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New unfair dismissal laws will only apply to new starters
Date:20 Jan 2012 4:44PM
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According to Greenwoods Solicitors, when the qualifying period for unfair dismissal rises to two years in April 2012, this change will only affect employees who begin employment on or after 6 April 2012. It is planned that those already in employment on 6 April 2012 will retain the right to bring a claim for unfair dismissal with one year’s continuous service.
In October 2011 Business Secretary, Vince Cable, and Chancellor, George Osborne, announced that the qualification period for the right to claim unfair dismissal will be extended from one to two years. The move, which Ministers said could save British businesses £6m a year, followed the ‘Resolving Workplace Disputes’ consultation published in January 2011, which also proposed measures to encourage early resolution of disputes, the speeding up of the Tribunal process and measures to tackle weak and vexatious claims.
The Government claims these combined proposals should see the number of unfair dismissal claims drop by around 2,000 a year, but the proposed changes have dismayed many trade unions and employees, who see the change as unfairly biased in favour of the employer.
The Regulations that provide for the increase in qualifying period (yet to be published) are subject to Parliamentary approval but no opposition at this stage is expected.
New unfair dismissal laws will only apply to new starters
Date:20 Jan 2012 4:44PM
Add to scrapbook
According to Greenwoods Solicitors, when the qualifying period for unfair dismissal rises to two years in April 2012, this change will only affect employees who begin employment on or after 6 April 2012. It is planned that those already in employment on 6 April 2012 will retain the right to bring a claim for unfair dismissal with one year’s continuous service.
In October 2011 Business Secretary, Vince Cable, and Chancellor, George Osborne, announced that the qualification period for the right to claim unfair dismissal will be extended from one to two years. The move, which Ministers said could save British businesses £6m a year, followed the ‘Resolving Workplace Disputes’ consultation published in January 2011, which also proposed measures to encourage early resolution of disputes, the speeding up of the Tribunal process and measures to tackle weak and vexatious claims.
The Government claims these combined proposals should see the number of unfair dismissal claims drop by around 2,000 a year, but the proposed changes have dismayed many trade unions and employees, who see the change as unfairly biased in favour of the employer.
The Regulations that provide for the increase in qualifying period (yet to be published) are subject to Parliamentary approval but no opposition at this stage is expected.
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