Looking Ahead: More Employment Rights Act Changes to Come (Part 2)

We take a look below at two more of the changes that the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 25) will be introducing. You can read about third party harassment, sexual harassment ‘all reasonable steps’ and trade unions new rights of access and statement of workers’ rights to join a trade union in the first of this two-part Legal Update here.

In this update we take a look at:

1. Doubling of employment tribunal time limits
2. Reduction of the unfair dismissal qualifying period to six months 

Doubling of employment tribunal time limits 

The extension of employment tribunal time limits is to double from three to six months. The government has stated that this will take place no earlier than October 2026. With a longer time for employees to bring employment tribunal claims, keeping appropriate records to demonstrate compliance will become more important than ever. 

Reduction of the ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying period to six months 

It is important to note that the law regarding the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal is changing. It will be reduced from two years’ continuity of service to six months from 1^st January 2027. This means that any employee whose dismissal takes effect on or after that date, and who has at least six months’ continuous service, will be able to bring a claim for ordinary unfair dismissal. 

It will be important to plan for this change ahead of time, in particular:

• Recruitment: assess whether your recruitment process is sufficiently robust and meets the needs of your business – getting the right person for the job will become more pressing. After all there will be a much shorter window of opportunity to determine whether someone is suitable for the role and a far more limited period to take action before they gain ordinary unfair dismissal rights.  

• Probationary periods: if you use probationary periods, going forward make sure these are appropriate in duration, including any permitted extension period. For some businesses, this will mean operating shorter probationary periods (and where applicable, permitted extensions) than has previously been the case. In terms of duration, a probationary period should enable assessment of a new starters’ suitability, and any appropriate action (e.g. dismissal), to take place in good time before an employee gains sufficient service for ordinary unfair dismissal rights. You should get in touch with Kingfisher Professional Services Ltd for specific advice on probationary periods.

• Conduct / poor performance: We frequently find that employers experience conduct / performance issues with employees who have a length of service over 6 months but less than two years. After seeking advice on the individual facts of their case, at the moment, many businesses often find it is possible to dismiss such employees quickly and without following the usual disciplinary/poor performance process. However, this will no longer be an option for such employees once the law changes. This is likely to lead to an uptick in managers needing to deal with conduct / poor performance issues via a full formal process. As such, it will be important that managers are appropriately trained and have the support they need to deal with such matters appropriately and confidently. 

• Fixed term contracts: Remember that in law the non-renewal of a fixed term contract on expiry is considered a dismissal for unfair dismissal purposes so it will be important not to get caught out when the law changes. If you have an employee on a fixed term contract that you are considering not renewing, you should get in touch with us for advice, including on the steps to follow, in good time before the fixed term is due to expire – irrespective of when that date is.

It is important to bear in mind that there will continue to be no minimum period of service required for an employee to bring some employment tribunal claims such as automatically unfair dismissal claims (that is dismissal for a prohibited reason such whistleblowing) and discrimination. As such, even if an employee has insufficient service for protection against ordinary unfair dismissal it will continue to be important to seek advice before dismissing or taking any action in respect of an employee.

As you are already likely to be aware, unfair dismissals may become more costly for some with the removal of the statutory cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal also taking effect on 1^st January 2027.