Notice period

A notice period is how long before the end date you must tell the other party that you are ending a contract. It applies to subscriptions, phone and broadband deals, tenancies and jobs. Your contract sets it, often as one month, 30 days or a number of weeks.

In UK legislation, a “month” means a calendar month (Interpretation Act 1978, Schedule 1). Courts use the corresponding date rule: the day notice is given is left out and a one-month period ends on the same date in the next month.

Example: one month’s notice given on 15 October 2026 ends on 15 November 2026. A 30-day notice given the same day ends on 14 November 2026.

Employment has statutory minimums in the UK. GOV.UK says an employee must give at least a week’s notice after more than a month in the job. An employer must give at least one week’s notice for shorter service, one week for each year from 2 to 12 years, and 12 weeks after 12 years or more. A longer period in your contract applies instead.

Find the notice period and deadlines in a contract PDF with the contract date extractor.