Unfair Dismissal Reforms Are Coming: What Every Employee Needs to Know
Key Takeaways:
- Dishonesty leads to the ultimate sanction — The SDT struck off Alison Clare Banerjee after finding she repeatedly misled clients and the employment tribunal, including fabricating IT issues to excuse her conduct.
- Client consent is non-negotiable — Banerjee accepted a settlement without her client’s knowledge, breaching a fundamental duty to act in the client’s best interests and secure informed instructions.
- Transparency protects the profession — The tribunal denied anonymity, stressing that public trust in solicitors depends on openness when serious misconduct occurs.
If you’ve ever been let go from a job and felt the decision was unfair, you’ll know how frustrating it can be to discover you don’t have the right to challenge it. Under the current rules, most employees need at least two years of continuous service before they can bring an unfair dismissal claim. That’s about to change, and the change is significant.
What’s changing
From January 2027, the qualifying period for bringing an unfair dismissal claim will drop from two years to just six months. In practice, this means that anyone who has clocked up six months’ service by that date will have protection against unfair dismissal far earlier than they do today.
It’s worth pausing on who this actually affects, because the scope is wider than it might first appear. It isn’t just new starters from 2027 onwards. If you’re already in a job now, or you start a new one from around July 2026, you could find yourself covered by these protections well before the reform officially lands, simply because six months will have passed by January 2027.
Why this matters to you
For years, the two-year qualifying period has left a large number of employees exposed during the early stages of a job. Lose your role after eighteen months, and you’d typically have had no claim for unfair dismissal at all, regardless of how questionable the process behind it was. That gap is now closing fast.
Once the new rules are in place, employees with relatively short service will be able to challenge dismissals on the same fundamental basis as their longer-serving colleagues: was there a fair reason for the dismissal, and was a fair process followed? Employers will need to think much more carefully about performance management, disciplinary processes and redundancy procedures for newer staff, because the legal risk of getting it wrong arrives much sooner.
What you should do now
You don’t need to wait until January 2027 to start thinking about this:
• If you’re currently employed and have less than two years’ service, keep a record of your employment history, any performance reviews, and any communications relevant to your role. This is good practice regardless of the reforms, but it becomes more valuable as your rights strengthen.
• If you’re considering a new role, remember that starting around July 2026 onwards is likely to bring you into scope for the reduced qualifying period.
• If you’re dismissed, or believe you’re at risk of dismissal, between now and when the reforms take effect, it’s still worth understanding exactly where you stand under the current two-year rule, since timing can make a real difference to your options.
• If something doesn’t feel right about how you’ve been treated at work, whether that’s a dismissal, a disciplinary process, or a redundancy situation, get advice early rather than waiting until a decision has already been made.
Getting the right advice
Employment law is changing, and changes like this can be difficult to navigate without specialist support, particularly while transitional rules are bedding in. Whether you want to understand your current rights, query a dismissal that’s already happened, or simply make sure you know where you stand as the law shifts, speaking to a specialist employment solicitor is the best way to get clarity.
Concerned about a dismissal, or want to know how these changes affect you? Speak to our employment solicitors today for clear, practical advice tailored to your situation.
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