Will they – Won’t they?

The governmental power struggle currently fascinating all employment practitioners continues.

The House of Commons and the House of Lords recently locked horns over the manifesto promise made by the current regime to make unfair dismissal protection a ‘Day One’ right.

It appears now that the Government has thrown in the towel on this issue and is tabling an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill which would allow for a set probationary period of 6 months. The commencement date is likely to be 1st January 2027 which would provide protection for those employed after July 2026.

The next burning issue is the removal of the compensation cap for unfair dismissal (presently set at a year’s salary or £118,223, whichever is lower). Abolishing the caps did not feature in the original version of the bill unveiled in October last year.

Watch this space!