Guide
Statutory notice vs contract notice in Ireland
Updated
Two sources of notice sit on top of each other. Knowing which applies is usually the whole question.
Talk to a specialist Your service band, the notice it earns, and what that is worth in pay.
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How this calculator works
- The service bands are taken from section 4(2) of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973 (Irish Statute Book). The Workplace Relations Commission and Citizens Information both publish the same table.
- 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.
- Section 4(1) applies the obligation only to an employee in continuous service for thirteen weeks or more. That 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 says employees in continuous employment for at least 13 weeks must give their employer one week's notice. A greater amount specified in the contract must be given instead.
- A contract can improve on the statute but not reduce it. Under section 4(5), a contract term giving less than the statutory period takes effect as if it gave notice in accordance with the section. So the calculator always takes the greater of the two.
- Continuous service is assumed. Citizens Information says service is continuous unless you are dismissed or resign. It 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.
The statutory floor
Citizens Information says your notice depends on your contract of employment and the statutory minimum set out in law. Your contract can give you more notice than the statutory table but not less. Your employer must give you at least the statutory minimum (Citizens Information).
The Act is blunter still. Under section 4(5), a contract term giving less than the statutory period has effect as if it provided notice in accordance with the section (Irish Statute Book). A short notice clause is not enforceable: the statute simply rewrites it.
The Workplace Relations Commission puts it in one line. Any contract term for shorter notice than the minimum periods stipulated in the Acts has no effect (Workplace Relations Commission).
When the contract is silent
For an employee resigning, Citizens Information is direct: if your contract states no notice period, you must give the legal minimum of one week. You need give no notice at all if you worked there under 13 weeks and no contract specifies a notice period (Citizens Information: leaving your job).
| Situation | Notice that applies |
|---|---|
| Contract silent, employer dismissing after 6 years | The statutory band: 4 weeks |
| Contract says 2 weeks, employer dismissing after 6 years | The statutory band still: 4 weeks, because the contract cannot go lower |
| Contract says 3 months, employer dismissing after 6 years | The contract: 3 months, because it improves on the statute |
| Contract silent, employee resigning after 6 years | 1 week, the employee's flat statutory obligation |
| Contract says 1 month, employee resigning after 6 years | 1 month, because the contract requires more than the statute |
Continuous service, and what counts towards it
Citizens Information says service is continuous unless you are dismissed or resign. Continuity is not normally affected by strikes, lay-offs, dismissal followed by immediate re-employment, or a transfer of undertakings. The Workplace Relations Commission adds that on a transfer of undertakings, service with the new owner includes service with the previous owner.
- Any absence of up to 26 weeks between consecutive periods of employment counts as service if it is due to lay-off, illness or injury, or is taken by agreement with the employer.
- Any period of lock-out counts as service.
- Periods of absence due to service with the Reserve Defence Forces count as service.
- Any period of absence to take part in a strike relating to the employer's business does not count as service.
A gap in service can move you across a band boundary. Where the answer is close to two, five, ten or fifteen years, read the counting rules properly rather than estimating.