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The Labour government has abandoned its pledge to give all workers the right to claim unfair dismissal from their first day in a job, the government announced on 27 November.
Ministers now plan to reduce the qualifying period from two years to six months, replacing the original proposal to abolish it entirely.
The shift follows negotiations with unions and industry groups, which warned that immediate protections could prove unworkable and risk discouraging firms from hiring.
Currently, employees gain full unfair dismissal protections after two years of continuous service, requiring employers to demonstrate a fair reason for dismissal and follow a reasonable process.
Speaking to HR magazine, Simon Fowler, CEO of HR consultancy Empowering People Group, said: “HR is now managing a six-month ticking clock.”
The U-turn is “not a relief”, but simply compresses the risk and accelerates the need for urgent HR transformation and manager capability training, he explained.
“The removal of the two-year ‘easy dismissal’ buffer means the window for a ‘right fit’ assessment has shrunk dramatically, and it will hit the already-strained employment tribunal system hard,” he added.
This increase in risk, coupled with other mandates in the Employment Rights Bill, demands a shift from the legal safety net of two years to building robust, meticulously documented probationary processes and hyper-efficient onboarding, Fowler suggested.
Rena Magdani, national head of...
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