Who doesn't get notice?

There are some situations when a notice period doesn't apply to an employee.

On this page:

When notice periods don't apply

Under the National Employment Standards, notice periods don’t apply to employees who:

  • are casual
  • are employed for a specific period of time (for example, a fixed term contract)
  • do seasonal work
  • are fired because of serious misconduct (for example, engaging in theft, fraud, assault or sexual harassment)
  • have a training arrangement and are employed for a set period of time or for the length of the training arrangement (other than an apprentice)
  • are daily hire working in the building and construction industry or in the meat industry in connection with the slaughter of livestock
  • are weekly hire working in connection with the meat industry and whose termination depends on seasonal factors (but not where termination is due to other reasons).

An award or agreement may have different notice provisions for daily hire employees that could apply instead of those listed above.

Apprentices and notice

An apprentice gets notice of termination, unless they're:

  • employed for a set period of time or task, or
  • fired for serious misconduct.

It can help to look at an employee’s employment contract to see if they’ve been employed for a set period of time or task.

Source reference: Fair Work Act 2009 s.123

Tools and resources

Related information

Have a workplace problem?

Problems can happen in any workplace. If you have a workplace problem, we have tools and information to help you resolve it.

For employees:

If you’ve lost your job, contact the Fair Work Commission (the Commission) first if you think you were sacked because of:

  • discrimination
  • a reason that is harsh, unjust or unreasonable
  • another protected right.

You have 21 days starting from the day after you were dismissed to lodge an application with the Fair Work Commission. Check the information at the Commission website to find out if you can apply for:

If you think you haven’t been paid everything you’re owed:

  • read about Notice and final pay to find out what you should get
  • see our Fixing a workplace problem section for practical advice on:
    • talking to your employer about fixing your notice and final pay if it’s wrong
    • getting help from us if you can’t resolve it.

For employers:

Help for small business