A notice period is the time between someone giving or receiving notice and their employment actually ending. Two figures matter: what the contract says, and what the law requires. Where they differ, the statutory minimum wins.
That minimum varies enormously by country, and in many places it increases with length of service. A contract drafted for one jurisdiction may be unenforceable in another. Last updated September 2026.
| Type | What it is |
|---|---|
| Contractual | What the employment contract specifies |
| Statutory | The legal minimum, which overrides a shorter contract term |
| Probationary | Usually shorter, where local law permits it |
| Payment in lieu | Paying out the notice instead of working it |
| Summary dismissal | No notice, and only for gross misconduct |
The period of warning either side must give before ending employment. It allows handover, recruitment and an orderly exit rather than an abrupt one.
It runs in both directions, though the length is often different: many contracts require more notice from the employer than from the employee, and statutory minimums frequently apply only to the employer.
What the employment contract says. Length typically reflects seniority, with longer periods for roles where handover is complex or replacement takes time.
The legal minimum in the relevant country. It applies where the contract is silent, and it overrides the contract where the contract provides less.
This is the one employers get wrong when hiring abroad. In many countries statutory notice increases with length of service, so the obligation grows quietly over years. Some jurisdictions also require notice to be given in a particular form or with stated reasons.
Usually shorter, where local law permits a distinction. Some countries cap probation length and set a minimum notice even within it. See what is a probation period.
Paying the notice period out rather than having it worked. Useful where continued presence is awkward, though whether you can do it depends on the contract and local law. See payment in lieu of notice.
Summary dismissal, available only for gross misconduct and interpreted narrowly. Getting this wrong converts a dismissal into an unlawful one, and the threshold is higher than most managers assume.
Because it is set by employment law, and employment law reflects national policy on job security.
At one end, US at-will employment means no statutory notice in most circumstances. At the other, several European and Latin American countries require weeks or months, scaling with service, sometimes alongside statutory severance that is separate from notice.
Three things to check in any country you employ in:
The statutory minimum, and whether it varies with length of service.
Whether severance is separate. In many countries it is, and notice pay does not discharge it.
Whether notice can be paid in lieu. Not universally permitted.
Country-level requirements are in CountryPedia.
Continuity. Time to recruit, hand over and document what the departing person knew.
Client relationships. Work finished properly rather than abandoned mid-project.
Legal exposure. Giving less notice than the law requires makes the dismissal unlawful regardless of the reason for it, and the remedy usually exceeds what the notice would have cost.
Reputation. People talk about how they left. In a small market, that travels.
Worth acknowledging rather than glossing over.
A long notice period means paying someone who has already decided to leave, and whose engagement may drop accordingly. It can also delay a replacement starting, since the incoming person is usually serving their own notice elsewhere.
That is the argument for payment in lieu where local law allows it: clean break, no extended wind-down.
Not with one clause.
A standard notice term applied globally will be unenforceable where it falls below the statutory minimum, and unnecessarily generous where it exceeds local norms. The workable approach is a consistent internal process for exits, with contractual terms drafted to local law in each country.
An Employer of Record handles that part. We are the legal employer, so notice terms reflect local requirements and stay current as they change. The decision to end employment, and how it is handled with the person, remains yours.
We employ people on your behalf across 214 countries and territories, from onboarding through to exit, with contracts and payroll compliant in each jurisdiction.
Talk to our team about the countries you employ in.
Contractual notice is what the employment contract specifies. Statutory notice is the legal minimum in that country. Where the contract provides less than the statutory minimum, the statutory minimum applies regardless of what was signed.
Long enough for handover and recruitment, and never below the local statutory minimum. One to three months is common for professional roles, though statutory minimums differ widely and often increase with length of service.
They can leave, but they may be in breach of contract. In practice most employers negotiate rather than pursue it, since enforcing notice against someone who has disengaged is rarely worth the cost.
Only for gross misconduct, and the threshold is high. Summary dismissal that does not meet it becomes an unlawful dismissal, with a remedy usually far exceeding the notice pay it avoided.
No. In many countries they are separate entitlements, and paying notice does not discharge a severance obligation. Check both when modelling the cost of ending an employment relationship abroad.
Usually, though often shorter. Some countries set a minimum notice even within probation, and some cap how long probation can last. It is not a period without obligations.