Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005
Notice period in Ireland: how much are you entitled to?
Statutory minimum notice runs on length of continuous service, from one week to eight. Five years and three months earns four weeks, which is €3,600 at €900 a week. Enter your service and pay to see your own figure.
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Statutory minimum notice in Ireland by length of service
Last updated
The bands set by section 4(2) of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973, as published by both the Workplace Relations Commission and Citizens Information, with the notice pay each band is worth at €900 a week.
Notice weeks are the statutory bands applied by this page's own formulas for notice given by an employer, with no contractual notice entered. Notice pay is the weeks multiplied by a €900 gross weekly wage, chosen only as a round illustration. Your own figure scales directly with your weekly pay.
| Length of continuous service | Statutory minimum notice | Calendar days | Notice pay at €900 a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 13 weeks | 0 weeks | 0 | €0 |
| 13 weeks to 2 years | 1 week | 7 | €900 |
| 2 years to 5 years | 2 weeks | 14 | €1,800 |
| 5 years to 10 years | 4 weeks | 28 | €3,600 |
| 10 years to 15 years | 6 weeks | 42 | €5,400 |
| 15 years or more | 8 weeks | 56 | €7,200 |
- Statutory notice in Ireland starts only after 13 weeks of continuous service, then rises through five bands from one week to eight weeks at 15 years or more.
- Citizens Information's own worked example: an employee with five years and three months of service gets four weeks' notice, worth €3,600 at €900 a week. This calculator returns the same four weeks for that service length.
- An employee's own obligation is flat. The Workplace Relations Commission states that employees with at least 13 weeks of continuous employment must give one week's notice, whatever their length of service, unless the contract requires more.
Cite this page
“Statutory minimum notice in Ireland by length of service”, Notice Period Ireland, https://noticeperiodireland.com/ (updated 2026-08-15). Notice weeks are the statutory bands applied by this page's own formulas for notice given by an employer, with no contractual notice entered. Notice pay is the weeks multiplied by a €900 gross weekly wage, chosen only as a round illustration. Your own figure scales directly with your weekly pay.
Behind the numbers
- The service bands are taken from section 4(2) of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973: less than two years, one week; two years or more but less than five, two weeks; five or more but less than ten, four weeks; ten or more but less than fifteen, six weeks; fifteen years or more, eight weeks (Irish Statute Book). The Workplace Relations Commission and Citizens Information both publish the same table.
- Section 4(1) applies the obligation only to an employee who has been in continuous service for thirteen weeks or more, which is why the calculator returns zero below 0.25 of a year (Workplace Relations Commission).
- An employee's own obligation does not scale with service. The Workplace Relations Commission states that employees in continuous employment for at least 13 weeks are obliged to give their employer one week's notice, and that a greater amount specified in the contract must be given instead.
- A contract can improve on the statute but not reduce it. Section 4(5) provides that a contract term giving less notice than the statutory period takes effect as if it provided notice in accordance with the section, so the calculator always takes the greater of the two.
- Continuous service is assumed. Citizens Information states that service is continuous unless you are dismissed or resign, and is not normally affected by strikes, lay-offs, dismissal followed by immediate re-employment, or a transfer of undertakings.
- Notice pay uses normal pay. Citizens Information states that during the period of notice you should receive your normal pay, and that this also applies where you are paid in lieu of notice.
- This calculates statutory minimum notice only. It is not redundancy pay, not pay in lieu of untaken annual leave, and not compensation for unfair dismissal. It also does not apply where an employer dismisses for gross misconduct, or where either party terminates without notice due to the other's misconduct.
Notice Period Ireland is an independent information site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It is not affiliated with the Workplace Relations Commission, Citizens Information or any government body, and nothing here is legal advice. Statutory notice is only one part of an exit: take advice from a solicitor or the Workplace Relations Commission before agreeing anything or missing a complaint deadline.
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The questions we get
What is the statutory minimum notice period in Ireland?
It runs on continuous service: 1 week from 13 weeks to 2 years, 2 weeks from 2 to 5 years, 4 weeks from 5 to 10 years, 6 weeks from 10 to 15 years, and 8 weeks at 15 years or more.
Do I get statutory notice in my first three months?
No. Section 4(1) of the 1973 Act applies the obligation only to an employee in continuous service for thirteen weeks or more, so there is no statutory notice below that. Your contract may still give you some.
How much notice must an employee give in Ireland?
One week, once you have 13 weeks of continuous service, unless the contract specifies more. Unlike the employer's obligation, it does not increase with length of service.
Can my contract override the statutory notice period?
Only upwards. A contract can give more notice than the statute, but a term giving less has no effect and is read as providing the statutory period instead.
Do I get paid if I am not asked to work my notice?
Yes. The Workplace Relations Commission states that where the employer does not require the employee to work out any part of the notice, the employer is obliged to pay for that period, and Citizens Information says normal pay applies.
Is there any situation with no notice at all?
Yes. Citizens Information states that an employer may dismiss without notice for gross misconduct, and the Acts do not affect either party's right to terminate without notice due to the other's misconduct. You can still challenge whether a dismissal was justified.
Go deeper
Sourced, dated, kept current.
Statutory notice vs contract notice in Ireland
A contract can give more notice than the law requires but never less. How the two interact, what happens when a contract is silent, and which one wins in practice.
How much notice must an employee give in Ireland?
One week, once you have 13 weeks of continuous service, unless your contract asks for more. What happens if you give less, and whether you can leave early.
Pay in lieu of notice in Ireland: how it works
Payment instead of working your notice, what you should be paid, how it interacts with a jobseeker's payment, and where redundancy notice differs.
Sources
- Workplace Relations Commission, minimum notice
- Citizens Information, losing your job: entitlements
- Citizens Information, leaving your job and giving notice
- Citizens Information, redundancy notice periods
- Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973, section 4
- Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973, section 6
Working out where you stand?
Your service band, the notice it earns, and what that is worth in pay.
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