On 6 April 2012, the qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal will increase from one year to two years. When the Government announced this change back in October 2011, it gave no indication as to how it would apply to existing employees, some of whom may already have qualified for unfair dismissal rights.

Although the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has not yet made a formal announcement, it has informally stated that, subject to Parliamentary approval, the new two year qualifying period will only apply to employees whose employment begins on or after 6 April 2012. Those who are already in employment before that date will retain the current one year qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal.