Government’s Proposal to Make Unfair Dismissal a Day-One Right

A key action from the Government’s recent Employment Bill was to remove the two-year qualifying period for employees to claim unfair dismissal.

The Bill proposes that the right to claim unfair dismissal will be available to employees from their first day of employment.

In lieu of a qualifying period, there will instead be an initial period of employment. During this initial period, the employer will still need to provide a valid reason for dismissal, such as capability or conduct, a statutory ban, or some other substantial reason (SOSR).

However, the Government suggests that a “light-touch” process will be available during this initial period, except in the cases of redundancy dismissals. For redundancy dismissals, this would still follow the same approach, irrespective of length of service, and any statutory redundancy payments would still be subject to the two-year qualifying period.

Specific details relating to this initial period of employment are still to be confirmed, such as how the “light-touch” process would differ, how they will be assessed at tribunal, and the length of this period (however, there are some suggestions that this may be up to nine months following employment).

Whilst this change isn’t expected to take place until Autumn 2026, this will affect any new employees now, as they will gain unfair dismissal rights from the date of this change taking place, which will now likely be less than the previous two-year window.

Therefore, employers are advised to ensure that there are robust probationary processes in place and measures and assessments for performance during this period.

Further information will be provided when we know more.