Government publishes draft increase in unfair dismissal qualifying period

The Government has published draft legislation detailing the increase in the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from one year to two.

The changes mean that the qualifying period for unfair dismissal increases to two years for employees employed on or after 6 April 2012.

However, the change will not be retrospective, which means that employees who joined an employer prior to 6 April 2012 will still be subject to a one-year qualifying period.

The increase in the qualifying period was originally proposed by the Government in its public consultation on wider reforms on resolving workplace disputes.

The draft Regulations also increase the qualifying period that applies to the right to receive a written statement of reasons for dismissal, on request. The current one-year qualifying period (which applies in most cases) will increase to two years for employees who start work with their employer on or after 6 April 2012.

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For more details of the changes, see XpertHR’s coverage.

XpertHR also has a legal timetable containing information on forthcoming employment law changes such as this one.