Dismissing staff
Eligibility to claim unfair dismissal
Employees can usually only claim unfair dismissal if they’ve worked for a qualifying period. This is usually 2 years.
In some cases, the qualifying period is shorter or does not apply. For example, if an employee is claiming for an automatically unfair reason.
From 1 January 2027, most employees will be able to claim unfair dismissal after 6 months.
In Northern Ireland, the qualifying period is still usually 1 year.
Who cannot claim unfair dismissal
The right to complain to a tribunal about unfair dismissal is not available to:
- self-employed people
- independent contractors
- members of the armed forces
- employees who have reached a settlement with their employer through Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) or the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) in Northern Ireland
- employees who have reached a settlement with their employer through a ‘settlement agreement’ or ‘compromise agreement’ after taking legal advice
- employees employed under an illegal contract, for example a barman under the age of 18
- employees covered by a dismissal procedure agreement that’s been legally exempted from the unfair dismissal rules
- employees taking part in unofficial industrial action (unless the dismissal is for an automatically unfair reason)
- police officers (unless the dismissal relates to health and safety or reporting certain types of wrongdoing - this is known as whistleblowing)
- those working on a fishing vessel and paid by a share in the profits or gross earnings of the vessel