UK employers: if you take someone on this month, when could they first bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim? Many small business owners still plan around two years, which would be November 2028. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, the government has set 1 January 2027 as the date the qualifying period drops to six months. A person hired in early November 2026 reaches six months' service in early May 2027.
What is changing
GOV.UK's employer guidance says that from 1 January 2027 the qualifying period for protection against "ordinary" unfair dismissal will be reduced from 2 years to 6 months. The same change applies to an employee's right to request written reasons for dismissal, and the cap on compensatory awards for unfair dismissal is being removed on the same date.
The government's factsheet says it intends that, from 1 January 2027, the protection applies immediately to employees who already have six months' service or more. Others gain it when they reach six months. Dismissals with an effective date of termination before 1 January 2027 stay under the current two-year rule.
What is not changing
This is about ordinary unfair dismissal, broadly dismissals for conduct, capability or performance. The factsheet is clear that the Act does not change the existing day-one protections against discrimination and automatically unfair reasons for dismissal, such as whistleblowing, pregnancy and maternity, or asserting a statutory right. So "they've been here less than six months" was never a complete answer, and it still isn't.
Why this matters for a November hire
- Hired 4 November 2026: under the old rule you might have assumed a two-year runway to November 2028.
- Under the new rule: six months' service arrives in early May 2027.
- Your real window: if a performance problem surfaces in month four or five, you have weeks, not months, to raise it, document it and give the person a fair chance to improve.
Five things to do now
- List every start date. For each employee, note the start date and the date they reach six months' service. Anyone who started from around the end of June 2026 crosses that line by January 2027 or soon after.
- Book a dated probation review at about three months. Write down what was discussed, what is going well and what needs to change.
- Raise concerns early and in writing. A concern first mentioned at month five is much harder to act on fairly than one raised and recorded at month two.
- Get your dismissal paperwork ready. With the written-reasons right also moving to six months, have a template you can complete promptly.
- Keep the proof. Store review notes, emails and improvement plans with dates, made at the time rather than reconstructed later.
Acas guidance on fair dismissal procedures is a useful starting point. If you are considering dismissing someone, take advice on your specific situation.
The guide
The UK Employment Rights Act 2025 Compliance Blueprint has a chapter on the six-month qualifying period, with a worked timeline, common mistakes, the documents affected and the evidence to keep. It also covers the removal of the compensation cap, fire-and-rehire restrictions and the other changes, with a fillable master timeline and a policy and contract checklist. Great Britain scope. Instant PDF, and also available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback.
Sources: business.gov.uk: Unfair dismissal rights (employment changes for employers); GOV.UK: Factsheet: Unfair Dismissal (Employment Rights Act 2025); Acas: Unfair dismissal.
Official guidance checked 4 November 2026. General information, not legal advice.
Know what changed. Know what to do. Keep the proof. — PDFBlueprints
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