Statutory notice periods for dismissal, by country

Name: Statutory notice periods for dismissal by country
Creator: LawAsked

How much notice an employer must give by law before ending an open-ended employment contract, from one year of service to twenty. Every figure below comes from the statute itself, which is quoted and linked.

Figures checked against the statute text on October 25, 2026 by Cong Ho, editor of LawAsked.

Minimum notice the employer must give, by completed years of service
Country	After 1 year	After 2 years	After 5 years	After 10 years	After 20 years	Employee resigning
Austria	6 weeks	2 months	3 months	3 months	4 months	1 month, ending on the last day of a month
Australia	1 week	2 weeks	3 weeks	4 weeks	4 weeks	Not set by s 117 (awards or the contract decide)
France	1 month	2 months	2 months	2 months	2 months	Not set by L1234-1 (agreement or custom decides)
Germany	4 weeks	1 month	2 months	4 months	7 months	4 weeks, to the 15th or the end of a month
Japan	30 days	30 days	30 days	30 days	30 days	Not set by art. 20
Netherlands	1 month	1 month	2 months	3 months	4 months	1 month
Norway	1 month	1 month	2 months	3 months	3 months	Same as the employer’s, at most 3 months
Spain	15 days	15 days	15 days	15 days	15 days	Set by collective agreement or local custom (art. 49)
Sweden	1 month	2 months	3 months	6 months	6 months	1 month

Country by country

Austria

Rule

Angestelltengesetz § 20 / ABGB § 1159

Employer’s notice by service

From the start: 6 weeks
From 2 years: 2 months
From 5 years: 3 months
From 15 years: 4 months
From 25 years: 5 months

Employee’s notice

1 month, ending on the last day of a month

Applies to open-ended employment. The employer’s notice ends at the end of a calendar quarter unless the contract allows the 15th or the last day of a month.
The same scale applies to white-collar employees (Angestelltengesetz) and other employees (ABGB). It cannot be shortened by contract.

Die Kündigungsfrist beträgt sechs Wochen und erhöht sich nach dem vollendeten zweiten Dienstjahr auf zwei Monate, nach dem vollendeten fünften Dienstjahr auf drei, nach dem vollendeten fünfzehnten Dienstjahr auf vier und nach dem vollendeten fünfundzwanzigsten Dienstjahr auf fünf Monate.

kann der Angestellte das Dienstverhältnis mit dem letzten Tage eines Kalendermonats unter Einhaltung einer einmonatigen Kündigungsfrist lösen

Angestelltengesetz, Angestelltengesetz Art. 1 § 20. Official text

Die Kündigungsfrist beträgt sechs Wochen und erhöht sich nach dem vollendeten zweiten Dienstjahr auf zwei Monate, nach dem vollendeten fünften Dienstjahr auf drei, nach dem vollendeten fünfzehnten Dienstjahr auf vier und nach dem vollendeten fünfundzwanzigsten Dienstjahr auf fünf Monate.

ABGB (Dienstvertrag, §§ 1151–1164), ABGB § 1159. Official text

Statute text as of October 23, 2026

Australia

Rule

Fair Work Act 2009, s 117

Employer’s notice by service

From the start: 1 week
More than 1 year: 2 weeks
More than 3 years: 3 weeks
More than 5 years: 4 weeks

Employee’s notice

Not set by s 117 (awards or the contract decide)

One extra week if the employee is over 45 and has at least 2 years of continuous service.
Notice must be in writing; the employer may pay in lieu instead. Casual service does not count.

Not more than 1 year 1 week 2 More than 1 year but not more than 3 years 2 weeks 3 More than 3 years but not more than 5 years 3 weeks 4 More than 5 years 4 weeks

increase the period by 1 week if the employee is over 45 years old and has completed at least 2 years of continuous service

Fair Work Act 2009, Section 117. Official text

Statute text as of October 21, 2026

France

Rule

Code du travail, art. L1234-1

Employer’s notice by service

From the start: Collective agreement or local custom
From 6 months: 1 month
From 2 years: 2 months

Employee’s notice

Not set by L1234-1 (agreement or custom decides)

No notice is owed for dismissal for gross misconduct (faute grave).
A collective agreement, the contract or custom that is more favourable to the employee prevails.

Lorsque le licenciement n'est pas motivé par une faute grave

comprise entre six mois et moins de deux ans, à un préavis d'un mois

d'au moins deux ans, à un préavis de deux mois

Code du travail, Code du travail, art. L1234-1. Official text

Statute text as of October 23, 2026

Germany

Rule

BGB § 622

Employer’s notice by service

From the start: 4 weeks
From 2 years: 1 month
From 5 years: 2 months
From 8 years: 3 months
From 10 years: 4 months
From 12 years: 5 months
From 15 years: 6 months
From 20 years: 7 months

Employee’s notice

4 weeks, to the 15th or the end of a month

During probation

2 weeks during an agreed probation of up to 6 months

From 2 years of service the employer’s notice ends at the end of a calendar month.
A collective agreement (Tarifvertrag) may set different periods.

kann mit einer Frist von vier Wochen zum Fünfzehnten oder zum Ende eines Kalendermonats gekündigt werden

1. zwei Jahre bestanden hat, einen Monat zum Ende eines Kalendermonats, 2. fünf Jahre bestanden hat, zwei Monate zum Ende eines Kalendermonats, 3. acht Jahre bestanden hat, drei Monate zum Ende eines Kalendermonats, 4. zehn Jahre bestanden hat, vier Monate zum Ende eines Kalendermonats, 5. zwölf Jahre bestanden hat, fünf Monate zum Ende eines Kalendermonats, 6. 15 Jahre bestanden hat, sechs Monate zum Ende eines Kalendermonats, 7. 20 Jahre bestanden hat, sieben Monate zum Ende eines Kalendermonats

Während einer vereinbarten Probezeit, längstens für die Dauer von sechs Monaten, kann das Arbeitsverhältnis mit einer Frist von zwei Wochen gekündigt werden

Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (Dienstvertrag, §§ 611–630), § 622 BGB. Official text

Statute text as of October 23, 2026

Japan

Rule

Labour Standards Act, art. 20

Employer’s notice by service

From the start: 30 days

Employee’s notice

Not set by art. 20

The employer may pay at least 30 days of average wages instead, or shorten the notice by one day for each day paid.
Not required when a disaster makes the business impossible to continue, or for dismissal attributable to the employee.

少くとも三十日前にその予告をしなければならない

三十日分以上の平均賃金を支払わなければならない

労働基準法, 労働基準法第二十条. Official text

Statute text as of October 23, 2026

Netherlands

Rule

Burgerlijk Wetboek 7:672

Employer’s notice by service

From the start: 1 month
From 5 years: 2 months
From 10 years: 3 months
From 15 years: 4 months

Employee’s notice

1 month

Notice runs to the end of the month. Once the employee reaches state pension age the employer’s notice is 1 month.
The employer’s notice can only be shortened by collective agreement; it can be lengthened in writing.

korter dan vijf jaar heeft geduurd: één maand; b. vijf jaar of langer, maar korter dan tien jaar heeft geduurd: twee maanden; c. tien jaar of langer, maar korter dan vijftien jaar heeft geduurd: drie maanden; d. vijftien jaar of langer heeft geduurd: vier maanden

De door de werknemer in acht te nemen termijn van opzegging bedraagt één maand

Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7 (koop, huur, arbeidsovereenkomst), BW 7, art. 672. Official text

Statute text as of October 23, 2026

Norway

Rule

Arbeidsmiljøloven § 15-3

Employer’s notice by service

From the start: 1 month
From 5 years: 2 months
From 10 years: 3 months

Employee’s notice

Same as the employer’s, at most 3 months

During probation

14 days during a written probation period

After 10 years of service the employer’s notice rises to 4, 5 and 6 months for employees aged 50, 55 and 60.
Notice starts on the first day of the month after it is given.

gjelder en gjensidig oppsigelsesfrist på én måned

gjelder en gjensidig oppsigelsesfrist på minst to måneder. Har arbeidstakeren vært ansatt i minst 10 år sammenhengende i samme virksomhet, er den gjensidige oppsigelsesfristen minst tre måneder

skal oppsigelsesfristen være minst fire måneder dersom den finner sted etter at arbeidstakeren er fylt 50 år, minst fem måneder etter fylte 55 år og minst seks måneder etter fylte 60 år

gjelder en gjensidig oppsigelsesfrist på 14 dager

Arbeidsmiljøloven, Arbeidsmiljøloven § 15-3. Official text

Statute text as of October 23, 2026

Spain

Rule

Estatuto de los Trabajadores, art. 53

Employer’s notice by service

From the start: 15 days

Employee’s notice

Set by collective agreement or local custom (art. 49)

The 15 days apply to dismissal on objective grounds; the time runs from the written notice to the end of the contract.
During the notice the employee gets six hours a week of paid leave to look for a new job.

Concesión de un plazo de preaviso de quince días

Estatuto de los Trabajadores, Estatuto de los Trabajadores, art. 53. Official text

Por dimisión del trabajador, debiendo mediar el preaviso que señalen los convenios colectivos o la costumbre del lugar

Estatuto de los Trabajadores, Estatuto de los Trabajadores, art. 49. Official text

Statute text as of October 23, 2026

Sweden

Rule

Lag om anställningsskydd (LAS), 11 §

Employer’s notice by service

From the start: 1 month
From 2 years: 2 months
From 4 years: 3 months
From 6 years: 4 months
From 8 years: 5 months
From 10 years: 6 months

Employee’s notice

1 month

Service counts all time with the same employer.
A collective agreement may set other periods.

För både arbetsgivare och arbetstagare gäller en minsta uppsägningstid av en månad.

två månader, om den sammanlagda anställningstiden hos arbetsgivaren är minst två år men kortare än fyra år, - tre månader, om den sammanlagda anställningstiden är minst fyra år men kortare än sex år, - fyra månader, om den sammanlagda anställningstiden är minst sex år men kortare än åtta år, - fem månader, om den sammanlagda anställningstiden är minst åtta år men kortare än tio år, och - sex månader, om den sammanlagda anställningstiden är minst tio år

Lag om anställningsskydd, LAS (1982:80), 11 §. Official text

Statute text as of October 23, 2026

Countries not in this table yet

The United States, the United Kingdom and Canada are not compared here yet. Their notice rules sit in statutes we have not loaded (the UK’s Employment Rights Act 1996 and Canada’s provincial employment standards, for example), and the United States has no general federal notice rule for individual dismissals. We add a country only once the rule is in our statute database.

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 notice, and some countries let a collective agreement set different periods.

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How to cite this page

LawAsked, “Statutory notice periods for dismissal, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/notice-periods-by-country (reviewed October 25, 2026).

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