June 29, 2026
By Heledd Ainsworth
Read time: 2 minutes
Significant reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025 surrounding unfair dismissal are coming into force on 1 January 2027. However, these changes will have a practical effect from 1 July 2026, meaning a review of your recruitment, probationary and dismissal procedures is vital from today.
Our employment lawyer Heledd explains what the reforms mean, why employers should start preparing now, and steps employers can take to reduce risk ahead of the changes.
What is changing?
Currently, in most cases, employees need 2 years’ continuous service before they can bring a claim for unfair dismissal against their employer. However, from 1 January 2027, this qualifying period will drop down to just 6 months.
Although this change comes into force from January, the practical implication is that any new employee that is recruited on or before 1 July 2026 will obtain the extended protection if they are still employed come 1 January 2027. This means that 1 July 2026 becomes a key milestone in UK employment law.
But 6 months doesn’t actually mean 6 months
Here’s where there’s a common misconception. Whilst we refer to a new 6-month unfair dismissal qualifying period, what we actually mean is that the unfair dismissal qualifying period will be 5 months and 3 weeks. This is because there is a statutory week that bridges over to the new 6-month qualifying period.
What should you do about all of this?
- Probationary periods – Many employers have already reduced their probationary periods for new employees down from 6 months. The thinking behind this is that, waiting 6 months to fail an employee’s probationary period will now be too late, because that employee will already have full unfair dismissal rights. Hence why 3-month or 5-month probationary periods are going to be more common, and arguably more effective.
- Probationary period policies – Probationary periods will now become much more important, and time will be tight for employers to make a decision on whether to pass or fail an employee’s probationary period. With this in mind, we are now regularly being asked by clients to draft new probationary period policies (a type of policy that is going to become a must in staff handbooks in future). This will ensure policies are watertight to help employers better navigate probationary periods.
- Managing performance early on – It is now going to be more important than ever for managers to manage the performance of new employees from an early stage. With shorter probationary periods, and a shorter unfair dismissal qualifying period, there’s going to be more pressure on managers to get this right. As such, we are regularly being asked by clients to help train and upskill managers on the art of managing performance early on in the employment relationship.
- Recruitment – Effective recruitment will become increasingly important. This may seem easier said than done, but improving recruitment processes and enhancing due diligence on candidates is going to become more common.
Seeking expert advice
It is important now more than ever to get these initial recruitment, onboarding and probation practices right. If you would like help with reviewing your probation policies or any advice when it comes to understanding what steps you need to take as an employer, get in touch with our employment law expert Heledd on hainsworth@darwingray.com or 02920 829 100.
02920 829 100 
1 July 2026 – a milestone date for new unfair dismissal rights
