Prior to the General Election earlier this year there was little suggestion from any of the main political parties that the qualifying period would be increased. At the end of last month however it was leaked (and appeared to be confirmed on Radio 4’s Today programme) that the Government is “actively considering” increasing the qualifying period for Unfair Dismissal from one year to two years. It is important to emphasise that no final decision has been made and there will be a consultation period about the proposal. The change, if it happens, would in all likelihood be good news for businesses who will have a further period of time in which to assess the suitability of employees without triggering Unfair Dismissal claims. Put simply employers have an extra year to dismiss unfairly. It is important to remember however that employees can bring Unfair Dismissal claims for a wide range of reasons under one year, if the dismissals are protected for certain statutory reasons, such as whistle blowing, health and safety, discrimination and trade union dismissals (to name but a few).

Watch this space.