On the announcement of the Employment Rights Bill, the government stated they were planning to make changes to unfair dismissal and introduce day one rights to employees. This has left a lot of employers asking what this change means for them, and how it will affect their existing procedures and policies.
What’s the existing framework for claiming unfair dismissal?
At present, any employee wanting to take their employer to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal, must have worked for them for at least two years before the claim can be placed. However, this doesn’t qualify for automatically unfair reasons, such as pregnancy, union membership, and whistleblowing. In these instances an employee can bring a claim to tribunal, before they start working for the employer similarly with being dismissed due to political or religious beliefs. Employees must also have worked at a business for at least two years before they can request a written reason for dismissal. Unless the employee in question is dismissed while pregnant, during maternity leave or adoption leave.
