Where an employer seeks to terminate the services of an employee, written notice must be given before the termination takes effect no later than the last day of work. The notice can be given personally, left at the employee’s last known address or sent to the employee’s last known address by pre-paid post.

The employer must provide an employee the required period of notice or pay equivalent to the notice period ‘at the full rate of pay’. The period is based on the employee’s years of service – see table below.

Payment in lieu of notice should be at the ‘full rate of pay’ for all hours the employee would have worked during the notice period. ‘Full rate of pay’ is defined in the FW Act to include overtime, allowances, penalty rates and loadings etc.

NB: An employee is entitled to 1 additional week of notice if the Employee is over 45 years of age at the time of the giving of notice and has completed at least 2 years’ continuous service with the Employer.