Unfair Dismissal After 6 Months (1 Jan 2027): What Changes

The 2027 unfair dismissal reform: what changes and when

For more than a decade, employees in Great Britain have needed two full years of continuous service before acquiring the legal right not to be unfairly dismissed under section 108(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Under the landmark Employment Rights Act 2025, that qualifying threshold is reduced to six months of continuous service.

The reform takes legal effect on 1 January 2027. Crucially, the rule is tied directly to the employee's Effective Date of Termination (EDT). If your dismissal takes effect on or after 1 January 2027, you only need six months of qualifying service to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim before an employment tribunal. If your EDT falls on or before 31 December 2026, the legacy two-year qualifying threshold remains fully in force.

This change represents one of the largest expansions of UK workplace rights in modern employment history, providing millions of workers with statutory protection against arbitrary, unfair, or procedurally defective dismissals much earlier in their tenure.

Direct answer: From 1 January 2027, you need 6 months of continuous service (not 2 years) to claim ordinary unfair dismissal. Anyone employed on or before 1 July 2026 will already qualify on 1 January 2027. Check your exact eligibility date and tribunal deadline using the free ToolsWebPro Tribunal Deadline & Qualifying Calculator.

Who qualifies on 1 January 2027: the transitional impact

Because the statutory amendment applies to any termination where the EDT is on or after 1 January 2027, there is no requirement to have started employment under the new law. Continuous service accumulated prior to 2027 counts fully towards the six-month threshold.

This creates an immediate transition cohort: any employee hired on or before 1 July 2026 will have completed at least six months of continuous service by 1 January 2027. On that date, their legal status changes overnight from having no ordinary unfair dismissal protection to possessing full statutory rights under ERA 1996 s.94.

Notice the sharp distinction between dismissals taking place in late December 2026 versus early January 2027. An employee with 22 months of service dismissed on 30 December 2026 cannot claim ordinary unfair dismissal, whereas an employee with only 6 months of service dismissed on 2 January 2027 can.

Effective Date of Termination (EDT): notice, summary dismissal, and s.97(2)

Measuring qualifying service requires pinpointing the exact Effective Date of Termination (EDT). Under section 97 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the EDT is determined strictly by how the employment ended:

1. Dismissal with contractual or statutory notice: The EDT is the date on which the notice period formally expires.

2. Summary dismissal without notice (or payment in lieu of notice): The EDT is the date termination takes effect immediately (usually the day you are told you are dismissed).

3. Fixed-term contract expiry: The EDT is the date on which the fixed term expires without renewal.

Statutory Notice Extension Rule: Under ERA 1996 s.97(2), if an employer dismisses an employee without notice (or gives less than statutory minimum notice), the law extends the EDT for qualifying service purposes by the statutory minimum notice period required under section 86 (one week for service between one month and two years). This extension does NOT apply if dismissal was for genuine gross misconduct.

• ERA 1996 s.86 statutory notice: 1 week's notice is required once an employee has completed 1 month of continuous service (up to 2 years).
• If an employee with 5 months and 25 days of service is summarily dismissed without notice (with pay in lieu), s.97(2) adds 1 statutory week, pushing service past 6 months.
• However, if the employer dismisses for gross misconduct (summary dismissal for gross breach), section 97(2) does not apply, and the actual dismissal date governs.

The 28 December 2026 transition boundary: an unresolved legal trap

A critical edge case arises for dismissals occurring in late December 2026. Consider an employee with six months of continuous service who is dismissed without notice on 28 December 2026. Under ERA 1996 s.97(2), adding one week of statutory minimum notice projects their qualifying service EDT to 4 January 2027.

Does this employee benefit from the 2027 six-month reform? The commencement regulations specify that the six-month rule applies where the EDT falls on or after 1 January 2027. However, whether the statutory s.97(2) projection applies across a legislative commencement boundary is an untested legal question. Claimants in this boundary window must seek urgent advice from a trade union or employment solicitor.

Day-1 claims: dismissals that never require qualifying service

Even before the 2027 reform, UK employment law has always recognized a substantial class of claims known as 'Day-1 rights', where no minimum qualifying service is required:

1. Automatically Unfair Dismissals: Under sections 99 to 105 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, dismissals for asserting statutory rights (s.104), whistleblowing / protected disclosures (s.103A), health and safety activities (s.100), trade union membership (s.152 TULRCA 1992), and pregnancy or maternity leave (s.99) require zero qualifying service.

2. Equality Act 2010 Discrimination: Dismissals motivated by protected characteristics (race, sex, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age, gender reassignment, or pregnancy) can be challenged from the very first day of employment, or even during recruitment.

3. Breach of Contract & Wrongful Dismissal: If an employer terminates without paying contractual notice or fails to adhere to contract terms, an employee can bring a breach of contract claim in the employment tribunal (or civil court) regardless of service length.

Employer implications: probationary periods and procedural fairness

For employers, the reduction to six months necessitates a comprehensive overhaul of recruitment, onboarding, and probation policies. Under the old two-year regime, employers frequently managed underperformance informally during the first 18 to 24 months without following formal disciplinary hearings.

From 1 January 2027, any dismissal after six months of service must satisfy the two statutory hurdles in ERA 1996 s.98: the employer must establish a potentially fair reason (capability, conduct, redundancy, statutory illegality, or Some Other Substantial Reason) and prove that they acted reasonably in treating that reason as sufficient, following the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures.

Furthermore, the Employment Rights Act 2025 prepares to remove the statutory cap on compensatory awards (previously the lower of 52 weeks' gross pay or a statutory indexed threshold). Employers face significantly higher financial liability for procedurally unfair dismissals.

• Standard probationary periods should be condensed to 3 to 4 months with structured milestone reviews.
• Performance issues must be documented early with written warnings and improvement targets.
• Dismissal decisions must be finalized before the employee hits the six-month continuous service threshold.
• Managers must be trained on the Acas Code of Practice to prevent procedurally unfair dismissals.

Worked examples: calculating qualifying service

To illustrate how qualifying service is calculated under the Employment Rights Act 2025, consider these practical workplace scenarios:

Scenario 1 — Early 2026 hire: Sarah started employment on 1 May 2026 and was notified of dismissal taking effect on 1 January 2027. Her service completed was 8 months. Because her EDT falls on 1 January 2027, the six-month rule applies, and she qualifies to claim unfair dismissal.

Scenario 2 — Mid-2026 hire: James was hired on 15 July 2026 and dismissed on 10 January 2027. His service completed is 5 months and 26 days. Because his qualifying service would only complete on 14 January 2027, he does not yet qualify to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim.

Scenario 3 — Statutory notice addition: Elena started on 10 July 2026 and was summarily dismissed with pay in lieu of notice on 5 January 2027 (5 months and 26 days). Because she was dismissed without gross misconduct, s.97(2) adds 1 week of statutory notice, advancing her deemed EDT to 12 January 2027 (over 6 months). She qualifies to claim.

Statutory sources and legal framework

All calculations and rules discussed in this guide derive from primary UK statutes and statutory instruments reviewed on 11 October 2026:

• Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36), s. 152 and Schedule 12: sets the commencement framework for qualifying service and tribunal limitation reforms.

• Employment Rights Act 1996, sections 86 (rights to statutory minimum notice), 97 (effective date of termination), 98 (fair reasons for dismissal), and 108 (qualifying period).

• UK Government Department for Business and Trade: 'Next Steps to Make Work Pay' implementation roadmap.

Once you confirm your qualifying eligibility, check your limitation filing deadline with our companion guide Tribunal Time Limits: 6 Months & Acas Explained.