When notice periods start and end, by country
Different countries require notice periods to end on specific calendar dates. Germany requires notice to end on the 15th or last day of a calendar month; Austria requires quarter-end or optional month-end; Netherlands requires month-end; Norway requires the first day of the month following notice. Australia and Canada tie the ending date to when notice is given, without fixed calendar restrictions.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
| Country | When notice ends | How it is calculated |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | End of calendar quarter or month | Can be agreed to end on 15th or last day of calendar month; employer termination ends at quarter-end by default |
| Australia | From day notice is given | Notice cannot take effect before the day it is given; minimum period runs from the giving of notice |
| Canada | From date specified in written notice | Employer specifies the termination date in the notice; must be at least 2 weeks away unless longer notice given |
| Germany | End of calendar month or 15th of month | Notice must end "zum Fünfzehnten oder zum Ende eines Kalendermonats" (on the 15th or at the end of a calendar month) |
| Netherlands | End of calendar month | Notice takes place "tegen het einde van de maand" (at the end of the month), unless written agreement specifies a different day |
| Norway | First day of month following notice | Notice period "løper fra og med første dag i måneden etter at oppsigelsen fant sted" (runs from the first day of the month after notice is given) |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Angestelltengesetz § 20
- Applies to employees (Angestellte). The rule "mit Ablauf eines jeden Kalendervierteljahres" (at the end of each calendar quarter) is the default for employer terminations. By agreement, notice can end on the 15th or last day of a calendar month instead.
- Probation (first month) allows 1 week termination without month-end restrictions.
kann der Dienstgeber das Dienstverhältnis mit Ablauf eines jeden Kalendervierteljahres durch vorgängige Kündigung lösenkann vereinbart werden, daß die Kündigungsfrist am Fünfzehnten oder am Letzten eines Kalendermonats endigt Australia
- Rule
- Fair Work Act 2009 § 117
- No fixed month-end or calendar-based timing rules. The effective date of termination must be "not before the day the notice is given" and after the minimum notice period has elapsed.
- Minimum periods: 1 week (under 1 year), 2 weeks (1–3 years), 3 weeks (3–5 years), 4 weeks (over 5 years); plus 1 additional week if over 45 with 2+ years service.
notice of the day of the termination (which cannot be before the day the notice is given)the time between giving the notice and the day of the termination is at least the period (the minimum period of notice ) Canada
- Rule
- Canada Labour Code § 230–232
- Canada Labour Code applies to federally regulated industries only. Notice must be in writing and specify the date of termination. No fixed month-end requirement, but the employer chooses the termination date subject to minimum notice periods.
Where notice is given by an employer pursuant to subsection 230(1) Germany
- Rule
- BGB § 622
- Both employer and employee terminations must observe the 15th or month-end rule for the notice period to expire. Probation period (first 6 months) allows 2-week termination without this restriction.
- By tariff agreement (Tarifvertrag), different rules can be set, but this is the statutory default.
kann mit einer Frist von vier Wochen zum Fünfzehnten oder zum Ende eines Kalendermonats gekündigt werdenzwei Jahre bestanden hat, einen Monat zum Ende eines Kalendermonats Netherlands
- Rule
- Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, art. 672
- By default, notice periods expire at month-end. Parties can agree in writing to a different termination date. Minimum notice periods: 1 month (under 5 years), 2 months (5–10 years), 3 months (10–15 years), 4 months (15+ years) for employer termination.
Opzegging geschiedt tegen het einde van de maand, tenzij bij schriftelijke overeenkomst of door het gebruik een andere dag daarvoor is aangewezen Norway
- Rule
- Arbeidsmiljøloven § 15-3
- Notice periods automatically run to the first day of the following month, regardless of when within a month the notice is given. Minimum periods: 1 month (general), 2 months (5+ years), 3 months (10+ years), and age-based increments if 50+ or 55+ years old.
løper fra og med første dag i måneden etter at oppsigelsen fant sted Countries not in this table yet
US and Japan are missing because they do not have equivalent rules in the ingested statutes: US federal law does not set statutory notice period end-date rules, and Japan's Labor Standards Act does not include month-end or quarter-end timing requirements.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
Use this data
The table and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit LawAsked and link to this page. Quoted statute text stays under the terms of its official source.
How to cite this page
LawAsked, “When notice periods start and end, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/notice-period-start-end (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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