Unfair dismissal claims upheaval

The qualifying period for unfair dismissal will rise from one to two years from next April, Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed.

The government said the move, which aims to prevent vexatious or unmeritorious claims, would affect about 2,000 claimants and save employers nearly £6m a year.

Fees will be introduced for claimants bringing a claim before an employment tribunal—£250 to lodge a claim and £1,000 for a hearing, with higher fees applicable where claims were worth more than £30,000, according to unconfirmed reports. The fee would be recoverable in the event of a win, and waived for claimants with “no money”— although what this means has not been defined.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said more details would be announced in a consultation paper due to be published next month.

Emma Satyamurti, employment solicitor at Russell, Jones & Walker, said: “The reasons given for the reforms don’t hold water—the employment tribunals already have powers to require a claimant to pay a deposit.”

Selwyn Bligh, employment partner at Pinsent Masons, said the introduction of fees would “deter people with legitimate grievances but little money from bringing a claim”.

He warned that the doubling of the qualifying period might be subject to an age discrimination challenge on the basis it indirectly discriminates against young people.

Research by Lewis Silkin estimates the number of qualifying employees under the age of 20 would be reduced from half to just one in five.

The qualifying period was raised to two years in 1980. A claim of indirect sex discrimination was brought in 2000, on the basis fewer women work continuously for two years, but it failed. In 1999, the Labour government changed the qualifying period back to a year.