From January 2027, the rules around dismissal change fundamentally. Unfair dismissal protection becomes a right from 6 months, instead of the previous 2 years. If your onboarding, probation, and employment processes have not kept pace, now is the time to act.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) has generated a lot of conversation across HR and legal circles, much of it focused on pay transparency and dismissal procedures. But one of the most immediate shifts will be felt somewhere many organisations have historically underestimated: the very beginning of the employment relationship.
Probation has long felt like a lower-risk period. With the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal acting as a buffer, employers could move relatively freely in those early months. That changes in January 2027. And there is more to come.
January 2027: What Is Actually Changing?
From January 2027, the unfair dismissal protection an employee has will come into effect from six months, not the existing two years. This means where employers previously could dismiss without a legally fair reason in early-stage employment; dismissals will now require legal justification after six months.
An unfair dismissal claim applies if an employee is dismissed without a fair reason or a fair process.
It is possible for an employer to dismiss fairly for five reasons: conduct, capability (which can include poor performance and ill health), redundancy, breach of a statutory requirement, and “some other substantial reason”. If the employer can show that the dismissal was for one of those reasons, the tribunal will consider whether the employer has followed a fair procedure, and whether it was reasonable for the employer to dismiss for that reason.
Practically, this affects your employees you are hiring now; as they will gain these rights from January 2027 if they have more than six months’ service.
To understand why this reform feels so significant, it helps to be clear on where things stand today.
Right now, employees in their first two years of employment do not have the right to bring an unfair dismissal claim. If you hire a group of people and decide some aren’t the right fit, you have real flexibility. In most cases, it’s a conversation, a notice period, and a final pay calculation. No formal process required, provided there’s no discrimination or breach of contract involved.
From January 2027, that changes substantially.
With six month unfair dismissal rights in place, a new starter dismissed after six months could bring a claim if the process wasn’t fair. Documented concerns, a formal meeting, the opportunity to respond, and a clear written record throughout.
For employers used to making early workforce decisions informally, this is a significant shift. Where redundancy is the reason, even for employees only a few months in, a proper redundancy process will need to be followed. That means genuine consultation, consideration of alternatives, and where applicable, statutory redundancy pay.
The informality many employers have relied on simply won’t be available in the same way. That’s not a reason to panic. But it is a reason to act, and to act now, while there is still time to get the right foundations in place
What Employers Need to Know and Do Right Now
These changes effect your current new hires. If you have not already started preparing, here is where to focus your energy.
Review Your Employment Contracts
Probation clauses need to be clearly and lawfully drafted. Vague language around notice during probation, extension rights, and performance expectations will not hold up well under scrutiny. Make sure your contracts say what you actually intend them to mean.
Redesign Your Onboarding Process
From day one, employees must receive clear written information covering pay, working hours, probation length, notice periods, and how grievance procedures work. This is not just a legal requirement. It is the foundation of a healthy working relationship. When people understand what is expected of them from the start, disputes are far less likely to arise.
Build a Structured Probation Framework
- Set clear objectives. Define what success looks like during probation, with measurable targets the employee understands from day one.
- Schedule regular reviews. Diarise check-ins at 30, 60, and 90 days. Use these to raise concerns early, acknowledge progress, and course correct where needed.
- Document as you go. Keep records of every review and feedback conversation. Not to build a case against someone, but to demonstrate a consistent and fair process.
Train Your Managers
Managers are often the weakest link in probation processes, through no fault of their own. Many have never been trained in having difficult conversations early, giving structured feedback, or keeping records in a way that would withstand scrutiny. Invest in that training now not after a problem arises.
Revisit Your Recruitment Processes
When day-one dismissal protection applies, hiring decisions carry more weight. Make sure role descriptions are accurate; interviews are structured and documented, and probation expectations are clearly set before someone even starts.
Why This Matters: The Real Risk of Getting It Wrong
Let’s be honest about how probation actually works in most organisations.
A new starter joins. There’s a loose induction, a few informal catch-ups with their manager, some verbal feedback along the way , and then somewhere around month five or six, a decision gets made. Concerns that were never formally raised. Conversations that happened but were never written down. Good intentions that simply weren’t documented.
That approach has always carried risk. From January 2027, it carries significantly more.
A Shift in the Law and in the Stakes
While the change doesn’t come into effect until January 2027, the implications are worth thinking through now, because the way organisations hire, onboard, and manage new starters may need to fundamentally shift.
Under the incoming reforms, employees will be entitled to unfair dismissal protections after six months employment. The current two-year qualifying period, long the safety net that gave employers room to course-correct early hires, will be gone. An employee dismissed even days after six months, without a fair and documented procedure, could have grounds to bring a claim.
The margin for error is shrinking.
So What Does This Actually Mean in Practice?
This is where it gets interesting, and where the employment law community is only beginning to grapple with the real-world consequences.
Will we see a surge in tribunal claims? Almost certainly. With more rights comes a far larger pool of potential claimants. Employees who previously had no legal recourse in the early years of employment will now have options. Even where claims lack merit, defending them is costly, time-consuming, and disruptive.
But here’s the harder question: will employers start letting people go earlier? There’s a real concern that some organisations, particularly those without strong HR infrastructure, may become more risk-averse, moving to exit employees before the six-month period is up rather than investing in a proper performance process. If that happens, new starters could find themselves dismissed before they’ve genuinely had the chance to demonstrate what they can do. That’s a poor outcome for everyone.
And will hiring itself become more cautious? Possibly. If employers feel they have less flexibility in the early months, some may raise the bar on recruitment, investing more heavily in selection processes, extending notice periods, or simply becoming more hesitant about taking a chance on a candidate who isn’t a perfect fit on paper. The unintended consequence could be a chilling effect on opportunity, particularly for those re-entering the workforce or changing careers.
A Well-Intentioned Change : But Not Without Consequences
It’s worth acknowledging what the government is trying to achieve here. Extending unfair dismissal rights is, at its core, about giving workers greater security and dignity in the workplace. The idea that someone can be let go after almost two years with no recourse, no explanation, and no process has long been a source of genuine concern and rightly so. These reforms are designed to address that imbalance.
But good intentions and real-world outcomes don’t always align. And what we’re increasingly seeing well before January 2027 is anxiety from employers about what this actually means for them in practice.
The concern isn’t just about the legal mechanics. It’s about feeling trapped. If dismissing someone in the early years of employment now requires a more structured process, some employers are already questioning whether it’s safer to act sooner rather than later. Not because it’s the right thing to do, but because the complexity of what comes next feels daunting.
That instinct, while understandable, is exactly the kind of reactive thinking that leads to poor decisions, unnecessary claims, and a worse experience for everyone involved.
The Bottom Line
Employment tribunal claims are expensive, time-consuming, and reputationally damaging, even when you win. A structured, fair, and well-documented probation process is a fraction of the cost of getting it wrong.
The organisations that will navigate this change well aren’t the ones that wait until January 2027 to act. They’re the ones that use the time between now and then to build processes that are genuinely fair, consistently applied, and properly recorded, not just legally defensible, but reflective of the kind of employer they want to be.
That’s where we come in. At Thrive, we’re already helping employers think through what this means for their onboarding frameworks, probation policies, and manager capability. Because the best time to get this right isn’t when a claim lands on your desk. It’s now.
How Thrive Law Can Support You
At Thrive Law, we see ERA 2025 as an opportunity, not just an obligation. The organisations that prepare thoughtfully, aligning their documentation, people processes, and leadership capability, will not only reduce legal risk. They will create stronger, more resilient employment relationships from day one.
We can help you with:
- Reviewing and updating employment contracts and written particulars
- Auditing your onboarding and probation frameworks
- Training your managers in fair and effective performance management
- Advising on zero-hours contracts and workforce planning ahead of the 2027 changes
- Supporting you through collective redundancy, restructure, and workforce change processes
- Keeping your HR and leadership teams updated as further ERA 2025 regulations are confirmed
April 2026 is almost here. 2027 will follow. The organisations that act now will be the ones who find these changes manageable, not overwhelming.
Ready to get ahead of the changes?
Get in touch with our team to talk through what ERA 2025 means for your organisation and what you need to do next. Whether you need contract reviews, manager training, or a full audit of your employment processes, we are here to help.
Email us at enquiries@thrivelaw.co.uk or call us on 0113 861 8101.
Disclaimer: This blog is for reference purposes only and reflects the legal position as of the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice. Specific advice should always be sought based on your organisation’s individual circumstances. ERA 2025 implementation dates for 2027 are subject to confirmation through secondary legislation.
