Unfair dismissal

The Employment Bill that will lead to the Employment Act being brought into force has been published. The reach of the bill is immense, but the one proposed change that has attracted most attention is the Day 1 right to protection from unfair dismissal. ?BUT that ain’t necessarily so. It is expected now that there will be a statutory probationary period of 6 months maybe 9. That is to be consulted upon.

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Regardless of the legislation I have always advocated probation periods of 6 months to be capable of extended by up to a further 6 months by consent.

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It is important that Employment Law is built into workplace practice and the introduction of statutory probationary periods is a tool but a sharp one. The employer’s best friend is the diary. If you wait until 6 months to assess success of an appointment you may drift into the expiry of the probationary period without having taken action. Change your probationary period to 5 months and make sure the review is finalised before 6 or 9 if that is what emerges as the option the Government chooses.

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I intend over he next few months to analyse other aspects of the legislation.