Employment Law changes you can’t ignore

From 1st January 2027, employees will only need six months’ service to gain the right not to be unfairly dismissed, down from the current two years.

In this episode, Simon Fenton talks through the change, including the government’s original proposal to make unfair dismissal a day one right, and why that was eventually negotiated down to six months instead. He also looks back at how the qualifying period has shifted between one and two years over his 35 years in practice, depending on which government has been in power.

Simon flags a mistake he’s already seeing employers make: assuming an underperforming employee is still within their two-year window, only to realise they passed it months ago. With the threshold dropping to six months, that margin for error gets a lot smaller.

Watch the full episode to hear Simon’s advice on what employers need to start doing differently now.