Jessica O'ConnorMinisters have formally abandoned plans to give workers day-one protection against unfair dismissal, confirming that the qualifying period will instead be set at six months.
The change is intended to secure parliamentary support for the Employment Rights Bill and represents a significant dilution of Labour’s manifesto commitment.
The current threshold is 24 months.
Employment lawyers said the reversal reflects concerns about the impact of the original proposal on employers, probation periods and the tribunal system.
James Townsend, employment partner with Payne Hicks Beach, said: “The government’s U-turn – from promising day-one rights for ordinary unfair dismissal, to simply reducing the current qualifying period to six months – is welcome.
“There’s still time for Ministers to rethink and scale back other measures, particularly those that will significantly expand union power.”
Jo Mackie, employment partner at Michelmores, added: “This is no surprise. It was unwieldy and unworkable and we predicted this would happen as soon as it was launched.
“Probation periods are important for both employees and employers and the Tribunals would really have struggled to keep up with the raft of new claims that would have arisen.”
Six major business groups – the British Chambers of Commerce, CIPD, Confederation of British Industry, Federation of Small Businesses, Recruitment and Employment Confederation and Small Business Britain – issued a joint response welcoming the amendment.
In a collective statement, the organisations said: “Businesses will be relieved that the Government has agreed to a key amendment to the Employment Rights Bill which can pave the way to its initial acceptance.
“We welcomed this chance to hold meaningful dialogue and believe the constructive nature of our discussions can be a template to resolve outstanding issues.
“Businesses have always been clear that making the Employment Rights Bill work would take business, trade unions and government working together to find a landing zone for these major policy changes.”
The statement continued: “This agreement keeps a qualifying period that is simple, meaningful, and understood within existing legislation. It is crucial for businesses confidence to hire and to support employment, at the same time as protecting workers.
“This change addresses the key problem that must be sorted in primary legislation. It shows that dialogue works and is a model for how to consider the important questions that need answering in regulations before new rules come into force.
“Businesses will still have concerns about many of the powers contained in this Bill. This includes guaranteed hours contracts, seasonal and temporary workers and thresholds for industrial action.
“We remain committed to working with government and unions to dealing with this in the necessary secondary legislation to implement the Bill. We must ensure that it supports opportunity for workers while avoiding damage to economic growth.”
