For employers, long notice periods can feel like a double-edged sword. On paper, they offer protection and continuity but, in practice, they can create challenges, especially if an employee disengages well before their final day.

There is no right or wrong answer to whether contracts should favour long or short notice periods. The right approach depends on the following:

• the role.
• the level of seniority.
• how notice periods are managed in the workplace.

The advantage of long notice periods

Long notice periods can provide reassurance and structure for employers:
• they allow time to recruit and brief successors.
• they support knowledge transfer and handovers, particularly in specialist or senior roles.
• they can promote workforce stability, encouraging employees to consider their next steps carefully.

In theory, longer notice periods also give HR teams flexibility to redistribute workloads, appoint interim cover, or manage client communications during transitions.

When long notice periods can cause challenges

The risk arises when an employee becomes disengaged:

• productivity may drop.
• team morale and client relationships can be affected.
• in junior roles, the commercial benefit may be limited because replacements can start quickly.

For candidates, long notice periods can also restrict career movement. In a competitive market, some employers aren’t willing to wait two to three months for junior or operational hires, which can be frustrating for strong candidates.

The benefits of shortening notice periods

Notice periods can sometimes be shortened if both parties agree, which is helpful when:

• the employee is disengaged or has accepted another role.
• a replacement has been found sooner than expected.
• business needs change and flexibility is required.

It is important that any adjustment is mutual and clearly documented. Employers cannot unilaterally reduce notice, but flexible approaches are increasingly common in practice – the employee must be mindful that if they request a shorter notice period the employer is not obliged to pay out the balance of it.

The risks of shortening notice periods

Shorter notice periods allow employees to exit cleanly and organisations to reset quickly. Teams avoid prolonged uncertainty and new hires can start sooner. However, shorter notice periods carry risks:

• knowledge gaps may emerge if replacements aren’t in place.
• workloads may increase suddenly.

Effective workforce planning and succession strategies are critical to manage these risks.

How to determine the appropriate notice period

The most effective approach is to look at the role, as follows:

• Senior, specialist, or client-facing roles often benefit from longer notice periods – paired with proactive exit management and clear handover expectations.
• Junior and operational roles often work better with shorter notice periods to maintain agility and reduce unproductive downtime.

Ultimately, notice periods should protect the business without trapping either party in an unproductive situation.

In summary:

• align notice periods with role seniority and replacement complexity.
• build in flexibility, such as garden leave clauses.
• remember notice periods can be shortened by mutual agreement.
• focus on engagement during notice, not just contractual protection.
• regularly review whether your notice periods still reflect the market reality.

Be mindful of the fact that a three month notice period is a long time to remain engaged for anyone who has found a new job – a month or two months’ notice is advisable for all but the most senior and specialist staff.

For advice do email nicola.goodridge@goodhr.co.uk or call +44 7917 878384

The Labour party came into government promising day one parental rights and a more family friendly workplace. Reforms start to get underway from April this year, as detailed below.

Paternity leave becomes a day one right

Currently, employees need 26 weeks’ continuous service by the end of the 15th week before the expected birth week to qualify for paternity leave. For babies due on or after 5 April 2026, that requirement disappears. New starters will get the same two weeks’ paternity leave entitlement as everyone else. This brings paternity leave in line with maternity leave, which is already a day one right.

However, the same is not true of paternity pay – the service requirement of 26 weeks remains in place in order to receive statutory paternity pay. New employees can take paternity leave, but unless the company policy says otherwise, the leave would be unpaid.

Notice rules haven’t changed either. Employees still need to give notice of entitlement by the 15th week before the expected week of birth, then confirm their choice of specific dates 28 days in advance. New joiners who can’t meet these deadlines must give as much notice as is reasonably practicable.

Shared parental leave anomaly is fixed

At the moment, taking shared parental leave first means forfeiting paternity leave altogether. The new legislation corrects this and employees can now take paternity leave and pay even after a period of shared parental leave.

Unpaid parental leave is also a day one right

Unpaid parental leave currently requires a year’s service. From 6 April 2026, that qualifying period will also disappear. New employees will get access to their parental leave entitlement from day one of employment.

Extended leave for bereaved partners

Separate legislation introduces a new category of extended paternity leave for parents whose partner dies during childbirth or within a year of the birth. This is called Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave.

Under the new law, a bereaved partner can take up to 52 weeks leave in one block. This is a day one right. If leave starts within eight weeks of the bereavement, employees can start leave immediately on oral notice. There is no entitlement to any statutory pay and so the leave will be unpaid unless the company states otherwise.

What action should employers take?

Update your policies: You will want to update your policies to reflect the changes and remove the service requirements for paternity and parental leave.

Decide on enhanced pay: If you offer more than statutory pay, will new employees be eligible straightaway or will you demand a length of service before entitlement?

Address rights for bereaved partners: Consider adding a note to your paternity leave or compassionate leave policy to explain the new right to Bereaved Partners Paternity Leave.

Brief your managers: They may need to know about the new entitlements.

Make policies visible: Ideally, share your family leave policies before employment begins and encourage early notice.

Important points regarding probation

1. How will more employees taking family leave early in their employment affect employers’ ability to assess their performance?

2. This will matter more from 1 January 2027, when the unfair dismissal qualifying period drops to six months.

3. This means a very short window in which to assess an employee’s performance and suitability for the role before the employee qualifies for the right not to be unfairly dismissed (with uncapped compensation, under the current plans).

4. Probation management processes will need to become more robust, but managers will also need to understand that taking family leave in this window is allowed and that employees must not be penalised for it.

5. The ‘clock’ will not be paused on the unfair dismissal qualifying period, soon to be introduced, of six months.

If you would like your handbooks amended, do send them to me nicola.goodridge@goodhr.co.uk or call +44 7917 878384