The short answer
Unless you are casual, on a fixed-term contract or sacked for serious misconduct, your employer must give you written notice of your last day, of at least 1 to 4 weeks depending on how long you have worked there, plus an extra week if you are over 45 and have at least 2 years' service. Instead of having you work it out, they can pay you for it. An award, agreement or your contract can give you more, never less.
The minimum notice
| Your continuous service when notice is given | Minimum notice |
|---|---|
| 1 year or less | 1 week |
| More than 1 year, up to 3 years | 2 weeks |
| More than 3 years, up to 5 years | 3 weeks |
| More than 5 years | 4 weeks |
Over 45? Add one week if you are over 45 and have at least 2 years' continuous service when notice is given. Someone aged 50 with 6 years' service is owed 5 weeks.
Time you spent as a casual does not count toward continuous service for this table.
It has to be in writing
The notice must be written and must state the day your employment ends, which cannot be before the day you receive it. A conversation in the car park is not notice under the Act, although it may still end the job.
Pay in lieu of notice
Your employer can end your job straight away if it pays you instead, but it must still tell you the end date in writing. The payment must be at least what you would have earned at your full rate of pay for the hours you would have worked during the notice period. The Fair Work Ombudsman says it must be paid on or before your last day.
"Full rate of pay" is wider than your base rate: it includes things like loadings, allowances and penalty rates you would have received for those hours.
Who does not get notice
- casual employees;
- people employed for a specified period, task or season (unless that was set up to dodge these rules);
- people dismissed for serious misconduct;
- some trainees on fixed-term training arrangements, and certain daily-hire workers in building, construction and meat processing.
Whether conduct was serious enough to justify no notice is often the real argument. If you were sacked on the spot, also read unfair dismissal: the 21-day clock is already running.
When you are the one leaving
The Act's table is about notice your employer gives you. How much notice you must give comes from your award, enterprise agreement or contract. According to the Fair Work Ombudsman:
- casuals do not have to give notice;
- if you are award and agreement free and your contract says nothing, you may need to give reasonable notice;
- most awards let an employer withhold up to one week's wages if you are 18 or over and give less notice than the award requires, provided the deduction is not unreasonable, and only from wages, not from leave owed to you;
- your employer cannot refuse to accept your resignation.
What the law says
- s 117 written notice, the minimum periods, the over-45 week, pay in lieu
- s 123 employees the notice rules do not cover
Sections are of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The timing of pay in lieu and the resignation points are from the Fair Work Ombudsman's pages on final pay and resignation. Use the Ombudsman's Notice and Redundancy Calculator to check your award.
The law for matters like yours
This page is the law in general. Ask Atuny about the law for matters like yours in plain English and the short answer is free. It reads the Act, not a forum thread.
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Who this covers. This guide is about people in the national workplace system, which is most people working in the private sector in Australia. Depending on your state, if you work for a state government department or a council, or in Western Australia for a sole trader, partnership or some trusts, state laws may apply instead, although some federal protections, such as unlawful termination, still cover you. The Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) can tell you which system you are in.
This is general information about the law, not advice about your situation. It was checked against the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) as compiled on 7 July 2026 and the Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman figures for 2026-27. Atuny is not a law firm.