Employment Law – Resignation

What is a Resignation?

A resignation is a clear statement by you to your employer that you intend to leave your employment.

Depending on your contract, a resignation can potentially be:

• Verbal
• In writing
• Sent by email

Simply threatening to resign, saying that you are unhappy or telling your employer that you are looking for another job will not necessarily amount to a resignation.

The important question is whether your words or conduct clearly communicate that you are ending the employment relationship.

What Notice Period Do I Have to Give?

Your notice period will usually be set out in your employment contract or written statement of employment particulars.

Notice periods vary according to the role.

For example, a contractual notice period may be:

• 1 Week
• 1 Month
• 3 Months
• 6 Months
• 12 Months

Longer periods are particularly common for senior employees and executives.

If your contract specifies a notice period, you will normally be required to give that notice when resigning.

If you are legally an employee, have worked for at least one month and your contract does not specify a longer period, the statutory minimum notice you must normally give is one week.

If you have worked for less than one month, there is normally no statutory requirement to give notice unless your contract requires it.

For further guidance, see Notice.

What if You Are Resigning Because of Constructive Dismissal?

Different considerations apply if you believe your employer has fundamentally breached your employment contract and you are resigning in response.

In a potential Constructive Dismissal situation, an employee may resign without working their contractual notice.

However, resigning immediately is not automatically the correct course in every case.

You would normally need to establish that:

• Your Employer committed a fundamental breach of contract
• You resigned because of that breach
• You did not affirm the contract before resigning

Constructive dismissal claims are highly fact-sensitive and resignation should therefore be considered carefully.

Can My Resignation Be With Immediate Effect?

Yes, but there may be consequences.

If you have worked for less than one month and there is no contractual notice requirement, you may generally leave without statutory notice.

You may also leave immediately where:

• Your Employer agrees
• Your Contract permits it
• You are legally entitled to resign without notice because of a serious contractual breach

Otherwise, resigning with immediate effect when you are required to give notice can amount to a breach of contract.

You would generally stop receiving salary from the date your employment ends, subject to sums already owed to you.

What if I Accidentally Resign With Immediate Effect?

You should make the intended termination date clear when resigning.

If you simply state that your resignation is "with immediate effect", your employer may reasonably understand that your employment ends immediately.

You could then lose salary and contractual benefits that you would otherwise have received while working your notice.

If you intend to resign but work your contractual notice, make that clear and specify your proposed final employment date.

Can My Employer Claim Against Me if I Leave Without Notice?

Potentially.

If you leave without giving the notice required by your contract and without agreement, your employer could have a breach-of-contract claim.

For example, it may seek to recover additional costs directly caused by your early departure, such as the additional cost of emergency temporary cover.

Your employer might also be able to make an appropriate deduction from final wages where the contract clearly authorises this and the deduction is otherwise lawful.

Claims of this kind are relatively uncommon in ordinary employment relationships but can become more significant for senior or commercially important employees.

Your employer cannot normally force you physically to continue working.

Should I Give My Employer Advance Warning Before I Formally Resign?

This depends on your relationship with your employer and what you want to achieve.

An informal conversation can sometimes help you discuss:

• A Proposed leaving date
• Handover arrangements
• Shortening your notice
• Annual leave
• Other exit arrangements

However, you should be careful with your wording.

If you clearly communicate that you have definitely decided to leave, your employer may argue that you have already resigned.

If you are only exploring your options, make it clear that you are not yet formally giving notice.

How Do I Resign?

Your employment contract should be checked first.

It may require your resignation to:

• Be in writing
• Be sent to a particular person
• Follow a specified procedure

If your contract requires written notice, it is generally sensible to comply with that requirement.

If there is no contractual requirement for written notice, a verbal resignation may potentially be effective.

Even then, written notice is usually preferable because it provides a record of:

• Your Decision to resign
• The Date notice was given
• Your Notice period
• Your Intended final working day

Current Acas guidance also recommends giving resignation in writing and asking the employer to confirm receipt where appropriate.

When Does My Notice Period Start?

Your contract may expressly state when notice begins.

If it does not, your notice period will generally start on the day after you tell your employer that you are resigning.

For example, if you give valid notice on a Monday, the notice period will normally begin on Tuesday.

What Should I Write in My Resignation Letter?

For a straightforward resignation, your letter should normally state:

• That You are resigning
• How Much notice you are giving
• Your Intended final employment date

You do not normally need to provide detailed reasons.

However, if you are resigning because of serious treatment by your employer and are considering constructive dismissal, the reasons given can become important evidence.

For example, the issue may involve:

• Bullying
• Discrimination
• Unfounded performance allegations
• Unilateral contractual changes
• Another serious breach

In that situation, your letter should accurately identify the conduct that has caused you to resign.

For further guidance, see Bullying at Work and Poor Performance and Performance Improvement Plans.

There is no legal requirement to make a resignation letter hostile or unfriendly. The important issue is that the contents accurately reflect why you are resigning.

Do I Need to Resign to Claim Constructive Dismissal?

Yes.

A constructive dismissal claim is based on the employee terminating the employment relationship in response to a sufficiently serious breach by the employer.

You therefore need to resign before pursuing the claim.

As at 10 September 2026, an ordinary constructive unfair dismissal claim will generally require the usual 2 years' continuous employment, subject to exceptions where no qualifying period applies.

From 1 January 2027, the ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying period will reduce to 6 months.

For further information, see Constructive Dismissal.

What Pay and Benefits Do I Receive During My Notice Period?

If you continue working normally throughout your notice period, you should generally continue receiving your normal contractual:

• Salary
• Pension contributions
• Benefits
• Other contractual entitlements

Your employment remains in existence until the notice period ends.

If you are willing to work but your employer does not provide work, you will also generally remain entitled to the pay due under your contract, subject to the particular circumstances.

Different notice-pay rules can apply if you are absent during notice because of sickness or statutory family-related leave.

What Happens to Stock Options, RSUs and Deferred Compensation?

You should check your employment contract and the relevant incentive-plan rules before resigning.

Stock options may:

• Vest
• Remain exercisable for a limited period
• Lapse when employment ends
• Be treated differently depending on your leaver status

Restricted Stock Units may be forfeited if your employment ends before the relevant vesting date.

The rules can also distinguish between different categories of leaver.

You should therefore check:

• Vesting dates
• Exercise periods
• Good-leaver provisions
• Bad-leaver provisions
• Treatment while under notice
• Treatment during garden leave

Deferred bonuses can also be affected by resignation.

For further guidance, see Shares and Stock Options and Bonuses.

What if I Want to Give Less Notice Than My Contract Requires?

You should normally discuss this with your employer and try to reach an agreement.

For example, you may have accepted another job that requires you to start before your existing notice period expires.

Your employer might agree to:

• An Earlier termination date
• Waive part of your notice
• Allow annual leave during notice
• Another mutually agreed arrangement

Any agreement should preferably be recorded in writing.

What if My Employer Refuses to Shorten My Notice?

Your employer may insist that you comply with your contractual notice obligation.

If you leave early anyway, you could be in breach of contract.

Where the employer suffers an identifiable financial loss, it could potentially bring a court claim.

For example, the employer may have to pay more than it otherwise would have done to arrange temporary cover.

In exceptional cases, particularly involving senior employees, an employer may also seek an injunction relating to competitive activity during the remaining contractual notice period.

Such proceedings are relatively unusual and will depend heavily on the contract and circumstances.

Can I Be Put on Garden Leave After Resigning?

Yes, where the employer has an appropriate contractual right or you agree to the arrangement.

On garden leave:

• You Remain employed
• Your Notice continues
• You Normally continue receiving salary
• You Normally continue receiving contractual benefits
• You Remain bound by your contractual duties

Your employer may prevent you from:

• Attending the workplace
• Contacting customers
• Accessing systems
• Carrying out some or all of your normal work

For further guidance, see Notice.

Can My Employer Pay Me in Lieu of Notice?

Potentially.

A Payment in Lieu of Notice, or PILON, allows employment to end immediately rather than continuing throughout the notice period.

Where your contract contains an appropriate PILON clause, your employer may be entitled to exercise it after you resign.

If there is no contractual PILON clause, you and your employer can still agree an immediate termination.

If your employer instead terminates your employment immediately without a contractual right or agreement, this may amount to a breach of contract.

The consequences will depend on the contract and the loss you suffer.

Can I Resign During a Disciplinary Process?

Yes.

You can resign while:

• An Investigation is underway
• A Disciplinary hearing is pending
• Formal disciplinary proceedings have started

A clearly and validly communicated resignation cannot simply be rejected by your employer.

However, resigning does not necessarily stop the disciplinary process while you remain employed.

Can My Employer Continue the Disciplinary Process After I Resign?

Yes, if your employment continues during your notice period.

For example, if you give three months' notice and the employer is investigating allegations of gross misconduct, it can potentially continue the investigation and disciplinary procedure.

If, following a fair procedure, the employer concludes before your resignation date that gross misconduct occurred, it may potentially dismiss you without notice.

Your employment would then end on the earlier dismissal date rather than the later resignation date.

However, if you validly resign with immediate effect and employment has already ended, your employer cannot simply reject that resignation and subsequently dismiss you from an employment relationship that has already terminated.

It may still have legitimate reasons to complete an investigation or comply with regulatory or reference obligations.

For further guidance, see Gross Misconduct.

Does Resigning During a Disciplinary Process Prove Guilt?

No.

The fact that an employee resigns during an investigation or disciplinary process does not itself establish that the allegations are true.

Employees resign for many different reasons.

However, resigning can still affect:

• Your Financial position
• Notice pay
• Bonus or share rights
• Settlement negotiations
• References

Depending on the circumstances, a future reference may also need to address relevant disciplinary matters.

For further information, see Job References.

Is a Negotiated Exit an Alternative?

Potentially.

Where the employment relationship has broken down or serious disciplinary allegations are being disputed, you and your employer may consider negotiating an agreed departure.

This would normally be documented through a Settlement Agreement.

Potential terms could include:

• Termination date
• Notice arrangements
• Compensation
• Holiday pay
• Bonus
• Reference wording
• Confidentiality

A negotiated exit is not necessarily the best option in every case. Whether settlement is appropriate depends on the facts and the strength of each party's position.

Can I Withdraw My Resignation?

Generally, once you have given a clear and effective resignation, you cannot withdraw it without your employer's agreement.

Your employer can choose to accept a request to withdraw your resignation, but there is normally no automatic right requiring it to do so.

However, where the original words were unclear or were said in unusual circumstances, there may first be a question about whether there was an effective resignation at all.

What if I Resigned in the Heat of the Moment?

Older employment guidance sometimes referred to a general "special circumstances" or cooling-off rule.

The modern legal position is more precise.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal confirmed in Omar v Epping Forest District Citizens Advice [2023] EAT 132 that ordinary contractual interpretation principles apply.

The key question is objectively what a reasonable employer would have understood from:

• The Words used
• The Context
• The Surrounding circumstances

If a resignation was clear and genuinely communicated, simply changing your mind afterwards will not normally invalidate it.

However, if the words were ambiguous or circumstances suggested there was a genuine question about whether you intended to resign, the employer should consider the position carefully.

Current Acas guidance recommends giving serious consideration to a prompt request to withdraw a resignation, particularly where:

• You Changed your mind very quickly
• A Health condition affected your state of mind
• Bereavement affected your state of mind
• Other unusual circumstances were involved

If you want to withdraw or clarify a resignation, you should tell your employer immediately.

Can My Employer Refuse to Accept My Resignation?

Your employer cannot normally refuse a clear and valid resignation and require you to remain employed indefinitely.

Resignation is generally a unilateral act.

However, you should comply with contractual requirements concerning:

• Written notice
• Who notice must be given to
• How notice must be delivered

Your employer's agreement is different where you want to:

• Leave earlier than your notice allows
• Withdraw your resignation
• Change the termination date

Those changes will normally require agreement.

Can I Take Holiday During My Notice Period?

Yes.

You can request to take accrued annual leave during your notice period.

Your employer can refuse particular dates provided it complies with the applicable holiday rules.

There may be legitimate business reasons for refusal, for example where you are required to complete an important handover.

Any untaken statutory holiday that you have accrued when employment ends must generally be paid in lieu.

For further guidance, see Holiday Entitlement and Holiday Pay.

What if My Holiday Was Already Approved Before I Resigned?

Your employer can potentially cancel previously approved holiday, but it must comply with the applicable notice requirements or any relevant contractual arrangements.

Acas recommends that employers should have a good business reason before refusing or cancelling approved holiday.

The fact that you resigned does not itself automatically cancel previously approved leave.

Can My Employer Require Me to Take Holiday During Notice?

Yes.

An employer can require you to use annual leave during your notice period.

Unless a relevant agreement provides otherwise, it must normally give at least twice as many calendar days' notice as the number of days of holiday it requires you to take.

For example, if the employer requires you to take:

5 days' holiday

it should normally provide at least:

10 calendar days' notice

Different valid notice arrangements can be agreed contractually.

Can I Be Off Sick During My Notice Period?

Yes.

You can take genuine sickness absence during notice.

The usual sickness reporting rules continue to apply.

Your pay during that absence may consist of:

• Normal salary
• Contractual sick pay
• Statutory Sick Pay
• No sick pay where the relevant entitlement has been exhausted

The precise result depends on the statutory notice-pay rules and your contract.

For further guidance, see Sickness Absence.

Will I Receive Full Notice Pay if I Resign While Off Sick?

Not necessarily.

The rules are more complicated than simply saying that an employee receives either full salary or sick pay throughout the whole notice period.

When you resign, notice-pay protection can depend on the notice your employer would have been required to give you if it had dismissed you.

Where the Employer's Dismissal Notice is Less Than One Week Longer Than the Statutory Minimum

If you are absent during your resignation notice period, you may be entitled to one week's normal pay.

For any remaining period, you would generally receive the appropriate pay for the reason you are absent, such as contractual sick pay or Statutory Sick Pay.

Where the Employer's Dismissal Notice is at Least One Week Longer Than the Statutory Minimum

You will generally receive only the pay that applies to the reason for your absence.

For example, if you are off sick, this may be contractual sick pay or Statutory Sick Pay rather than full normal salary.

The calculation is technical and should be checked against your actual:

• Length of service
• Contractual notice
• Statutory notice
• Sick pay entitlement

Will I Lose Redundancy Pay if I Resign During a Redundancy Process?

Potentially.

If you are merely at risk of redundancy and resign before your employer actually terminates your employment by reason of redundancy, you will not normally qualify for statutory redundancy pay arising from the proposed redundancy.

You should therefore be careful about resigning simply because consultation has started.

For further guidance, see Redundancy.

What if I Have Already Been Given Redundancy Notice and Want to Leave Early?

Different rules apply once formal notice of redundancy has been given.

If you have found another job and want to leave before the redundancy termination date, you may be able to give your employer written counter-notice during the statutory obligatory period.

This procedure can help preserve entitlement to statutory redundancy pay.

If your employer objects to your leaving early, it can respond in writing.

Where there is a dispute, an Employment Tribunal may ultimately determine whether all, part or none of the statutory redundancy payment is due.

You should therefore not simply resign early without checking the applicable redundancy rules.

What Else Should You Consider Before Resigning?

Restrictive Covenants

Many employment contracts contain restrictions applying after employment ends.

These can potentially restrict:

• Working for competitors
• Soliciting clients
• Dealing with clients
• Recruiting colleagues
• Using confidential information

You should check your contract before accepting another job.

For further guidance, see Restrictive Covenants.

Bonuses

Many bonus schemes contain provisions stating that you must:

• Remain employed on the payment date
• Not have resigned
• Not be under notice

to qualify for payment.

You should therefore review the scheme before giving notice, particularly where a substantial bonus payment is approaching.

For further guidance, see Bonuses.

Copying Your Employer's Files or Data

You should be very careful about sending employer documents to:

• Your Personal email
• Personal cloud storage
• Personal devices
• External drives

This can create serious problems even where you originally created or regularly worked with the documents.

Material such as:

• Customer lists
• Business plans
• Commercial information
• Internal documents
• Employee information

may be confidential or belong to your employer.

Unauthorised copying can potentially result in disciplinary action, gross misconduct allegations or legal proceedings.

For further guidance, see Dismissal and Disciplinary Process and Gross Misconduct.

Personal Information on Your Work Devices

If you have genuine personal information stored on an employer-owned device, consider dealing with it before your access is withdrawn.

However, you should comply with the employer's IT and data policies.

You should not:

• Delete business records
• Transfer confidential material
• Remove employer-owned information

simply because it is stored alongside personal data.

Once you resign, particularly where you are placed on garden leave or there are security concerns, access to company systems may be withdrawn quickly.

Should You Take Advice Before Resigning?

Where you are resigning simply to take another job, the main issues may be relatively straightforward.

The position is different where you believe you have legal claims against your employer.

Before resigning in a workplace dispute, you may need to consider:

• Constructive dismissal
• Discrimination
• Whistleblowing
• Notice pay
• Redundancy
• Bonuses
• Share awards
• References
• Restrictive covenants
• Settlement negotiations

Resignation can materially affect both your legal position and the value of potential claims.

Where substantial rights are at stake, it is sensible to understand the consequences before bringing the employment relationship to an end.