What is reasonable notice of employment termination?

A contract of ongoing permanent employment is terminable by the employer or employee giving the other party a period of notice of intention to terminate the contract. If the contract is in writing, the requisite period of notice is usually an express term of the contract. The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) prescribes minimum periods of notice to be given by employers. Modern awards prescribe minimum periods of notice to be given by employees.

If there is no agreement between the employer and employee about the notice period to be given to terminate the contract, a term is implied into the contract by law that requires each party to give the other a period of notice that is ‘reasonable’.

Determining what is reasonable

What is reasonable depends on the employee’s age, length of service and seniority, and other factors that might determine how long it will take for the employee to find comparable employment (if the employer is giving the notice) or the employer to find a comparable employee (if the employee is resigning).

There has been an argument that the reasonable term is unnecessary because of the FW Act provisions prescribing minimum notice. This argument was rejected by the Federal Court in Cropper v Energy Action (2025) because the provisions don’t create a right to terminate employment; rather they assume the right exists and simply establish a minimum period.

In this case, the Court had to determine whether a 70-year-old IT professional engaged as a contractor for 19 years was in fact an employee. The Court ruled that he was an employee, after considering the level of control exercised over his work. Having made that finding, the Court determined that reasonable notice was 3 months.

Contrasting other rulings on reasonable notice

This decision contrasts with other rulings on reasonable notice, for instance:

3 months for a construction manager with 14 years of service;
6 months for the general manager of the South Australian Football League;
9 months for the regional manager of a statutory authority;
12 months for the Australian-based executive of a foreign company;
12 months for a senior employee who had expected to be employed at least until the end of a 10-year project;
12 months for a senior manager with 12 years' service;
15 months for a 50-year-old senior employee with 30 years' service; and
12 months for a 49-year-old senior manager with 19 years’ service.

Exploring notice of employment termination further

As always, if you want to explore this topic in greater depth, the Employment Law Handbook is here for you!

Find more information on how much notice you should provide to an employee you are dismissing here.

Find more information on how much notice a resigning employee should give you here.

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