The Government has announced an amendment to the upcoming Employment Rights Bill, confirming that the qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal will be reduced from two years to six months. This change replaces the earlier proposal to make unfair dismissal a day-one right.
Under the revised plan, existing day-one protections, including automatically unfair dismissal provisions and discrimination safeguards, will remain unchanged.
In addition, the Government has reaffirmed that new day-one rights to Statutory Sick Pay and paternity leave will come into effect from April 2026, supporting wider reforms to improve workplace protections.