How will you ensure that the new day one unfair dismissal right positively impacts your organisation? We’ve shared our thoughts below.
The current plan
From autumn 2026 (timing still to be confirmed), unfair dismissal will become a day one right, albeit with the opportunity to terminate employment fairly during an initial probationary period (currently set to be nine months).
During those initial nine months, there is likely to be a ‘light-touch’ process and a lower compensation cap (if a finding of unfair dismissal is made). Where the termination is not directly related to the employee, such as a redundancy situation, a full and fair process will still be required even during the first nine months.
A focus on fundamentals
Never has there been a better time to ensure issues are nipped in the bud and managers are capable of having proactive conversations. Here are our thoughts on making a fast start…
Contracts and policies – make sure probation periods are crystal clear, including their length, opportunity to extend, and what the employee needs to do to succeed in securing employment.
Tech solutions – do you have a system that flags to managers when members of their team are reaching the end of their probation (and ideally what still needs to be done in order to pass).
Solid on-boarding and accountabilities – clearly map out what a great early-days’ experience looks like and ensure every role has accountabilities so expectations are clear.
Driving performance – set SMART objectives so new employees are clear on what needs to be achieved over the first few months. If more needs to be done to succeed, use our ‘on-track discussion’ to drive success.
Handling absence – be sure to extend the probation period if there are high levels of absence (having taken advice to ensure there is no discrimination risk).
Post-probation – confirming the probation period has been passed (if that’s the case) is vital, along with setting further objectives and driving performance beyond the first few months.
Get in touch if you’d like to chat with us about what these changes will mean for your organisation.
Don’t forget, Intelligent Employment has all the documents and templates to help drive performance from day one.
This update is accurate on the date it was published but may be subject to change which may or may not be notified to you. This update is not to be taken as advice and you should seek advice if anything contained within affects you or your business.
