Does the notice period start on the day I resign?

No. In South Africa, the UK, and Australia, the day you resign does not count. Your notice period starts the day after you submit your resignation. If your contract does not specify otherwise, use this next-day rule as the standard convention. Always confirm the exact starting day with your HR department or employment contract, since some agreements state their own rule. See How to Calculate Notice Period for more detail.

Does my notice period include weekends?

It depends on your contract. Most notice periods run on calendar days, which include weekends and public holidays. Some contracts specify working days only, which exclude them. Check your contract wording first. This calculator supports both, select calendar days for the full week count or business days to exclude weekends and public holidays automatically.

What happens if my last day falls on a public holiday?

If your calculated last day falls on a public holiday, your employment technically ends on that date, but your final working day is the last business day before it. The calculator accounts for this automatically when you select your country.

Can my employer make me work my full notice period?

In most cases, yes. Your contract sets the terms, and leaving early without agreement can expose you to a claim for damages if your employer can show the early departure caused them direct financial loss. In practice, employers rarely pursue this for routine resignations because the cost of legal action often outweighs the loss.

Does my stock continue vesting during my notice period?

This depends entirely on your employer and your specific grant agreement. There is no consistent default across companies or countries. Check your grant agreement directly, confirm whether garden leave counts as active employment under its terms, and do not rely on what a colleague or another company does. Read the full stock vesting during notice period guide for a country by country breakdown.

Free Notice Period Calculator: Find Your Exact Last Working Day in 3 Steps

Notice Period Calculator

Notice Start Date

Notice Period Length

Country (for public holidays)

Use our free notice period calculator to find your exact last working day. Enter your resignation date, select your notice period length, choose your country, and get an accurate end date that excludes weekends and public holidays. Whether you are an employee resigning or an HR professional managing a departure, this tool gives you the right date in seconds.

Getting your notice period end date wrong carries real consequences. Miss a stock vest date by one day and you lose the payout. Miscalculate a payroll cut-off and the final pay run is wrong. Tell your employer “four weeks from today” without checking a calendar and your last day could land on a weekend or public holiday, shifting the actual end date forward. A notice period calculator removes that guesswork.

Person signing a resignation document, notice period calculator helps confirm the last working day

How to Use the Notice Period Calculator

Follow these three steps to find your exact last working day.

Enter your resignation date and select your notice period length, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, or a custom number of days.
Choose your country to exclude public holidays automatically.
Click Calculate to see your exact last working day.

The result accounts for every weekend and public holiday between your resignation date and your end date.

Worked Example

Say you resign on Monday, 6 July 2026, and your contract requires 4 weeks notice on calendar days. Your notice period starts the next day, Tuesday, 7 July 2026, and runs for 28 calendar days. Your last day of employment falls on Monday, 3 August 2026.

Calendar Days or Business Days, Pick the Right Setting

Most contracts run on calendar days, but some specify business days only. Check your contract wording before you calculate. The calculator lets you choose either setting, so the result matches your specific terms instead of guessing.

Notice Period Laws by Country

Notice period requirements vary by country. Here is what the law requires in the markets where this notice period calculator sees the most use.

United Kingdom

The statutory minimum is at least 1 week for employees employed between 1 month and 2 years. For 2 or more years of service, the notice period increases by 1 week for each full year, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

United States

There is no statutory notice period requirement. Two weeks notice is the widely accepted professional standard, not a legal one.

South Africa

Under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the statutory minimum is 1 week for employees employed 6 months or less, 2 weeks for more than 6 months but less than 1 year, and 4 weeks for 1 year or more.

Australia

The statutory minimum under the Fair Work Act 2009 National Employment Standards is 1 week for employees with less than 1 year of service. This increases up to 4 weeks based on tenure. Employees over 45 years old with 2 or more years of service get an extra week, for a maximum of 5 weeks.

These are statutory minimums. Your employment contract may specify a longer notice period. Always check your contract first.

Does Your Notice Period Run in Business Days or Calendar Days?

This is where most people get it wrong. A 30-day notice period can begin on any day of the month and ends exactly 30 days later. A calendar month notice period runs from the 1st to the last day of a full calendar month. The difference between the two can be several days. This calculator lets you choose between calendar days and business days so the result matches your specific contract terms.

Why the Distinction Matters

Three days might not sound like much until your last working day shifts past a stock vest date, a payroll cut-off, or a new job start date. Confirm which one your contract uses before you calculate, not after.

Notice Period and Stock Vesting

If you have unvested stock or RSUs, the timing of your last day matters. Whether vesting continues during your notice period or garden leave depends on your employer and your grant agreement, with no consistent rule across companies or countries. For a full country by country breakdown, see Does Your Stock Vest During Notice Period?. See the FAQ below for what to check before you rely on a calculated date.

Notice Period During Probation

Many contracts set a shorter notice period during probation. Both employers and employees should check the terms and local requirements before assuming. A standard probation notice period is 1 week regardless of the standard contractual notice period. If you are within your probation window, use the calculator with a 1-week or 5-business-day notice period to find your last working day. The same notice period calculator works for probation periods exactly as it does for standard notice, just with a shorter input.

Payment in Lieu of Notice

An employer may offer payment in lieu of notice or place a worker on garden leave instead of requiring them to work through the notice period. Payment in lieu of notice means your employment ends immediately and you receive the salary you would have earned during the notice period as a lump sum. Garden leave means you remain employed, receive your salary, but are not required to attend work. In both cases the end date of your notice period stays the same. Use the calculator to confirm it. Whether you are calculating standard notice or payment in lieu, the notice period calculator gives you the same accurate result either way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question	Answer
Does the notice period start on the day I resign?	No. In South Africa, the UK, and Australia, the day you resign does not count. Your notice period starts the day after you submit your resignation. If your contract does not specify otherwise, use this next-day rule as the standard convention. Always confirm the exact starting day with your HR department or employment contract, since some agreements state their own rule. See How to Calculate Notice Period for more detail.
Does my notice period include weekends?	It depends on your contract. Most notice periods run on calendar days, which include weekends and public holidays. Some contracts specify working days only, which exclude them. Check your contract wording first. This calculator supports both, select calendar days for the full week count or business days to exclude weekends and public holidays automatically.
What happens if my last day falls on a public holiday?	If your calculated last day falls on a public holiday, your employment technically ends on that date, but your final working day is the last business day before it. The calculator accounts for this automatically when you select your country.
Can my employer make me work my full notice period?	In most cases, yes. Your contract sets the terms, and leaving early without agreement can expose you to a claim for damages if your employer can show the early departure caused them direct financial loss. In practice, employers rarely pursue this for routine resignations because the cost of legal action often outweighs the loss. Check your contract and consider speaking with HR before deciding to leave early.
Does my stock continue vesting during my notice period?	This depends entirely on your employer and your specific grant agreement. There is no consistent default across companies or countries. Check your grant agreement directly, confirm whether garden leave counts as active employment under its terms, and do not rely on what a colleague or another company does. Read the full stock vesting during notice period guide for a country by country breakdown.

Notice Period Calculator: Supported Countries

Notice period rules and public holidays both vary by country, which is why this calculator lets you pick from more than 100 countries, covering the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, Japan, Germany, France, and Brazil among others. Select yours from the dropdown and the correct public holiday calendar loads automatically. Holiday data gets checked regularly, so the result stays accurate as calendars change year to year.

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Last updated: July 2026.