Watering Down Unfair Dismissal Rights

The Government announced this week that the unfair dismissal qualifying period is set to increase from one year to two years as of April 2012. This announcement comes as a taster to the Government's formal response to its consultation, "Resolving Workplace Disputes" which was published in January this year (2011).

Further changes include the introduction of Tribunal fees in a bid to prevent vexatious claims. Although the level of fees will be the subject of consultation in November, it is likely that these will come into effect as of April 2013. Current reports speculate that these could be as follows;

• Lodging ET1 – £250
• Hearing Listed - £1000 payable by Claimant
• If claim value over £30,000 – higher fees