How long is a solicitor's notice period, and can it be shortened?

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In short

Your contract sets it. The legal minimum is only one week once you have been in the job a month, and solicitor contracts can run longer. Your employer can agree a shorter period, but it does not have to.

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Your contract sets it. The law sets only a floor, and the floor is low.

This article is general information, not legal advice. It was checked on 22 October 2026. It covers the legal minimum, what contracts tend to say, and the ways a notice period can be shortened.

What is the legal minimum notice?#

One week, once you have been in the job for more than a month. That is the least you must give when you resign. Your contract can require more, and it often does.

GOV.UK states the rule plainly. You must give at least a week's notice if you have been in your job for more than a month. Acas adds that if you have been there under a month, you generally owe no notice unless your written statement says otherwise.

The Employment Rights Act 1996 sets the floor in section 86. A contract can ask for longer notice. It cannot go below the floor once you have a month's service. A firm must also give you notice if it ends your job, and that minimum rises with your service.

Minimum notice a firm must give you, by years of service

Under 2 years1 weeks
from one month in
2 years2 weeks
5 years5 weeks
8 years8 weeks
12 years or more12 weeks
the cap

Source: GOV.UK, Redundancy: your rights, notice periods

Read that carefully. It shows what the law makes a firm give you. Your own minimum when you resign stays at one week. Your firm "may give you more than the statutory minimum, but they cannot give you less", in GOV.UK's words.

Three small points often catch people out. Your notice usually runs from the start of the day after you hand it in. Your contract tells you whether it must be in writing. And giving too little notice may put you in breach of your contract.

The legal minimum applies to employees. If you are a salaried partner or a member of an LLP, check whether you are an employee at all. A solicitor can tell you.

How long is a solicitor's notice period in practice?#

It depends on your contract, and we will not guess. Solicitor contracts can run well past the legal minimum.

In a 2022 case reported by Legal Futures, an employment tribunal found three months' notice in one solicitor's contract. It said three months would also have been a reasonable implied period. That is one tribunal's finding on one contract. It is not a survey and not a rule for solicitors.

We looked for a reliable survey of notice by grade and found none. So we do not quote a typical length for an associate, a senior associate or a partner. A number we could not source would only mislead you. Look in these places instead:

Your written statement of employment particulars. Acas says it must say how much notice you must give.
Your employment contract. Look for the notice clause and any variations.
Your latest promotion letter. A change of grade can bring new terms. Check whether yours did.
Any partnership or members' agreement. If you are a partner, notice may sit there instead of in an employment contract.

If two documents disagree, do not pick the shorter one. Ask your firm which applies, and ask in writing.

Can a firm agree a shorter notice period?#

Yes, but only your current employer can agree, and it does not have to. Your new firm cannot shorten it for you.

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The Employment Rights Act allows either side to waive notice or to accept a payment in lieu. Acas is blunt about the practical position: your employer does not have to agree to your request. Acas advises getting agreement to leave early in writing. Without it, you could be in breach of contract, and leaving may affect your final pay or references.

So ask well. A specific ask with a handover already done gives your firm less reason to refuse.

How to ask for an earlier last day

Wait for a signed offer
Do not ask until your contract is signed and any checks are clear. See resigning from a law firm.
Name the date
Say the last day you would like, and the date your new firm needs you.
Offer a handover list
List every live file, the next step on each, the diary dates and who takes it over.
Ask for it in writing
The agreed last day, pay to that date and any holiday arrangement, in one email.
Tell your new firm
Give them the agreed date, in writing, once your employer has confirmed it.

For a conveyancer, the handover list matters most. A file with an exchange or completion date in the diary needs a named person before you leave. Put it in front of your firm with the request.

What are garden leave and payment in lieu of notice?#

Both stop you working your notice. Garden leave keeps you employed. Payment in lieu ends your employment straight away.

GOV.UK describes garden leave as your employer asking you to stay away from work during your notice period. You keep the same pay and contractual benefits. Acas adds that you are still employed, even though you are not working. Payment in lieu works differently. Your employer pays you instead of letting you work your notice, and your contract ends at once.

Garden leave and payment in lieu, compared

Question	Garden leave	Payment in lieu of notice
What happens	Your employer tells you not to work some or all of your notice	Your employer pays you instead of letting you work your notice
Still employed?	Yes, though you are not working	No, the contract ends straight away
Pay	Same pay and contractual benefits	Full pay for the notice period
Can your employer insist?	Check your contract	Only if your contract allows it. Otherwise it needs your agreement
Effect on a new start	Your new firm usually waits until it ends. Check your contract	Your employment ends at once. Check restrictive covenants before you agree a date

One more term can matter more than either. GOV.UK says your contract may include restrictive covenants, which stop you working for a competitor after you leave. It adds that your employer could take you to court if you breach them. Read the wording closely. Ask a solicitor before you agree a start date that might touch one.

On this siteCount the weeks, not just the salaryA move costs time as well as money. The calculator takes your own figures and runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent or saved.Open the calculator

What should a new firm be told, and when?#

The real notice period, in writing, before you accept. Not an estimate from memory.

Tell the new firm these things at offer stage:

The notice in your contract, quoted from the contract.
Any garden leave clause or payment-in-lieu clause.
Any restrictive covenants, and what they cover.
Whether you have asked to leave early, and what your employer said.
Whether you are considering a counter-offer. Read should you accept a counter-offer first.

Do not resign before the contract is signed and the checks are clear. Resigning from a law firm sets out the order.

Be careful what else you share. The SRA Code of Conduct says you keep the affairs of current and former clients confidential unless the law requires or permits disclosure (paragraph 6.3). It also says you do not act where you have a conflict of interest (paragraph 6.2). Say what area you work in. Do not name clients or matters. Ask your firm's compliance officer what you can share before you share it.

How long does a move take from interview to first day?#

Weeks, not days. Notice is only one part of it.

No source we read gives a reliable figure for a conveyancer's move, so we will not invent one. The order is clear, though. The firm runs its process. You work your notice. Then you start.

A move, in order

Interviews and a decision
The number of rounds, and the gaps between them, vary by firm.
Offer and terms
Pay, working pattern and start date, agreed in writing.
Signed contract and checks
Do not resign before both are done.
Resignation
The conversation first, then a short letter.
Notice
Worked, shortened by agreement, put on garden leave or paid in lieu.
First day
The date the two firms and you have agreed.

The only hard number we found is on the employer's side. A Totaljobs survey by Opinium of 1,000 UK HR decision-makers, fieldwork from 24 December 2024 to 6 January 2025, put the average time from advertising a role to filling it at 5.1 weeks. That covers every sector, not law. Totaljobs is a job board, so treat it as a vendor survey. It stops when the role is filled, so your notice period comes on top.

For a conveyancer, expect the same shape. See what a conveyancer does and what they earn, and the conveyancing page for the market.

One more thing to check when you move. From 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protection falls from two years to six months, according to Business.gov.uk. We explain what that does and does not change in moving jobs when unfair dismissal protection starts after six months.

Why do counter-offers and dropouts matter here?#

Because the weeks between accepting and starting are when a counter-offer arrives and an offer can fall over.

The CIPD asked 1,016 UK HR and people professionals in April 2024 about recruiting. Of the organisations that had tried to recruit in the past year, 27% reported challenges with counteroffers or dropouts after offer acceptance. Of those that had recruited, 14% said candidates always or mostly went on to decline offers they had accepted.

27%
of UK organisations that tried to recruit reported challenges with counteroffers or dropouts after offer acceptance (CIPD survey of 1,016 UK HR and people professionals, April 2024)
CIPD, 2024
14%
said candidates always or mostly accepted offers and then declined them (same CIPD survey, organisations that had recruited)
CIPD, 2024

These are employers' experiences across all UK sectors, not law firms. They show the risk a firm carries. For you the risk runs the other way. A counter-offer feels better on the day than it does a year later. The counter-offer article sets out the test to apply.

Shorter notice leaves less time for second thoughts, on either side. That is a reason to ask your employer for an earlier date. It is not a reason to leave without agreement.

When should you read the contract, call Acas or ask a solicitor?#

Before you resign, not after. Read the contract first. Then use Acas or a solicitor for anything you cannot settle yourself.

Acas gives advice on notice, and its helpline is the place to start. An employment solicitor is the right call if your firm disputes your notice, threatens to enforce a restrictive covenant, or refuses an early release that your contract allows. We are not a substitute for either.

Before you resign0 of 8 ticked

I have read my contract and my written statement
I know my notice period and whether it must be in writing
I have checked for a garden leave clause
I have checked for payment in lieu
I have read any restrictive covenants and know what they cover
I have a signed offer and the checks are clear
I have a handover list ready
I will ask for any change to my last day in writing

A named person looks after you. A confidential call costs lawyers nothing, and no CV goes to a firm without your say so. It helps to know your notice before you talk to a firm about start dates. You can also see live roles and the pay or earnings basis on each, or check your pay against the salary guide. If you are still working out what to ask for, read should you tell a recruiter your current salary. Before you speak to anyone, our guide to what to ask a legal recruiter before you send your CV is worth ten minutes.

On this sitePlan the timing before you resignA confidential 20-minute screening call on Microsoft Teams. We can talk through what your notice means for start dates. No CV leaves us without your say so.Book a screening call

Sources

This is general information, not legal advice. Where a figure comes from another organisation, the source is above, and we say when it is dated.

Quick questions.

Short answers to the follow-ups we hear.

How long is a solicitor's notice period?

It depends on your contract. The legal minimum for an employee who resigns is one week once they have been in the job a month. In a 2022 case reported by Legal Futures, a tribunal found three months in one solicitor's contract and said it would also have been a reasonable implied period. Read your own contract.

Can my employer shorten my notice period?

Yes, by agreement, but your employer does not have to agree. Acas advises getting any agreement to leave early in writing. Without it, you could be in breach of contract and it might affect your final pay or references.

Can I leave before my notice period ends?

Only if your employer agrees, or your contract allows it. Acas says an employer does not have to accept your request. Leaving without agreement could be a breach of contract and may affect your pay or future references.

What is garden leave for a solicitor?

Garden leave is when your employer tells you not to work some or all of your notice. You stay employed and get the same pay and contractual benefits. Check your contract, and ask before you assume you can start at a new firm.

What is payment in lieu of notice?

Your employer pays you instead of letting you work your notice, and your contract ends straight away. Your employer can insist on it only if your contract allows it. Otherwise it needs your agreement.

When should I tell a new firm my notice period?

At offer stage, before you accept. Give the notice in your contract, not an estimate, and mention any garden leave clause or restrictive covenant. A start date that ignores your notice will not hold.

When does my notice period start?

GOV.UK says it usually runs from the start of the day after you hand your notice in. Your contract tells you whether notice must be in writing. Otherwise you can give it verbally, though writing is safer.

Useful next.

Thinking about a move?

Twenty minutes on the phone, in confidence. If there is nothing worth moving for, we will say so, and your CV goes nowhere without your say so.

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Insights · For lawyers How long is a solicitor's notice period, and can it be shortened?