What is the notice period when you resign?

The minimum notice period when you resign is set by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (BCEA). It is one week if you have been employed for six months or less, two weeks if you have been employed for more than six months but less than one year, and four weeks if you have been employed for one year or more. Farm workers and domestic workers are entitled to four weeks once they have worked for more than six months.

This guide is part of our Your rights at work: pay, contracts, resigning and retrenchment, which links every guide on the topic.

The same table applies whether you resign or your employer dismisses you, and it is a floor, not a ceiling. Your contract can require you to give more notice. It cannot require less.

The notice table at a glance

If you are unsure what your last working day should be, our notice period calculator will work the dates out for you.

When your contract says something different

Many employment contracts say "one calendar month". That is longer than the BCEA minimum, so it is valid and it is what you must give. An individual contract can lengthen notice but cannot shorten it. A collective agreement is different: section 37(2) allows it to shorten notice, though the four weeks for employees with a year or more of service may not be cut below two weeks. And no agreement of any kind may require you to give longer notice than your employer must give you.

Watch out for two common contract clauses:

• Notice tied to a calendar month. If notice runs to the end of a calendar month, resigning on the 3rd usually means you work until the end of the following month. Read the clause before you hand in the letter.
• A longer notice for senior staff. Three month notice periods are common for executives. They are enforceable, though a court will not force you to keep working. See the section on walking away below.

Worked example

This example is illustrative.

Sipho has been a sales administrator for three years and earns R15 000 a month. He has a new job that wants him to start on the 1st of next month. His contract says "one calendar month's notice, to run from the first day of the month following the month in which notice is given".

If Sipho resigns on the 3rd of this month, his notice only starts on the 1st of next month and ends on the last day of that month. He would start his new job a month late. If his contract had simply followed the BCEA, four weeks' notice given on the 3rd would end four weeks later, around the end of this month, and he could start on time.

Now suppose Sipho leaves anyway, without working the contractual notice, and his employer hires a temp for the month at R18 000. The employer could claim the loss it can prove, and the temp's cost above Sipho's salary is the kind of figure a court looks at. It may also try to deduct the notice value of about R15 000 from his final pay, but a deduction like that generally needs Sipho's agreement or another lawful basis. The lesson is to read the notice clause before you accept a start date, and to negotiate an earlier release in writing rather than assume one.

How to give notice properly

1. Put it in writing. Section 37(4) of the BCEA requires notice to be in writing, unless it is given by an employee who cannot read or write. An email is generally fine unless your contract says otherwise. Keep a copy and keep proof it was delivered. Our resignation letter template gives you a short, neutral wording.
2. Date it and say your last working day. The Act does not spell out how the days are counted, so name the date yourself. A week's notice given on a Tuesday is usually treated as ending on the following Tuesday, and stating the date removes the argument.
3. Hand it to the right person. Your manager and HR. If you only tell a colleague, you may struggle to prove you gave notice at all.
4. Do not resign in anger in a meeting. A resignation given in the heat of the moment can be hard to take back. Ask for time, go home, and decide.

Annual leave cannot run during notice: section 20(5)(b) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act says an employer may not require or permit annual leave during a period of notice. In practice that means your notice period cannot be swallowed by your annual leave, and leave you have not taken is paid out when you go. Sick leave is treated differently. Section 37(5), which deals with notice given by an employer, keeps notice apart from other leave but expressly allows it to run during sick leave, so falling ill during your notice does not normally extend it.

What to do the week before you resign

1. Find your signed contract and read the notice clause and any restraint of trade clause word for word.
2. Count your notice using the table above and the notice period calculator, then check whether your contract requires more.
3. Check your leave balance on your last payslip, because accrued annual leave is paid out on termination.
4. Confirm your start date with the new employer only once you know your true last day.
5. Draft the letter with a date, your last working day and nothing else. You do not owe anyone a list of grievances in a resignation letter, unless you are deliberately recording a constructive dismissal.
6. Ask for an early release in writing if you need one, and get the answer in writing too.
7. Keep copies of the letter, the delivery proof and any reply.

Documents to keep

Hold onto your signed contract and any amendments, your last six payslips, your leave record, the resignation letter and proof it was delivered, any written agreement about early release or paying notice out, and your final payslip. If a dispute about final pay arises later, these are the documents the Department of Employment and Labour or the CCMA will ask for first.

Can you pay your notice out instead of working it?

Yes, if your employer agrees. The BCEA allows notice to be paid instead of worked, and by agreement you can be released early. Many employers prefer this where you are going to a competitor.

Two points to be careful about:

• If you want to leave early and your employer does not agree, you are the one in breach, and the employer may deduct or claim the value of the unworked notice. A deduction from your final pay generally needs your agreement or another lawful basis, so ask for the deduction to be explained in writing.
• If your employer pays you out and tells you not to come in, that is usually lawful and you keep the full notice pay. Being paid in lieu of notice is not the same as being dismissed.

Garden leave, where you stay employed but stop working, is common where a restraint of trade is in play.

What you should be paid at the end

On termination you should receive:

• your salary up to your last day
• notice pay, if any part of the notice is paid rather than worked
• any annual leave that has accrued and not been taken, which must be paid out
• anything else your contract provides for, such as a pro rata bonus or outstanding commission

You should also get a certificate of service and the documents you need for the Unemployment Insurance Fund. Note that if you resign voluntarily you generally cannot claim ordinary UIF unemployment benefits, because those are aimed at people who lost work rather than chose to leave. Our guide on claiming UIF if you resign covers the exceptions.

Your rights and your employer's rights during notice

You have the right to be paid your normal remuneration for the whole notice period, not to have annual leave run during your notice period, and to receive your accrued leave, certificate of service and UIF documents when you leave. A clear resignation, once given, can generally be withdrawn only with your employer's agreement, although words spoken in the heat of the moment and retracted straight away may not amount to a real resignation at all. Our guide on withdrawing a resignation and garden leave explains both.

Your employer has the right to require you to work the full contractual notice, to pay you out and ask you not to come in, to put you on garden leave where the contract allows it, to insist that you hand over work and return company property, and to claim a loss it can prove if you walk out. It does not have the right to refuse your resignation, to extend your notice without agreement, or to withhold your leave payout as leverage.

What happens if you just walk out

Leaving without giving or working your notice is a breach of your contract. Your employer cannot force you back to work, but it can:

• claim the actual loss caused by your sudden departure, which usually means the cost of a temporary replacement
• withhold or claim the notice value, subject to the rules on deductions
• give you a factual reference that says you left without notice

In practice employers often do nothing, but do not count on it, and never rely on a colleague's story about someone who "just left and nothing happened". Our guide on resigning with immediate effect sets out what you are still owed if you do.

Common mistakes and what they cost

• Resigning before reading the calendar month clause. It can add up to four weeks to your notice and cost you the new job's start date.
• Resigning verbally. Without a written, dated resignation you may not be able to prove when notice started, and the employer may treat you as having absconded.
• Assuming the notice period is also your leave. The Act does not allow annual leave to run during notice, so do not accept "just take your leave as notice" in place of being paid out for unused leave.
• Resigning to avoid a hearing. It usually ends your right to claim unfair dismissal and it rarely stops the employer recording the outcome.
• Signing a full and final settlement without a breakdown. Once signed, chasing an underpaid leave payout is difficult.

Resigning to avoid a disciplinary hearing

Resigning does not automatically stop a disciplinary process, and it does not erase what happened. If you are facing a hearing, get advice before you resign, because resigning usually gives up your right to claim unfair dismissal. If you are resigning because the workplace has become impossible, read What is constructive dismissal? first. That claim is difficult and the way you resign matters a great deal.

If there is a dispute about your final pay

Ask for a written breakdown first. If your employer will not pay what is due, you can approach the Department of Employment and Labour, or a bargaining council if one covers your sector, or the CCMA on 0861 16 16 16. Referring a dispute costs nothing, and a claim for unpaid notice, leave or salary does not need an attorney. If you cannot afford advice, Legal Aid South Africa is on 0800 110 110 and applies a means test. Legal representation at CCMA arbitration is not automatic for misconduct and incapacity dismissals and the commissioner decides whether to allow it, so a simple money dispute is one most people can run themselves.