For ages people have had to have two years’ service with a company before being able to bring a claim of unfair dismissal. This is now changing and from 1st January 2027 people will only need six months’ service with a business in order to bring a case to tribunal. So is this good or bad, what are the implications of this change and how will it roll out over time?
WHAT ABOUT THE EMPLOYEE?
Of course, it is good as they may start to feel that they have more employment rights. However, rights can be difficult to exercise and sometimes the work environment can be intimidating, ran on fear and unhealthy.
The reality is that the reduced period of time really doesn’t make a difference. A good business will have fair processes (CLICK HERE) in place anyway and if people are having to bring claims for unfair dismissal then something is going wrong. It’s entirely possible that someone is not performing well in their role and that’s fine. It’s how the situation is managed that matters.
SO WHAT CAN A BUSINESS DO?
Being clear from the offset will help to establish the employment relationship and vagueness in advertising and recruitment should really be avoided. A business may want to get a person for the least amount that they feel they need to pay, but what impression is this throwing out there? Huge salary ranges can be confusing to applicants so why not name the salary so that things are clear from the beginning. Applicants earning above and below the salary will still apply and there may be scope for discussion but at least it doesn’t make a business look underhanded and as if they are playing games.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO EMPLOYERS?
Anyone employed from July 2026 will now have the right to bring a claim of unfair dismissal in January 2027. But you know what, you shouldn’t really be worrying. If you recruit well and look after people then this really shouldn’t present any greater a risk. What do I mean by that? Be fair and transparent in your recruitment, that really will help. Don’t mislead candidates with false promises of development and opportunities as when this doesn’t roll out the employment relationship can break down from the early stages.
The cap has been lifted on awards with tribunals too, so it will be interesting to see what awards are going to be made.
WHAT TYPE OF THINGS MAY RESULT IN AWARDS BEING MADE TO PEOPLE?
Bullying and harassment seems to be involved in lots of cases and although many businesses have policies in place, the cases keep coming. Training and policies are pretty standard but what is a business doing to ensure that they have processes in place to protect people at work and reduce the risk of a claim being made. Looking at how managers delegate work and how performance is measured is recommended. Are people being treated fairly and do managers have the ability to delegate? Low trust, high blame cultures seem to be a breeding ground for fear and it is only human nature that people want to protect their own positions. Although understandable, a manager should be getting the best out of everyone and that means developing them and trusting thing. So are businesses being fair to their managers too and making them feel confident that they can lead with impact?
SO WILL BUSINESSES STOP RECRUITING?
Employers may think that they will prefer not to employ people or they can offer fixed term contracts, but then what impact will that have on a business? At the end of the day, people need people and AI can only do so much.
Please get in touch if I can help you with your processes for managing your people from pre-recruitment to when a person leaves.
