Written by Heidi Wadsworth | 7th July 2025
There are a number of protections and entitlements that employees currently have from the very first day of their employment, such as protection against discrimination, the right to make a flexible working request, to be paid at the National Minimum wage, or to take maternity leave. Recent headlines have announced an additional day one right – protection from unfair dismissal.
However, that’s not quite the case and this confusion has led to some misunderstandings about what the new Employment Rights Bill will actually change.
Unfair dismissal is when someone’s employment is terminated without a valid reason or without following a fair process. If that happens, the employee has the right to take their case to an employment tribunal.
The new Bill, which is currently going through Parliament, will make a big change to these rules by scrapping the current two-year qualifying period. The government has now confirmed through its official ERB Implementation Roadmap that day one unfair dismissal protection will come into effect in 2027, not 2026 as previously anticipated. This extended timeline gives employers additional preparation time to strengthen their processes for fairly managing performance and conduct issues, as well as developing effective recruitment and probation processes.
In the government’s implementation roadmap for the Employment Rights Bill, it was confirmed that while day one unfair dismissal protection has been delayed to 2027, other significant employment rights changes will arrive much sooner. From April 2026, we’ll see ‘day one’ rights to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave, as well as statutory sick pay changes (removing the lower earnings limit and waiting period), and the establishment of the Fair Work Agency as the enforcement body for these new rights.
What is the day one right to unfair dismissal protection and what will this mean for employers?
At the moment, employees must be employed for two years before they can make a claim for unfair dismissal. This two-year rule has lowered the risks for employers when dealing with performance or conduct issues early on, effectively enabling them to use shortened processes before they reach the decision to dismiss.
Under the new law, that safety net will go. Employees will be able to bring an unfair dismissal claim from day one – unless they’re still in their “Initial Period of Employment”, or statutory probation period – if they feel their employment has been terminated for an unfair reason or that they haven’t been taken through fair process..
The government hasn’t confirmed how long this probation period will be, but it’s expected to be up to nine months.
If you’re dismissing someone during this period, you’ll still need to follow a fair process, but it’s likely to be simpler and more informal than usual (the government are calling it a “light touch” approach). For example, a one-to-one meeting where concerns are discussed and the employee can bring someone with them if they want.
It’s important to note that this simpler process won’t apply to redundancies. If you’re making someone redundant, you’ll still need to follow the full, fair process from day one.
How to prepare for this day one right
The 2027 timeline gives employers additional time to strengthen their recruitment and probation processes, but it’s important not to delay preparation.
- Strengthen your recruitment process
The best way to avoid unfair dismissal claims is to avoid dismissing anyone, and that means getting the right person on board from the start. That means more than just a good interview, it means having a structured recruitment process that helps you find the right fit, not just the best CV.
This involves clearly defining the role, so that you can ask better interview questions, and use practical assessment activities such as work trials, presentations or skills tests, to assess how well someone will perform.
Using psychometric testing can provide a clearer picture of candidates’ abilities, character and behaviour, to help you assess how well they will fit with your company culture. Putting time and effort into recruitment now will really pay off when the new rules come in.
Our recruitment training and support services are designed to help teams do just that. If you’d like help with any stage of the recruitment process, take a look at our recruitment services page.
- Develop a solid induction and probation process
Once someone starts, the next important step is onboarding. A good induction process sets clear expectations early on and gives both employer and employee a fair chance to see if things are working out.
This isn’t just about sending welcome emails or handing over policies. It’s about setting clear goals, giving regular feedback, and keeping track of progress. If any issues come up, spotting and dealing with them early reduces the chance of bigger problems later on.
Making sure that probationary periods are used effectively will make it easier to adjust to the day one right changes. Ensure that probationary periods are made clear to employees from the outset and included in their contract of employment, and that regular reviews are held throughout the probation period.
Make sure a formal end of probation period review takes place and ensure managers are trained how to effectively conduct these reviews, and the process of fairly ending employment.
Keeping good records is essential to show that a dismissal was fair and could make all the difference. Examples of good records include probation reviews, appraisal and performance management records, contracts, induction records, meeting notes and any correspondence you’ve had with the employee about performance, conduct or disciplinary issues.
We’ve developed a practical Induction & Probation Toolkit that helps you get this process right and reduces the risk of tribunal claims down the line. Our blog around managing probationary periods can also help you to prepare.
- Review your employee benefits and contracts
Lots of employers tie benefits and perks, like access to bonus schemes, hybrid working, or additional paid leave, to finishing probation or reaching a certain length of service. For example, you might offer company sick pay instead of statutory Sick Pay (SSP) once an employee has worked at the company for three months. Since the new rules may make employers consider changing their probation periods to nine months, now is a good time to review when these benefits kick in and whether they still make sense.
Think about what you’re promising from a legal and financial point of view. Review contracts and handbooks, but also your wider employee policies to make sure everything is clear, consistent, and up to date with the new rules. Consider what the right thing to do is – restricting benefits to new joiners for a longer period simply to align with new legal probation periods could make you less attractive as an employer and be out of line with your culture.
Are you ready for the Employment Rights Bill?
We’ve created a handy Employment Rights Bill Compliance Checklist to help businesses prepare. It walks you through what needs updating in your recruitment, probation and HR policies.
The checklist also covers other important changes coming with the new Bill, including updates around Statutory Sick Pay, zero hours contracts, flexible and secure working rights, and trade union recognition.
You can download it here.
With the confirmed 2027 timeline for day one unfair dismissal protection, businesses now have more time for thorough preparation. However, other ERB changes will arrive much sooner. Here is a summary of the implementation schedule: ,
- 2025 brings changes that will reinstate many union rights, granting stronger protections for workers
- April 2026 will introduce changes to family support provisions and sick pay entitlements
- October 2026 will strengthen protection from harassment and implement a ban on “hire and fire” practices
- 2027 Following further consultation, and alongside the day 1 rights to protection against unfair dismissal, we expect to see the introduction of bereavement leave, stronger rights for pregnant employees and rights for greater predictability of working hours, effectively ending the exploitation of zero-hour contracts
To help support you, we’re offering a complimentary 30-minute consultation to talk through your specific circumstances and help you assess where you stand.
If you would like to arrange this, or have any questions, please get in touch with our team at info@realityhr.co.uk.
We also have a dedicated Employment Rights Bill webpage with further resources here.
About the author: Heidi Wadsworth, Head of Learning and Development
Heidi leads our team of trainers, ensuring that the training sessions we deliver are always insightful and impactful. As an outstanding trainer herself, Heidi brings her trademark qualities of patience, approachability, and direct communication to all her sessions. As a qualified Insights Practitioner, she uses personality profiling to help individuals better understand themselves and those around them.