When either side wants to end the employment relationship, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), section 37, sets the minimum notice that must be given. The same periods apply whether it is the employer or the employee giving notice.
The notice periods
Notice depends on how long the person has been employed:
- One week if employed for six months or less.
- Two weeks if employed for more than six months but not more than one year. This band does not exist for a domestic or farm worker — see below.
- Four weeks if employed for more than one year.
Four weeks also applies to farm and domestic workers once they have been employed for more than six months.
A contract may provide for longer notice, but never shorter than these minimums, and the notice required of the employee may not be longer than the notice required of the employer.
Notice must be in writing
Notice must be given in writing, except when it is given by or to an employee who cannot read. It may not be given while the employee is on any leave (for example annual leave), and it does not run concurrently with leave.
Notice is not the same as a fair dismissal
This is the point that catches employers out. Giving the correct notice period deals with the BCEA side of ending employment. It does not on its own make a dismissal fair.
Under the Labour Relations Act, a dismissal must also have a fair reason (misconduct, incapacity or operational requirements) and follow a fair process. Giving four weeks' notice does not protect you if the reason or the process was unfair — the employee can still refer an unfair-dismissal dispute to the CCMA.
So notice and fairness are two separate boxes, and both must be ticked.
Final pay
When employment ends, the final payslip must include any accrued, unused annual leave paid out (see our annual leave guide), plus any outstanding wages. A clear final payslip closes the relationship cleanly — read what must be on a payslip.
WageDesk keeps the leave balances and pay records that a clean exit depends on. See how WageDesk works.
Unsure which band applies? The free notice period checker answers it in one tap.