How much resignation notice does an employee give?
Live source verification unavailable until status loads
Quick explanation
Previously reviewed explanation — check official wording before use
For employees to whom clause 29.1 applies, give 1 week up to 1 year of service, 2 weeks over 1–3 years, 3 weeks over 3–5 years, and 4 weeks over 5 years. There is no extra employee notice based on age.
Check the conditions
- An employee aged at least 18 who fails to give required notice may face a reasonable deduction from Award wages capped at one week’s wages.
Exceptions
- No deduction applies where a shorter period was agreed. Statutory exclusions in sections 123(1) and 123(3) apply; employer notice itself is in the NES.
Read the official wording and citations
Pastoral Award 2020 — FWC Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman
FWC · MA000035 · Clause 29
29. Termination of employment
NOTE: The NES sets out requirements for notice of termination by an employer. See sections 117 and 123 of the Act.
29.1 Notice of termination by an employee
(a) Clause 29.1 applies to all employees except those identified in sections 123(1) and 123(3) of the Act.
(b) An employee must give the employer notice of termination in accordance with Table 1—Period of notice of at least the period specified in column 2 according to the period of continuous service of the employee specified in column 1.
Table 1—Period of notice
Column 1 Employee’s period of continuous service with the employer at the end of the day the notice is given | Column 2 Period of notice
Not more than 1 year | 1 week
More than 1 year but not more than 3 years | 2 weeks
More than 3 years but not more than 5 years | 3 weeks
More than 5 years | 4 weeks
NOTE: The notice of termination required to be given by an employee is the same as that required of an employer except that the employee does not have to give additional notice based on the age of the employee.
(c) In clause 29.1(b) continuous service has the same meaning as in section 117 of the Act.
(d) If an employee who is at least 18 years old does not give the period of notice required under clause 29.1(b), then the employer may deduct from wages due to the employee under this award an amount that is no more than one week’s wages for the employee.
(e) If the employer has agreed to a shorter period of notice than that required under clause 29.1(b), then no deduction can be made under clause 29.1(d).
(f) Any deduction made under clause 29.1(d) must not be unreasonable in the circumstances.
29.2 Job search entitlement
(a) Where an employer has given notice of termination to an employee, the employee must be allowed time off without loss of pay of up to one day for the purpose of seeking other employment.
(b) The time off under clause 29.2 is to be taken at times that are convenient to the employee after consultation with the employer.
Complete normalized source clause. Exact snapshot/raw integrity checked; explanation review status is recorded separately on each entry. Parent-clause citation does not establish exhaustive paragraph coverage.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2026. Fair Work Commission. Consolidated Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman. Quotations retain source wording; whitespace/table formatting is normalised for display. Personal/non-commercial or internal use only under the FWC copyright notice. Quick Award explanations are separate AI source-checked text; no government endorsement.
- Official document
- Pastoral Award 2020 — FWC Award text hosted by the Fair Work Ombudsman ↗
- Version
- This Fair Work Commission consolidated modern award incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 July 2026 (PR799280, PR799316 and PR799473). ↗
- Citation verified
- Operative note
- Based on the current consolidated Award text incorporating amendments up to and including 1 July 2026. That consolidation date is not the commencement date of every provision; check the relevant variation and operative conditions when assessing an earlier period.