From 1 January 2027, you will be able to claim unfair dismissal after six months in the job instead of two years.
That is the whole change in one line. It comes from the Employment Rights Act 2025, section 25, and the date is fixed by commencement regulations, not promised.
One thing needs clearing up first, because it constantly catches people out.
This is not the October 2026 change
Two separate reforms land ten weeks apart, and both involve the number six. They are not the same thing.
- 1 October 2026 — your deadline. The time limit for starting most employment tribunal claims goes from three months to six months. That is about how long you have to act.
- 1 January 2027 — your eligibility. The qualifying period for unfair dismissal goes from two years to six months. That is about whether you can bring the claim at all.
Different dates, different laws, different questions. You could be eligible and still be out of time; you could be inside the deadline and still not qualify. Both have to be right. The deadline change has its own page here. Everything below is about eligibility.
What decides it is the day your job ends
Not the day you started. Not the day you were told. The day your employment actually finishes.
The new rule follows your effective date of termination
The six-month qualifying period applies where your effective date of termination falls on or after 1 January 2027.
If your employment ends before that date, the old two-year period still applies — even by a single day.
Being told in December 2026 does not settle it. Notice given in December that expires on 20 January 2027 puts your effective date of termination in January — so the new rule applies.
This is Regulation 4 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 4) Regulations 2026.
If you are not sure which side of the line your dates fall on, get it checked rather than assume.
What "six months" actually means
Six months of continuous employment with the same employer, running up to the date your job ends. Anyone employed on or before 1 July 2026 already has it by the time the change lands. If you started later, you reach it at six months. There is nothing to apply for — it happens on its own.
One wrinkle sits right on the line. Once you have been employed a month you are entitled to at least a week's statutory minimum notice, and where an employer dismisses without giving it, your qualifying service runs to the date that notice would have expired. So a dismissal at five months and three weeks can count as six. Not for gross misconduct. Worth having checked.
Three other things change on the same day
- Written reasons for dismissal. The service needed to ask your employer for a written statement of why you were dismissed drops from two years to six months too.
- Spent convictions. The qualifying period for protection against dismissal for the reason of a spent conviction is removed altogether.
- The compensation cap goes. Section 124 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 is repealed. The compensatory award is currently capped at the lower of £123,543 or 52 weeks' gross pay. From 1 January 2027, no ceiling.
That last one is easy to over-read. Removing the cap does not change how compensation is worked out — it is still the actual and projected losses you can evidence, and most awards already sit well below the current cap. And losses have to be evidenced, not estimated in hindsight.
Under six months? You are not without rights
This is the part that gets lost. The qualifying period only ever applied to ordinary unfair dismissal. A long list of claims carry no service requirement at all, and never did:
- Discrimination, harassment and victimisation under the Equality Act 2010 — day one, and in fact before day one, since job applicants are covered too.
- Automatically unfair dismissal — where the reason is one the law treats as never acceptable: pregnancy and maternity, whistleblowing, trade union membership or activities, health and safety, asserting a statutory right.
- Unpaid wages and unlawful deductions, including National Minimum Wage claims.
- Statutory notice pay, once you are past a month's service.
None of this changes on 1 January 2027. If you have been there three weeks and something seriously wrong has happened, do not conclude you have no recourse — the route may just not be the one called "unfair dismissal".
One boundary worth noting: the January 2027 change applies in England, Scotland and Wales. Not Northern Ireland, where unfair dismissal law is devolved and follows its own timetable.
What to do between now and January
If you are new in a job and things are going badly, do not wait for a date on a calendar.
Write down what is happening while it is fresh — dates, times, who was in the room, what was actually said. Keep the emails, the review notes, the probation paperwork somewhere private on your own device. Not on a work laptop or a work email account you could lose access to on an afternoon's notice.
That record is what a union rep needs on the first call and what ACAS asks for, whichever route turns out to be yours. It commits you to nothing — and building it is exactly what Stewrd is for.
And if a deadline is what you are actually worried about, that is the other change: employment tribunal time limits from October 2026.
Six months goes quickly. Start the record now.
Stewrd is an AI workplace companion for UK workers — built by a former union rep and branch secretary. It explains where you stand in plain English and builds a private, dated record as you go, straight from your phone. Ready to hand to a rep, ACAS or an adviser when it matters.
Know your rights. Record what matters.
Common questions
Do I have to wait until January 2027, or does it depend on when I'm dismissed?
It depends on when your employment actually ends. The six-month rule applies where your effective date of termination falls on or after 1 January 2027. End before that date and the old two-year period still applies, even by a day.
Is this the same as the six-month change coming in October 2026?
No. October 2026 is your deadline for starting a claim. January 2027 is your eligibility to claim unfair dismissal at all. Two rules, two dates, neither affecting the other.
I started my job in early 2026. Will I be covered?
If you were continuously employed on or before 1 July 2026, you already have six months' service by 1 January 2027. If you started later, you reach it at six months.
I have less than six months' service. Does that mean I have nothing?
No. Discrimination claims have never had a qualifying period, and neither have automatically unfair dismissal claims, unpaid wages or minimum wage claims.
Does removing the compensation cap mean bigger payouts?
Not on its own. Compensation is still worked out from your evidenced losses. Most awards already sit well below the current cap.
Where does this come from?
Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36), section 25; and Regulations 3 and 4 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 4 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/559), both on legislation.gov.uk. Government guidance: business.gov.uk.