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Unfair Dismissal (23rd Jan 2012)

In October 2011 the government announced that the qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection would rise from one to two years with effect from 6 April 2012. It gave no indication as to how it would affect existing employees with over one year, but under two years service who would have already qualified for unfair dismissal rights under the current regime.

Although there has not yet been a formal announcement it is believed that the new two year qualifying period will only apply to employees whose employment begins on or after 6 April 2012. Therefore, individuals  employed before 6 April 2012 will  retain unfair dismissal protection  as long as they satisfy the  current one year qualifying period.

Practical Tip

Employers who are considering taking on new employees may wish to defer the recruitment process or delay start dates until after 6 April 2012 to ensure that new recruits will only acquire unfair dismissal protection after two years.