Employers will be aware of the Government’s decision to increase, from 6 April 2012, the qualifying period before which an employee becomes entitled to bring a claim for unfair dismissal from one year to two years.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has announced that, subject to Parliamentary approval, this will only apply to those employees whose employment begins on or after 6 April 2012.
This means that those employees who started working for you prior to 6 April 2012 will continue to be eligible to bring an unfair dismissal claim after one year’s service.
Any employer who was acting on the basis that the two-year qualifying period would apply to all employees regardless of when they commenced work is advised to have a rethink.