. Open the country guide for any country not listed here for its complete termination rules.
How notice periods scale with tenure
Where our guides give a scale rather than a flat number, tenure is almost always the variable. Malta sets this out in the most detail: one week of notice under a month's service, two weeks up to six months, four weeks up to two years, eight weeks up to four years, then an extra week per year beyond that, capped at twelve weeks.
Namibia and Nigeria use a similar shape with fewer steps: a short notice period for very new hires, rising to a flat month once the person has passed roughly a year of service. Croatia and Morocco both set a range — 2 weeks to 3 months in Croatia, 8 days to 3 months in Morocco — tied to how long the employee has been there.
Other countries in the table state a single flat figure regardless of tenure: Jordan and Ghana both use 1 month, Georgia sets 30 calendar days, and Spain describes a 15-day period as typical. A few, like Ireland and Estonia, confirm that notice varies by tenure without giving the exact bands.
Notice pay versus severance
Notice and severance are separate obligations that often apply together on a dismissal. Notice is the warning time — worked through, or paid out instead. Severance is a separate sum, usually tied to tenure, owed on top of notice rather than instead of it.
Jordan states the relationship plainly: one month's wages per year of service is owed for a dismissal without valid cause, in addition to the notice period. Brazil and Argentina both require notice or pay in lieu alongside a separate severance settlement. In several countries, "payment in lieu of notice" is itself one line item inside a larger final settlement that also includes accrued leave and any statutory severance.
For the severance side of that settlement, country by country, see our guide to severance pay by country.
What notice periods mean for employers
For a company hiring across borders, the notice period is a planning variable, not just a formality. Where it scales with tenure — as in Malta, Croatia, or Namibia — a long-tenured employee can require months of working notice, or an equivalent payout, before the exit is complete. Building that into a termination timeline early avoids a scramble later.
A role still inside its probation period often carries a much shorter notice requirement than the figures in this table, which generally describe notice once probation has ended — check the specific country for how the two interact.
It is also common for the statutory minimum to be a floor rather than the whole answer. South Africa and the United Kingdom both apply whichever is longer of the statutory minimum or the contractual notice period — so the employment contract can extend the obligation beyond what the law alone requires. Germany adds a further condition: ordinary dismissal needs a justified reason once the employee has been there over six months at a company with ten or more staff.
Getting the notice period, the pay-in-lieu option, and the paperwork right in a country where you have no entity is where an employer of record comes in. An EOR is the legal employer, so it runs the termination — notice, any severance, and final settlement — to local rules on your behalf. Our guide to what an employer of record is explains the model in full.
How to use this data
Treat the table as a starting point for planning a hire or an exit, not as a substitute for the full guide or local legal advice. Notice terms shift with role type, collective agreements, and the exact reason for termination — details each country guide covers in full.
To turn a role into an all-in cost — including the notice and severance exposure at exit — use the employment cost calculator. It has dedicated pages for several countries in this table, including India, Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, and Brazil.
For the annual leave, benefits, and pay entitlements that sit alongside notice and severance, our guide to statutory employee benefits by country covers the wider picture.
Frequently asked questions
What is a notice period?
A notice period is the warning time required before employment ends, owed by whichever side is ending it — an employer dismissing, or an employee resigning. Many countries let the employer pay it out instead of having the person work through it. How long it is, and whether pay in lieu is allowed, depends on the country and often on the employee's length of service.
Which countries have the longest notice periods?
Among the countries in our table, notice scales furthest with tenure in Malta, where it rises in steps to 12 weeks past four years' service, and in Croatia and Morocco, both of which reach up to 3 months for longer-tenured employees. Several other countries confirm that notice scales with tenure without stating the exact bands, so always check the full country guide.
Can an employer pay in lieu of notice instead of the employee working it?
Often, yes, though it depends on the country. Georgia and Kenya both state the option directly in their termination rules. Other countries in our table require notice without our guide addressing the pay-in-lieu alternative in that field, so check the specific country guide before relying on it.
Is notice pay the same as severance pay?
No. Notice is the warning time before employment ends, worked or paid out. Severance is a separate sum, usually tied to tenure, that some countries owe on top of notice for a dismissal. Jordan states this plainly: one month's wages per year of service is owed in addition to the notice period. See our guide to severance pay by country for the severance side.
Does the notice period apply to independent contractors?
Statutory notice periods are an employment entitlement, so they apply to employees, not to genuine independent contractors. A contractor's engagement ends on the terms of their contract. If you rely on contractors, our guide to contractor management covers keeping the relationship compliant and clearly non-employment.
Who manages notice periods when you use an employer of record?
An employer of record is the legal employer, so it runs the termination — giving notice, calculating any severance, and settling final dues — to the rules of that country. The cost is still yours as the client, since the money is owed to your worker; what the EOR provides is that the exit is handled correctly under local law.
Hire anywhere, with exits handled locally
Remote& brings contractors, EOR, and contractor of record onto one platform — notice, severance, and final settlement administered under local law in each country. See how it works, or book a walkthrough.