What Is a Notice Period?

A notice period is the length of time between when you tell your employer you're leaving (or they tell you) and your actual last working day. It's set by your employment contract, award, or local law, and commonly ranges from one week to three months depending on seniority and how long you've been employed. This calculator takes your resignation date and notice length and tells you exactly when your last day falls — plus the pay you're owed for working through it.

How Your Leaving Date Is Calculated

The detail that trips people up is whether notice includes the resignation day itself and how weekends count. This calculator lets you choose whether notice starts the same day or the next, counts the full calendar period for your leaving date, and separately estimates working days (excluding weekends) so you know how many actual days in the office remain. It also estimates the gross pay owed across the period from your annual salary.

Typical Notice Periods

• Probation / first months: often as little as 1 day to 1 week
• Junior to mid-level: commonly 2 weeks to 1 month
• Senior / professional roles: frequently 1 to 3 months
• Executive: 3 to 6 months is not unusual
• Statutory minimums exist in many countries (e.g. tied to years of service), but your contract can require more — the longer of the two usually applies

How to Use This Calculator

Pick the date you're giving (or received) notice, enter the notice length and unit (weeks, days, or months), and choose whether notice starts the same day or the next. Add your annual salary to estimate the gross pay owed across the notice period. You'll get your exact last working day, the calendar and working days involved, and the pay figure. It's ideal for planning your start date at a new job, your final paycheck timing, and any overlap or gap between roles.

Worked Example

You resign on Monday 6 April with 4 weeks' notice starting the same day. Four weeks is 28 calendar days, so your last working day is Sunday 3 May — or in practice the last working day before it. That's about 20 working days excluding weekends. On a $78,000 salary, the gross pay owed across those 28 days is roughly ($78,000 ÷ 365) × 28 = $5,984. Knowing the exact date lets you line up your new role's start without an unpaid gap.

Notice Period Tips

• Always resign in writing with a clear date — it starts the clock unambiguously and protects you
• Check your contract first: the required notice is whatever your agreement says, which may exceed the statutory minimum
• Understand garden leave: some employers pay you to stay away during notice rather than work it — you're still owed the pay
• Pay in lieu of notice (PILON): your employer may pay out the notice period instead of you working it, if your contract allows
• Accrued leave is usually paid out on top — factor it into your final pay expectations

Plan Your Finances Around the Move

Work out your new take-home pay with the take-home pay calculator, and if there's a gap between roles, the emergency fund calculator shows whether your savings cover it. Count the exact days to your last day or new start with the date duration calculator, and if a payout is involved, the bonus tax calculator helps with any lump-sum withholding.

Frequently Asked Questions