Unfair dismissal rights

From 1 January 2027, the qualifying periods will change for:

  • protection against ‘ordinary’ unfair dismissal
  • employees’ right to request written reasons for dismissal
  • protection against unfair dismissal on grounds of spent convictions

The existing cap on the compensatory award that a tribunal can award in unfair dismissal cases will also be removed from 1 January 2027.

Key changes

From 1 January 2027:

  • the qualifying period for protection against ‘ordinary’ unfair dismissal will be reduced from 2 years to 6 months
  • the qualifying period for employees’ right to request written reasons for dismissal will be reduced from 2 years to 6 months
  • the qualifying period for protection against unfair dismissal on grounds relating to spent convictions will be removed
  • the current cap on compensatory awards for unfair dismissal will be removed

The Employment Rights Act 2025 does not change the current existing day one protections against discrimination and automatically unfair grounds for dismissal.

There will be no change to the basis on which compensatory awards are calculated by the employment tribunal. Awards will continue to be calculated on the basis of actual and projected losses as evidenced by the claimant. In practice, the vast majority of awards for unfair dismissal are well below the current monetary cap.

There will be no changes to notice periods. Employers will need to continue to consider both statutory and contractual notice periods when considering how much notice to give when dismissing an employee, noting that statutory notice periods are regarded as service when calculating whether a dismissal falls within the qualifying period, regardless of whether or not they are complied with. For employees who have worked for their employer for 1 month to 2 years, the statutory notice period is 1 week.

The non-renewal of a fixed-term contract on expiry counts as a dismissal for unfair dismissal purposes, and this will remain unchanged by the Employment Rights Act 2025.

For employees with at least 6 months’ qualifying service, an employer will need to ensure that the non-renewal of their fixed-term contract on expiry constitutes a fair dismissal.

Actions to take

For dismissals with an effective date of termination before 1 January 2027, the current 2-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal protections will still be in force.

In preparation for these changes to unfair dismissal your organisation may want to seek independent advice when considering updating your employment policies. Employers will still be able to dismiss employees, for legitimate reasons (such as poor performance) if the decision to dismiss is fair, which includes following a suitable fair process.

In particular, if you use a contractual probation period consider how it will operate with a 6-month qualifying period in force.

Where these changes apply

The changes to unfair dismissal apply across England, Scotland and Wales. They do not apply in Northern Ireland, where legislation related to unfair dismissal is devolved.

More information

Visit our factsheet on unfair dismissalopens assets.publishing.service.gov.uk in a new tab.

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Explainer video: changes to unfair dismissal

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