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If you want to leave your job, check your employment contract to find out your employer’s policy on handing in notice.

There are rules about:

• giving notice
• how much you’ll be paid during your notice period
• what will happen if you leave to work for a competitor

You must give at least a week’s notice if you’ve been in your job for more than a month.

Your contract will tell you whether you need to give notice in writing - otherwise you can do it verbally.

Give written notice if you think you’ll need to refer to it later, for example at an employment tribunal.

Your notice period usually runs from the start of the day after you handed your notice in.

If you change your mind

If you resign in the ‘heat of the moment’ (eg during an argument) and you change your mind, you should tell your employer immediately. They can choose to accept your resignation or not.

Get free advice from Acas

Call the Acas helpline to get advice about handing in your notice and pay rights.

You’re entitled to your normal pay rate during your notice period, including when you’re:

• off sick
• on holiday
• temporarily laid off
• on maternity, paternity or adoption leave
• available to work, even if your employer has nothing for you to do

‘Payment in lieu’ of notice period

Your employer can ask you to leave immediately after handing in your notice.

If they do, they’ll probably offer you a one-off payment instead of allowing you to work out your notice period - called ‘payment in lieu’.

You can only get payment in lieu if it’s in your contract, or if you agree to it. If you don’t agree to it, you can work out your notice period.

Disputes over notice pay

If you can’t resolve a dispute about notice pay with your employer informally, you can follow your company’s grievance procedures.

If this doesn’t work, you may be able to make a complaint to an employment tribunal for breach of contract.

Your employer may ask you not to come into work, or to work at home or another location during your notice period. This is called ‘gardening leave’.

You’ll get the same pay and contractual benefits.

There may be terms in your contract that says you can’t work for a competitor or have contact with customers for a period of time after you leave the company.

These are called ‘restrictive covenants’.