How resignation notice is calculated
The length of notice is set not by law but by the national collective agreement (CCNL) that applies to your job. It depends on two things: your level and your length of service, almost always in three bands: up to 5 years, 5 to 10, and over 10.
The day notice starts to run also matters. In trade and in professional firms it starts only on the 1st or the 16th of the month; in metalworking, on the day after the employer receives the resignation.
Agreements covered
The tables come from the text of the collective agreements listed in the sources. Periods are calendar time.
- Trade and services (Confcommercio): 10 to 90 days, starting on the 1st or the 16th of the month.
- Metalworking industry: 10 days to 4 months, starting the next day.
- Hospitality and tourism (FIPE): 15 days to 6 months.
- Professional firms (Confprofessioni): 10 to 135 days, starting on the 1st or the 16th of the month.
- For any other agreement you can enter the days your CCNL sets.
Online resignation and unworked notice
Resignations are filed through the Ministry of Labour’s online procedure and can be withdrawn within seven days. Domestic work and public administration, among others, are excluded.
If you do not work the notice, you owe the employer an indemnity equal to pay for the missing period, usually withheld from your final pay (article 2118 of the civil code). No notice is owed during the probation period.
Frequently asked questions
Under the Confcommercio agreement, levels IV and V owe 15 calendar days up to 5 years of service, 20 from 5 to 10 years and 30 over 10 years. Notice runs from the 1st or the 16th of the month.
In the agreements on this page the periods are calendar time, including weekends and public holidays. Other agreements use working days: check the text of your CCNL.
Yes, but the employer can withhold pay for the unworked notice from your final payslip. No notice is owed when you resign for just cause or during probation.
Normally not: sickness suspends the notice, and holidays cannot overlap with it unless the employer agrees.
Sources and method
- Ministry of Labour: online voluntary resignation
- CCNL for trade and services: text, art. 254
- CCNL for the metalworking industry: notice of dismissal and resignation
- CCNL for hospitality and tourism, 8 February 2018: text, art. 187
- CCNL for professional firms 2024-2027: text, art. 146
- Wikilabour: notice period
Figures and rules checked on . The result is an estimate for information and does not replace professional advice.