Unfair Dismissal: The Day-1 U-Turn
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Professional Support Lawyer
UK
I am the professional support lawyer in Bird & Bird's International HR Services Group in London. I play a key role in keeping colleagues and clients ahead of the curve with employment law developments and market trends.
In a dramatic (but possibly not unexpected) twist of events last night, the government made a U-turn on its flagship manifesto policy of day-1 unfair dismissal rights.
It has now agreed to a 6-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal. It is also planning to lift the cap on unfair dismissal compensation - although it is unclear exactly what that means yet and how it would work in practice, the expectation is that the 52-week cap will be abolished, rather than the statutory cap. But we will have to wait and see.
Given this latest development, it is likely the Bill will be waved through Parliament and we will have the Employment Rights Act 2025 in time for Christmas.
"The government argued it was making the climbdown to stop its employment legislation being delayed in the House of Lords, where it has run into opposition."
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