Writing in NLJ this week, Robert Hargreaves, lecturer in law at York St John University, and Lily Johnston, paralegal at DWF Law, explain how the Employment Rights Act 2025 reduces the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal claims from two years to six months while abolishing the compensation cap entirely.
The authors describe the latter as 'the development nobody anticipated'. Employees hired from July 2026 will gain protection after six months' service, exposing employers to potentially uncapped awards based on actual financial loss.
With government estimates suggesting millions more workers will qualify for protection and thousands of additional tribunal claims each year, probation procedures are set to become 'the new front line' of employment law. Employers are advised to strengthen documentation, manager training and dismissal processes before the reforms arrive.
