Changes to unfair dismissal rules

The qualification period for the right to claim unfair dismissal will be extended from one to two years with effect from 6 April 2012.

At the Tory party conference it was announced that the government is proposing to increase the qualifying period for employees to be able to bring a claim for unfair dismissal from one to two years at a saving of nearly £6m a year for business.  They also propose to introduce fees for lodging employment tribunal claims to transfer the cost burden from tax payers to the users of the system.  

The government predicts that these combined proposals should see the number of unfair dismissal claims drop by around 2000 a year and hopes that the latest development in their workplace reforms will increase business confidence to take on more workers.

The changes follow the ‘Resolving Workplace Disputes’ consultation published in January this year, which proposed measures to encourage early resolution of disputes, the speeding up of the tribunal process and measures to tackle weak and vexatious claims.

The detail of the levels of fees has not been confirmed yet, but it has been suggested that there may be an upfront fee of £250 for lodging an ET1, followed by a further fee of £1000 when the hearing is listed.  Higher fees may apply if the claim if for more than £30,000, and they may be waived for those without the means to pay.  The fees will be refunded if the claimant succeeds, and may be paid by the defendant.