Meaning & use
notice period
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablebusiness
The length of time between telling an employer you are leaving, or being told to go, and the final day of the job.
Grammar: Countable: a one-month notice period; also 'your notice period'.
Patterns
- serve your notice period
- a notice period of something
- work out your notice period
My notice period is four weeks, so my last day is the end of the month.
She is serving her notice period before starting at her new company.
The company asked him to leave immediately and paid his notice period.
nouncountablelegal
The time a tenant or landlord must give before ending a rental agreement.
Grammar: Used in housing: a two-month notice period.
Patterns
- a notice period for something
The lease has a two-month notice period for tenants who want to move out.
Landlords must respect the legal notice period before ending a tenancy.
Word forms
| plural | notice periods |
|---|
Common combinations
- serve a notice period
- He must serve a notice period of three months.
- work your notice period
- She is working her notice period until the end of June.
- a one-month notice period
- The contract includes a one-month notice period.
- shorten the notice period
- Managers agreed to shorten his notice period.
- pay in lieu of the notice period
- They gave him pay in lieu of the notice period.
Synonyms and how they differ
- notice
- This is the shorter word, which can mean the warning itself as well as the time that follows it.
- period of notice
- This is a more formal, slightly legal variation of the same phrase.
- lead time
- This is a general business term for time needed before something happens, not a legal employment term.
- cooling-off period
- This is a time in which you can cancel a contract, which is different from a period before leaving a job.
Word family
- notice noun
- a formal warning that something will end or change
- notice verb
- to become aware of something
- noticeable adjective
- easy to see or notice
- period noun
- a length of time
Commonly confused: notice period or probation period?
notice period vs probation period
A probation period is a trial time at the start of a job, while a notice period comes at the end.
Practice
My contract says I have to work a one-month ____ after I resign.
Choose one answer.
A notice period is the time you work after resigning. A probation period comes at the start of a job, which is the tempting wrong answer.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “notice period”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.