One of the key changes is the reduction of the 2-year rule for unfair dismissal to 6 months. Protecting employee rights and giving them more security is a good thing, but this does challenge businesses to ‘get things right, first time’. In January 2027 this revised timeline will come into force – but it’s already happening. Anyone who joined your business on or after 1 st July 2026 will gain these new rights as we tip into the new year.
The challenges
- Businesses will need to follow the full disciplinary/capability route if dismissal is needed beyond 6 months
- Managers will need to be much more focussed on performance metrics and great with immediate feedback
- The recruitment process needs to be more detailed, fact based, tested and challenged
- Probation reviews need to be timely and accurate. Decisions need to be made early.
Our support to you
- Our HR team have years of highly commercial experience which means practical, pragmatic solutions.
- We quickly assess the risks and provide tools, process and guidance to steer you in the right direction.
- We can take the difficult conversations and coach/train managers or sit in the room with you to support the right outcome.
Don’t let your business be a test case in tribunal when simple steps could be all you need.