UK: My dismissal letter says PILON but tells me to keep working — what am I owed?

Scenario

Your dismissal letter says you will receive payment in lieu of notice (PILON), but another paragraph tells you to attend work for several more weeks. You need to know your last day, whether you must attend and which notice payment is still owed.

What the law says

You are owed pay for valid notice obligations; contradictory PILON wording does not cancel them. Working notice means you remain employed and work. Garden leave means you remain employed, normally paid, without ordinary duties. PILON replaces unworked notice when employment ends. The contract or agreement determines its terms; without authority or agreement, immediate termination with PILON can breach the contract. Notice losses, benefits, mitigation and amounts already paid determine any damages. Notice pay is generally subject to Income Tax and National Insurance.

What you can claim

The usual statutory employer notice minimum is 1 week after one month to under two years’ service; 1 week per completed year from two to twelve years; a maximum of 12 weeks. A longer contractual notice period applies if promised; gross misconduct and other exceptions need assessment.

Claim pay for notice still owed = applicable weekly notice pay × unworked notice weeks, plus contractual benefits where due, less amounts already paid. Add earned wages and accrued untaken holiday pay separately. Working some notice reduces the unworked balance; it does not normally entitle you to both full PILON and wages for the same period.

What the employee can do

1. Send HR and payroll the contradictory paragraphs and ask for a corrected letter showing the end date, attendance requirements, worked and unworked notice periods, contractual clause and gross calculation. Do not treat the wording as permission to miss work.

2. Keep the contract, letter, attendance instructions and payslips. Send a written reconciliation separating wages, notice, benefits and holiday pay. Contact Acas for early conciliation if the employer will not correct an underpayment.

3. For tribunal contract-notice claims, count from the employment end date; for unlawful wage deductions, use the underpayment date. The usual initial limit is three months less one day for a relevant date before 1 October 2026, or six months less one day on or after it. Notify Acas before that limit; early conciliation can pause it, but an internal grievance cannot. Check any separate civil-court route with an adviser.

Common misconception, corrected

The label PILON does not override the actual contract, termination date or a partly worked notice arrangement. A missing clause does not automatically create a large extra award when notice losses were already paid.

Matching guides

Read Compare notice and employment end dates.

Read Reconcile the final payment.