Hiring in July 2026: The new rules you need to know
From the 1st January 2027, the UK Employment Rights Act introduces major changes to unfair dismissal rules, with the continuous service required to claim unfair dismissal reduced from two years to six months. Whilst this change doesn’t take effect until next year, the impact begins now for employers.
Any employees hired in July 2026 with a six-month probation period will align with the point at which new unfair dismissal rights come into force, creating significant changes in the risk profile of hiring, managing performance and making probation decisions.
Changes from 1st January 2027
The qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal reduces from 2 years to 6 months
Employees gain the right to bring unfair dismissal claims much earlier in their employment
Day one protections (e.g. discrimination, whistleblowing) remain unchanged
How does this impact July 2026 hires?
Anyone hired before July 2026 and reached a minimum of six months’ service in January 2027 will have full employment rights
I’m hiring in July. What are the risks?
If you hire in July 2026, you are effectively onboarding employees who will:
Move into unfair dismissal protection automatically in January 2027
Potentially still be in probation or just completing it at that point
Require tighter documentation of performance from day one
You should also consider:
Delayed Decision Making
If you wait until the end of probation to act, you may already be entering a period which is legally higher risk.
Informal Probation
If you’re relying on informal feedback without documentation or proper processes, an unfair dismissal claim later will be very difficult to defend.
Timing Risk
Probation policies not aligned with the new threshold may expose you to claims. If you’re still designing probation periods based on the old rules, you’re on dangerous ground already.
Don’t get caught out, Start Planning Now
It’s never too early to be prepared, planning for upcoming changes should include
Updated probation clauses
Revised disciplinary processes
Clearer performance documentation standards
Review of fixed-term and early-stage contracts
The biggest shift is not actually a legal one; it’s operational. Probation is changing from being a flexible HR check-in to a legally sensitive decision-making time period. If you’re currently treating probation as a soft HR process, then this needs to change or you risk finding yourself exposed in 2027.