Philip Hodges, of Hill Dickinson, on the employment law changes

THE qualifying period of employment for claiming unfair dismissal has been kicked around since the cause of action was first introduced in 1971.

In its early years, it was two years, then six months and then one year. In the mid-90s, a qualifying period of two years was again established for all employees. In 1999, the qualifying period was reduced to one year for all employees and it has remained at one year to this day.

There has always been a correlation between the length of service required to bring an unfair dismissal claim and the ideology of the government of the day, so it should come as no surprise that the Conservative-led team will increase the qualifying period once again.

The intention behind the change is to reduce the number of unfair dismissal claims made each year and that aim may be achieved.

However, the employment law landscape has changed significantly since the early Blair years. For example, the rights established by the discrimination legislation have been extended and “whistleblower” protection is now firmly established.

Claims within those categories and various others, do not have any qualifying length of service. Therefore, an unintended consequence of the increased qualifying period for unfair dismissal, from one to two years, is likely to be an increase in alternative claims, as claimants try to circumvent the new requirements.