A Possible Rise in the Qualifying Period for Unfair Dismissal Claims

Date Added: 25 January 2011

Under current legislation an employee must have one year’s continuous service before they acquire protection from unfair dismissal. There are exceptions, for example, where an employee is dismissed for an automatically unfair reason, such as pregnancy or other discrimination related reasons, but the usual rule of thumb is a year.

The Government has announced that it wants to double the qualifying period from one year to two years. This would see a return to the pre 1999 position. A specific time frame for implementation has not been announced, but it is anticipated that the changes may be introduced swiftly.

The reason for the proposal is to try to limit the number of claims being bought by ex employees in the employment tribunal. At the moment the maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal stands at just over £65,000.00 and, therefore, it is not hard to see the attraction to employees, particularly when the media focus on sizeable, but infrequent, awards of compensation.

In addition, the Government seeks to ease the burden of unnecessary red tape on smaller businesses. The recovery from the recession is dependent upon the private sector being in a position to create jobs. Businesses may be reluctant to do this because of the protection given to employees who often do not conform to this standard requirement.

The logic of this is that an extension to the qualifying period will mean that an employer is more likely to hire new staff.

To a small business, on the face of it, this is welcome news, but it is not a decision that has yet been cast in stone. For the time being, any business must continue to deal with dismissals using current procedures.

Our employment team is always available to review your existing disciplinary procedures and to advise you throughout a disciplinary procedure where, for example, you are concerned about sickness absence, an under performing employee or an employee that may have committed acts of misconduct.

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