Employees whose employment started before 6 April will remain subject to the one-year qualifying period. Thus, someone with 18 months' continuous employment on 6 April will not lose their right to claim unfair dismissal, and an employee with 11 months' service on that date will still only have to wait one month before being able to claim. The regulations to extend the qualifying period will be published shortly and will be subject to Parliamentary debate.
Unfair Dismissal Claims: Qualifying Period Details Confirmed
25 Jan 2012
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) confirmed that the increase in the qualifying period from one year to two years for unfair dismissal claims will apply only to new starters from 6th April 2012.