The calculator applies the minimum notice rules in the National Employment Standards (Fair Work Act 2009, s117 to s123). It does not know your award, agreement or contract, which can only add to these figures.
Section 117(3) sets the minimum notice an employer must give by your continuous service (unbroken time with this employer) at the end of the day the notice is given: 1 week for not more than 1 year, 2 weeks for more than 1 and up to 3 years, 3 weeks for more than 3 and up to 5 years, and 4 weeks for more than 5 years. Time worked as a casual does not count (s117(4)).
Add 1 week if you are over 45 years old and have completed at least 2 years of continuous service (s117(3)(b)). So the most the Act requires is 5 weeks.
The employer must give the notice in writing, stating the day the job ends (s117(1)). Instead of having you work the notice, the employer can pay it out, but the payment must be at least what you would have earned at your full rate of pay for the hours you would have worked (s117(2)(b)). Full rate means your pay including incentive payments and bonuses, loadings, monetary allowances, overtime or penalty rates and any other separately identifiable amounts (s18). That is why the calculator asks for your usual extras as well as your base pay. An employer can also mix the two: some notice worked, the rest paid out.
The notice rules do not apply to casual employees; employees on a fixed term, specific task or season whose job ends at the agreed end (unless that arrangement was mainly a way to avoid the rules, s123(2)); employees dismissed for serious misconduct; trainees (other than apprentices) whose employment is limited to the training arrangement; daily hire employees in building and construction or in the meat industry (slaughter of livestock); and weekly hire employees in the meat industry whose job ends for seasonal reasons (s123(1) and (3)). Casuals may still have a notice period under their award or agreement.
The National Employment Standards set only the notice an employer must give. The notice you must give comes from your award or enterprise agreement (s118) or your contract. Most modern awards mirror the employer table without the over-45 week, which is what the calculator shows when you choose "I'm resigning", marked as a typical award figure to check. If you give less notice than your award requires, your employer can deduct from your final pay only if the award allows it, and many awards cap that at one week's wages and do not let it come out of leave payouts. Check your award on the Fair Work Ombudsman site.
Notice you work is ordinary pay, taxed and counted as service in the usual way. Notice paid out is generally an ETP (employment termination payment) for tax, with its own withholding rates, and does not generally extend your service for redundancy pay or leave purposes; the job ends on the day the employer names. This calculator shows amounts before tax only.
6 years of service, aged 47: more than 5 years = 4 weeks, plus 1 week for being over 45 with at least 2 years' service = 5 weeks' notice. If the employer pays it out and you normally earn $1,500 a week plus $200 in overtime and allowances, payment in lieu is 5 × $1,700 = $8,500 before tax. The award may require more notice than the Act.
Minimum notice an employer must give, by continuous service at the end of the day the notice is given. Verified against the Fair Work Act 2009 compilation of 7 July 2026 (C2026C00355) on 8 November 2026.
| Period of continuous service | Minimum notice | Over 45, 2+ years |
|---|---|---|
| Not more than 1 year | 1 week | 1 week |
| More than 1 year but not more than 3 years | 2 weeks | 3 weeks |
| More than 3 years but not more than 5 years | 3 weeks | 4 weeks |
| More than 5 years | 4 weeks | 5 weeks |
Not under the Fair Work Act. Casuals are left out of the minimum notice rules (s123(1)(c)), and time worked as a casual does not count toward continuous service for notice even if you later became permanent (s117(4)). Some awards and agreements set a short notice period for casuals, often an hour or a shift, so check yours. A regular casual who is dismissed may still have other rights, such as unfair dismissal.
The Fair Work Act does not say. The notice you must give comes from your award or enterprise agreement (s118) or your contract. Most modern awards require the same weeks as the employer table (1 to 4 weeks by service) but without the extra week for being over 45. If you give less than your award requires, your employer can only deduct from your final pay if the award allows it, and many awards cap the deduction at one week's wages and do not allow it to come out of leave payouts. If no award or agreement covers you, your contract decides; if it is silent, a "reasonable" period applies. Check your award on the Fair Work Ombudsman site.
Yes. The Act allows payment in lieu of notice, but it must be at least what you would have earned at your full rate of pay for the hours you would have worked over the notice period (s117(2)(b)). Full rate includes overtime and penalty rates you would have worked, allowances, loadings, bonuses and incentive payments (s18), not just your base pay. The employer can also have you work part of the notice and pay out the rest.
Notice you work is taxed as ordinary wages. Notice paid out instead of worked is generally an ETP (employment termination payment) for tax, so it is taxed under the ATO's ETP rules rather than as normal salary, and it is not covered by the redundancy tax-free limit. The ATO's page on employment termination payments has the current rates. This calculator shows amounts before tax only; the redundancy pay calculator covers the tax-free limit for redundancy pay itself.
If you work the notice, yes: you are still employed, so it counts toward your continuous service and your leave keeps building. If the notice is paid out instead, your employment generally ends on the day the employer names, so the paid-out weeks do not generally extend your service for redundancy pay, long service leave or annual leave. Awards or agreements can be more generous, and the position can differ where a contract says otherwise, so check yours.
Garden leave (or gardening leave) is when you are still employed and paid during your notice period but told not to come to work. You remain an employee, so the time counts as service, you keep your usual pay and entitlements, and you still owe your employer your usual duties such as confidentiality and not working for a competitor. It is different from payment in lieu, where the job ends straight away. Whether an employer can direct garden leave usually depends on your contract.
All checked 8 November 2026. Primary sources first. Not reloaded marks an official page our checker could not load on that date; the statement relies on the Act and earlier checks.