Notice is set by the contract, not by the law.
The Fair Work Act sets minimum notice that an employer must give when it ends employment: one week for less than a year of service, rising to four weeks after five years, plus an extra week for employees over 45 with at least two years of service. Those minimums are a floor, and they govern the employer's side.
When an employee resigns, the notice they owe is usually whatever their contract, award or enterprise agreement says. For senior people in energy and infrastructure, that is rarely the statutory minimum. In our experience one month is common for engineers, and two or three months is now normal for managers and specialists that an employer would struggle to replace.
Garden leave changes the picture.
Garden leave is when an employer keeps paying a departing employee through the notice period but tells them not to work. The employee stays employed, which means they cannot start with a new employer until the notice period ends.
Employers use it when someone is moving to a competitor, or when they hold information about live bids, pricing or clients. For a hiring manager, the effect is simple: the candidate is sitting at home, fully paid, and still cannot start. A three month notice period with garden leave is three months, whatever the candidate would prefer.
Restraints sit on top of notice.
Many senior contracts in the sector also carry restraint clauses: a period after employment ends when the person cannot work for a competitor, solicit clients or approach former colleagues. Whether a restraint can be enforced depends on whether it is reasonable, and that is a legal question for each contract. It is still a real factor in a candidate's decision.
This is shifting. The federal government has announced a ban on non compete clauses for employees earning under the Fair Work high income threshold, intended to start in 2027 once legislation passes. As announced, it applies to new contracts and does not cover senior people above the threshold. Until it is law, treat every restraint as live and get advice where it matters.
How long a hire really takes.
Add it up for a typical senior energy hire and the timeline looks like this.
- Search and interviews. Several weeks for a well run process.
- Offer and acceptance. One to two weeks, longer if there is a counter offer.
- Notice. One to three months, sometimes as garden leave.
- Restraint. Possibly more, depending on the role and the new employer.
A project manager you start looking for in November may not walk onto your site until March. Hiring plans that assume a four week start are the main reason projects say they cannot find people, when in fact they found them and could not get them.
What employers and candidates should do.
Employers. Ask about notice, garden leave and restraints at the first interview, not after the offer. Build the real start date into the project program. Where a delay is costly, consider a contract bridge until the permanent hire arrives, and be ready to talk with the current employer about an earlier release where that is realistic.
Candidates. Read your contract before you start interviewing. Know your notice period, whether garden leave applies and what your restraint says. Tell your recruiter early. An honest start date makes for a better offer than a hopeful one.
Both. Use the gap well. A new hire who spends their notice period getting to know the team and the project starts work far faster than one who simply turns up.
The search finds the person. The notice period decides when you get them.