When do employees get unfair dismissal rights in the UK?
By SuLe · Updated 27 May 2026
Ordinary unfair dismissal rights currently arise after two years' continuous service (as of mid-2026), but a large group of "day-one" claims — discrimination, whistleblowing and more — have no qualifying period at all. The two-year rule is also expected to be removed by the Employment Rights Act 2025, with commencement expected around 2027, so check the current status.
Key facts
- Ordinary unfair dismissal currently requires two years' continuous service, as of mid-2026.
- The Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to remove the qualifying period and add a statutory probation regime — commencement expected 2027, check current status.
- Day-one claims (no service needed): discrimination, whistleblowing, health-and-safety dismissals, and asserting a statutory right.
- Compensation for discrimination and whistleblowing is uncapped.
- Time limit to claim is three months less one day; Acas early conciliation is mandatory first, and reform may extend the limit to six months — verify commencement.
When does the right to claim unfair dismissal begin?
For ordinary unfair dismissal — the standard claim that a dismissal was without a fair reason or process — an employee currently needs two years' continuous service, as of mid-2026. Below that, they generally cannot bring this particular claim.
That is why many startups feel they can move quickly with newer hires. It is a real distinction, but a narrow one, and it is about to shift.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to remove the two-year qualifying period entirely and introduce a statutory probation regime in its place. Commencement is expected around 2027, but dates were not all fixed when this was written — check the current position before you rely on the two-year rule.
Which dismissal claims have no qualifying period?
A significant set of claims apply from the very first day, regardless of service. These are the ones that catch out founders who assume shorter-service staff cannot sue.
Discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, whistleblowing (protected disclosures), dismissals for health-and-safety reasons, and dismissal for asserting a statutory right all have no service requirement. Several of these are "automatically unfair" — the dismissal is unfair by definition if that is the reason.
Compensation is the sting. For discrimination and whistleblowing there is no cap, so an unlawful dismissal of a day-one employee can be more expensive than an ordinary unfair dismissal of a long-serving one. Never treat a new hire as risk-free.
How do probation periods and reform change the picture?
Today, probation is contractual dressing, not a legal shield. A probationary period does not remove statutory rights; its main effect is a shorter contractual notice period during the initial months.
That is set to change. The Employment Rights Act 2025's statutory probation regime is expected to create a lighter-touch process for dismissals during an initial period, replacing the current two-year threshold with a day-one right subject to that regime. The detail — including the length of the statutory probation period — was not finalised when this was written, so treat it as pending and check the current rules.
The practical message for founders is stable either way: document a fair reason, follow a proportionate process, and avoid anything that looks discriminatory. That protects you under both the old and the new systems.
| Claim | Qualifying period | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary unfair dismissal | 2 years (as of mid-2026; reform expected) | Capped (basic + compensatory award) |
| Discrimination (Equality Act 2010) | None — day one | Uncapped |
| Whistleblowing | None — day one | Uncapped |
| Health-and-safety dismissal | None — day one | Automatically unfair |
| Asserting a statutory right | None — day one | Automatically unfair |
Worked example
Sam runs an edtech startup and wants to part ways with a marketer, Priya, at 22 months' service. He assumes he can dismiss freely because she is under two years — but he pauses when he realises she recently raised a health-and-safety concern about the office.
Because a health-and-safety dismissal is a day-one claim, dismissing her now could look automatically unfair regardless of her length of service. Sam instead documents the genuine performance reason, runs a short fair process, gives full notice, and keeps evidence that the concern she raised played no part in the decision. The service length was never the whole story.
Where founders go wrong
Reading "two years" as "no risk before two years"
— day-one claims apply immediately and can be uncapped.Relying on probation as legal protection
— it currently only shortens notice; it does not strip statutory rights.Ignoring the reform timetable
— the qualifying period is expected to disappear; build fair processes now.Missing the tight time limit
— claims run to three months less a day, with mandatory Acas conciliation first.
Related questions
How long until an employee can claim unfair dismissal?
Ordinary unfair dismissal currently requires two years' continuous service, as of mid-2026. But the Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to remove this qualifying period and add a statutory probation regime, with commencement expected around 2027 — check the current status. [More: How do I legally dismiss an employee in a UK startup?]
Which claims have no qualifying period?
Several apply from day one: discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, whistleblowing, health-and-safety dismissals, and dismissal for asserting a statutory right. These are known as automatically unfair or day-one claims, and compensation for discrimination and whistleblowing is uncapped.
Does probation affect unfair dismissal rights?
Not currently. Probation periods are contractual only today — they do not remove statutory rights. Their main legal effect is a shorter contractual notice period. This is set to change under the statutory probation regime in the Employment Rights Act 2025 when it commences. [More: How do probation periods work legally in the UK?]
What is the time limit to bring a claim?
The basic limit is three months less one day from the dismissal, and Acas early conciliation must be started first. The Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to extend this to six months — check whether that change has commenced before relying on either figure.
Unfair dismissal law is mid-reform, and the safest assumption — that a new hire has fewer rights — is exactly the one that leads to uncapped day-one claims. A SuLe solicitor can tell you where the line sits today and how to dismiss safely. Book a free consultation about your contracts before you make the call.
Keep reading: How do I legally dismiss an employee in a UK startup? · How do probation periods work legally in the UK? · What is a settlement agreement? · What notice period should startup employment contracts use? · What must a UK employment contract include?
Primary sources: GOV.UK — Dismissing staff · Acas — advice and codes of practice
