📅 Notice periods by country: what employers must give
Updated July 2026 · General information, not legal advice
Notice periods are statutory floors in most of Europe: the contract can promise more, never less. Here is how the minimums compare across ten hiring destinations — and which convention ('weeks per year of service' vs fixed months) each country follows.
| Country | Statutory employer notice (after probation) | Convention |
|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 1–8 weeks, scaling with service | Weeks per service band |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 4 weeks (to the 15th or month-end), rising to 7 months with tenure | Grows with tenure, month-end aligned |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | 2 weeks / 1 month / 3 months by tenure | Three tenure bands |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 15 days for objective dismissal; severance rules dominate | Severance-centric system |
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | Depends on ground & tenure; 15–75 days for fixed-term expiry/objective grounds | Ground-specific |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 1–4 months by tenure (employee: 1 month) | Fixed months by tenure |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 1 week per year of service, up to 12 weeks | Weeks per year |
| 🇦🇪 UAE | 30–90 days as agreed in the contract | Contractual within statutory band |
| 🇷🇸 Serbia | Depends on ground; employee resignation 15–30 days | Ground-specific |
| 🇬🇪 Georgia | 30 days' written notice (or shorter with compensation, per ground) | Fixed period |
How to write the notice clause in an international offer
State the contractual notice for both sides and note that statutory minimums prevail if higher. A single sentence — 'Notice periods follow the applicable statutory minimums where these exceed the periods above' — prevents the clause from being unenforceable in protective jurisdictions.
Remember that in several countries (Spain and Serbia among them) dismissal is primarily governed by grounds and severance rather than notice length: a compliant offer in those markets says less about notice and more about following the local procedure.
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Create a free offer →Frequently asked questions
Can a contract set shorter notice than the statutory minimum?
No — statutory notice is a floor in the countries compared here. Contracts can extend notice, and often extend the employee's notice to match the employer's.
Which country has the longest statutory employer notice?
Germany, where employer notice grows with tenure up to seven months for employees with 20 years of service.
Related guides
This guide is general information for employers, not legal advice. Employment rules change and collective agreements may set different terms — confirm the specifics with local counsel before sending an offer.