Copy article

Unfair dismissal changes mean probation reviews need to tighten from 1 July 2026 starters, not suddenly in January

ended 25. February 2026

What’s changing, and when

Government guidance confirms that from 1 January 2027:

  • the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal reduces to 6 months
  • compensatory awards will be uncapped

This is framed as applying to dismissals from 1 January 2027. 

ACAS and Business.gov.uk also reflect the same direction of travel and date. 

Who is affected first (this is the bit that matters operationally)

As far as we have been made aware, this is why the 1 July 2026 starters point matters:

Anyone starting from 1 July 2026 will reach six months’ service on or after 1 January 2027, so they are the first cohort where the reduced qualifying period can bite in practice. A legal briefing spells this out very clearly. 

What does that mean for probation reviews

Probation needs to be treated as a real process for those starters, not a casual “let’s see how it goes”.

If you wait until January to “tighten up probation”, you risk it looking like:

  • you are creating paperwork after the fact
  • managers are inconsistent
  • you only document when it goes wrong

What you want instead is a clean, repeatable rhythm:

  • clear expectations early on
  • a timed mid-point review with notes
  • support offered and recorded
  • a decision meeting with reasons that are coherent and consistent

Discussion questions

  1. Is probation in your business a real process, or just 3 to 6 months of “let’s see”?
  2. Do you actually do mid-probation reviews on time, or do they magically appear when there’s a problem?
  3. Could you prove you supported someone during probation, or would it look like you made it up afterwards?
  4. Are your managers confident to fail probation properly, or do they avoid it and kick the can down the road?
  5. If unfair dismissal risk bites sooner, what breaks first: your paperwork, your managers, or your appetite for tough conversations?
  6. If someone starting 1 July 2026 challenged a termination later, would you feel calm, or would you be rummaging for evidence?

Sources

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/implementing-the-plan-to-make-work-pay-and-employment-rights-act/plan-to-make-work-pay-and-employment-rights-act-timeline-update 

https://www.acas.org.uk/dismissals/unfair-dismissal 

https://www.business.gov.uk/campaign/employment-changes/employee/unfair-dismissal-rights/ 

https://news.uk.cityam.com/story/2401844/content.html 

1 responses from the Newspage community

Copy all

Star Quote
Copy

Editor
Kate Underwood
Founder & Chief People Strategist at Kate Underwood HR and Training
Saying “this starts from 1 January” is lulling SMEs into a false sense of security. Based on the information we’ve been given, the practical reality is this: if the qualifying period becomes six months from 1 January, then anyone who started six months before that is suddenly in scope. That’s how changes like this have worked before. It’s based on service, not on when you fancy updating your processes. So businesses are sitting there thinking, “Fine, we’ve got time.” But do we? Or are we sleepwalking into a mess where July starters are the first group affected? We need answers in black and white. No more consultations. Not a vaguer “direction of travel”. No more false hopes and dreams that everything will be neatly ringfenced by a date on a slide deck. If the Government is changing something this fundamental, SMEs deserve certainty now. Because we are the ones who will be dealing with the fallout, the processes, the managers, and the claims.