The Unfair Dismissal Clock Is Already Running — Even Though the Law Doesn’t Change Until 2027
Here’s a date worth having on your radar: 1 July 2026. If you’ve hired anyone since then, the new unfair dismissal rules already apply to them in practical terms — even though the law itself doesn’t formally commence until 1 January 2027.
It’s an easy detail to miss, because the headline date everyone’s talking about is January. But the mechanics of how qualifying service is calculated mean the real deadline for getting your processes right has already passed for a chunk of your workforce.
What’s Changing
Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, the qualifying period for bringing an unfair dismissal claim is dropping from two years to six months. This is actually a softer landing than originally proposed — the Government’s initial plan was day-one unfair dismissal rights for everyone, which would have been a much bigger shift. The six-month compromise was welcomed by employers, but it’s still a significant reduction from where things stand today.
The change takes effect on 1 January 2027, and applies to dismissals on or after that date.
Why July 2026 Is the Date That Actually Matters
This is where it gets practical. Qualifying service is worked out by looking back from the date of dismissal. So if someone is dismissed on or after 1 January 2027, and the new six-month threshold applies, anyone who started work on or after roughly 1 July 2026 could already have six months’ service — and therefore unfair dismissal protection — by the time the new rules land.
In other words, the six-month qualifying period isn’t something that starts counting in January. For anyone hired since the summer, it’s already ticking.
There’s an added wrinkle worth knowing: qualifying service is assessed by reference to the effective date of termination, which can be extended in some circumstances — for example, where an employer doesn’t require an employee to work their notice, a statutory notice period gets added on. That means even someone dismissed without notice in late December 2026 could, once the statutory notice is factored in, still fall under the new regime.
What This Means for You
Recruitment decisions made since July already carry more weight than usual. Anyone taken on since the summer will reach the new, much shorter qualifying threshold well before you might have expected to need robust dismissal grounds for them.
Probation and early performance management need to be tight, not casual. With protection kicking in so much sooner, informal “let’s see how it goes” approaches to underperformance in someone’s first months carry more risk than they used to. Structured probation reviews, clear objectives, and documented feedback all matter more, sooner.
Get your paperwork habits sorted now, not in December. If a dismissal decision is on the table for anyone hired since July, treat it as though full unfair dismissal protection already applies — because by the time it lands, it likely will.
Notice periods deserve a second look. Given how the effective date of termination interacts with the new threshold, make sure whoever handles terminations understands how notice — worked, paid in lieu, or waived — can shift which side of the line a dismissal falls on.
The Takeaway
The Government’s roadmap makes January 2027 sound like the moment everything changes. In practice, for a good number of employees, the clock started back in July. If your induction, probation, and early performance management processes haven’t been reviewed with this in mind, now’s the time — not once the calendar catches up.
Want a straightforward review of your probation and early-stage performance management processes? Get in touch with the Cheviot HR team — better to sort it now than under pressure in the new year.