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On 1st January 2027 the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal falls from two years to six months, and the cap on compensation goes. This is what to do before then.
Written for employers, from the same checked statement of the law Tarn.hr's guidance is written from.
From 1st January 2027 an employee needs six months' continuous service, not two years, to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. List everyone with their start date and the date they reach six months. Everyone who already has between six months and two years gains the right on the same day.
Which rule applies turns on the effective date of termination. For the qualifying period, statutory minimum notice can carry that date later than the last day worked, so a dismissal in December whose statutory notice runs past 1st January 2027 can fall under the six month rule. Work the date out before you act, not after.
If someone is not working out, decide and record it before they reach six months' service. From 1st January 2027, letting it drift past that point means the full unfair dismissal rules apply. Probation is a term of the contract and is not changing; the protection around it is.
Today the compensatory award for ordinary unfair dismissal is capped at the lower of 52 weeks' pay and a statutory maximum. For a dismissal whose actual effective date of termination is on or after 1st January 2027 there will be no cap at all. Statutory notice does not move that date for the cap.
A fair dismissal is one you can show was fair: the concern, when you raised it, the support you offered and what happened next. Keep dated notes of every meeting and confirm what was agreed in writing.
Since 1st October 2026 most tribunal claims can be brought within six months rather than three, counted from the act complained of or, for unfair dismissal, the effective date of termination. Acas early conciliation can add to that, so keep your notes for well beyond a year.
Dismissals connected to pregnancy, whistleblowing, health and safety or asserting a statutory right are automatically unfair, and discrimination claims need no qualifying service at all. That was true before January and stays true after it.
Dismissing someone for refusing a change to core terms such as pay or hours, and taking them back on the new terms, is expected to become automatically unfair. The government's timeline puts it in March 2027, but the regulations to bring it in have not been made yet.
Contracts, offer letters, probation letters and handbooks that tell staff they need two years' service before unfair dismissal applies will be out of date on 1st January 2027.
Why the cap matters more than the six months, and what happened to the statutory probation period that was once proposed, is in unfair dismissal at six months, from January 2027.
If a decision about somebody is already in front of you, work through it as a situation. You answer a few questions and get guidance, the letters and the dates. Your first situation is free.