I’ve Been in My Job Less Than Two Years – Can I Still Be Unfairly Dismissed?
“You’ve been here less than two years, so technically we can just let you go.”
It’s a statement I’ve heard variations of many times.
And it’s one of those statements that contains just enough truth to make it particularly dangerous.
If you’ve been employed for less than two years and your employer suddenly starts questioning your performance, talking about whether you’re “the right fit”, extending your probation or suggesting that perhaps the role isn’t working out, you may understandably think you have very little protection.
But the position is more complicated than that.
Currently, most employees need two years’ continuous service before they can bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. But that does not mean an employer has complete freedom to dismiss somebody during their first two years.
And from 1 January 2027, that two-year qualifying period will reduce to six months.
That’s a significant change for employees — and for the way employers will need to approach those early months of employment.
What is the position today?
For dismissals taking effect before 1 January 2027, the general qualifying period for an ordinary unfair dismissal claim remains two years.
In simple terms, that means an employee with, say, 18 months’ service will not normally be able to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim purely because they believe the employer didn’t have a sufficiently fair reason for dismissing them.
But “normally” matters.
There are important protections that do not require two years’ service.
Depending upon the circumstances, dismissal can be automatically unfair for particular reasons, and discrimination protection does not suddenly appear after two years.
The Government has expressly confirmed that the Employment Rights Act 2025 does not change the existing day-one protections against discrimination and automatically unfair grounds for dismissal.
So before somebody concludes:
“I’ve only been there eight months, therefore I have no rights,”
the first question should really be:
“Why am I being dismissed?”
What changes on 1 January 2027?
This is where things become particularly interesting.
From 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal will reduce from two years to six months.
That means many more employees will gain ordinary unfair dismissal protection much earlier in their employment.
There is another important change.
The current statutory cap on the compensatory award available in an ordinary unfair dismissal case will also be removed from 1 January 2027. The Government has confirmed, however, that the underlying basis on which tribunals calculate compensatory awards will not change.
The right to request written reasons for dismissal will also move from a two-year qualifying period to six months.
For employees, that changes the significance of the first year of employment considerably.
For employers, it should change the way probation, performance concerns and early dismissals are managed.
Does this mean employers won’t be able to dismiss people after six months?
No.
This is an important distinction.
Unfair dismissal protection does not mean an employer loses the ability to dismiss.
An employer may still have a legitimate reason for ending employment.
Performance may genuinely be inadequate.
Conduct may be unacceptable.
A role may disappear.
The organisation may have another substantial reason for ending the employment relationship.
What changes is the potential scrutiny of why the dismissal happened and how the employer reached that decision.
The Government’s guidance is clear that employers will still be able to dismiss employees for legitimate reasons, including poor performance, provided the dismissal is fair and an appropriate fair process is followed.
That distinction matters.
“It’s just not working out”
Imagine you’ve been in a job for nine months.
Your probation review went reasonably well.
There has been no formal warning.
Nobody has clearly told you that your job is at risk.
Then your manager changes.
Suddenly, you’re being told your performance isn’t where it needs to be.
A few weeks later, you’re invited to a meeting and told:
“We’ve decided this isn’t working.”
Under today’s ordinary unfair dismissal rules, your length of service may substantially affect the legal position.
After 1 January 2027, an employee with nine months’ service could potentially be in a very different position because they will have crossed the new six-month threshold.
That doesn’t automatically make the dismissal unfair.
But it may mean the employer needs to be much better prepared to demonstrate what the problem was, how it was addressed and why dismissal was ultimately reasonable.
What will this mean for probation periods?
Probation has always been an interesting area because employees sometimes assume that being “on probation” means they have fewer legal rights.
A probationary period is primarily a contractual management mechanism.
It doesn’t switch employment law on and off.
The Government is now specifically encouraging employers to consider how their contractual probation arrangements will operate once the six-month unfair dismissal qualifying period takes effect.
I think this is one of the areas where we may see a genuine shift in management behaviour.
Historically, some organisations have allowed probation periods to drift.
Reviews are missed.
Objectives are unclear.
Probation is extended without much explanation.
Concerns remain undocumented until somebody eventually decides the employee isn’t right for the organisation.
Once ordinary unfair dismissal protection arrives at six months, that approach becomes considerably less comfortable.
What happens behind the scenes?
This is where my employer-side experience becomes particularly relevant.
When an organisation is considering ending somebody’s employment during relatively short service, HR will often ask questions the employee never hears.
How long have they worked here?
What does the contract say?
Are they still within probation?
What reason are we relying on?
Has that concern been documented?
Has the employee previously complained about anything?
Have they raised a health issue?
Have they asked for an adjustment?
Are they pregnant or on family-related leave?
Have they raised a whistleblowing, health and safety or other protected concern?
Could there be a discrimination issue?
Those questions aren’t administrative trivia.
They can materially change the risk surrounding a dismissal.
And this is why I would be cautious about looking only at the words used in a dismissal letter.
Sometimes understanding what happened before the decision is far more revealing.
Short service does not mean no protection
This is probably the most important message in this blog.
An employee who has not yet reached the ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying period may still have other potential protections.
For example, discrimination protection does not depend upon completing two years’ service.
There are also automatically unfair reasons for dismissal where the normal qualifying period does not apply.
The precise position depends upon what happened and why.
So if your employment suddenly ends after four, eight or 15 months, don’t automatically conclude:
“I can’t do anything because I haven’t been there for two years.”
Equally, don’t assume that because something feels unfair, it necessarily gives rise to an unfair dismissal claim.
Those are two different questions.
Timing is becoming particularly important
There is an unusual transition approaching.
For dismissals with an effective termination date before 1 January 2027, the current two-year ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying period remains in place.
From 1 January 2027, that qualifying period becomes six months.
That makes the effective date of termination potentially very significant for some employees around the end of this year.
There is another change worth knowing about.
For most employment tribunal claims, the usual time limit for notifying ACAS will increase from three months minus one day to six months minus one day from 1 October 2026.
That does not mean anyone should deliberately wait.
Employment disputes can involve different causes of action and different dates, and limitation questions can become complicated quickly.
But it is another important part of the changing landscape.
If you’re suddenly being managed differently, pay attention
Not every difficult conversation is the beginning of a dismissal process.
Managers are entitled to manage.
Employers are entitled to raise genuine concerns.
But employees usually know when something has changed.
Meetings become more frequent.
Feedback suddenly becomes unusually critical.
Things that were previously acceptable are now documented.
Responsibilities disappear.
You’re excluded from conversations.
A probation period is unexpectedly extended.
Or vague phrases such as “fit”, “confidence” or “concerns about the relationship” begin appearing.
None of those things automatically means an employer is planning to dismiss you.
But if you are concerned, understanding the wider context before reacting can be extremely valuable.
One of the biggest mistakes people make in workplace disputes is responding to the latest email without understanding the strategy developing around them.
The employer perspective matters
Employees sometimes ask me:
“Why would they do this?”
Often, understanding the employer’s perspective is more useful than trying to establish motive.
What risk does the organisation think it has?
What documents is it creating?
What process is it following?
What outcome might it be trying to achieve?
And what information does it have that you may not have seen?
Having spent many years on the employer side of complex employee relations matters, I know how differently the same situation can look from inside that decision-making process.
That is one of the reasons independent support can be valuable.
Not simply to tell somebody their rights, but to help them understand what may actually be happening around them.
Frequently asked questions
Can I currently claim ordinary unfair dismissal after six months?
Generally, no. For dismissals before 1 January 2027, the usual qualifying period remains two years. However, other protections — including discrimination and certain automatically unfair dismissal protections — may apply regardless of service.
When does the six-month rule start?
The new six-month qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal takes effect on 1 January 2027.
Does being on probation mean my employer can dismiss me for any reason?
No. Probation does not remove statutory employment protections. The legal position depends upon the reason for dismissal, your circumstances and, where relevant, your length of service.
Can employers still dismiss somebody for poor performance after January 2027?
Yes. The Government expressly says employers will still be able to dismiss for legitimate reasons such as poor performance, provided the dismissal and process are fair.
Someone in your corner
If you’re suddenly being told your performance isn’t good enough, your probation is being extended or your employer is suggesting that your employment may end, it can be tempting either to panic or to respond immediately.
Sometimes the more valuable first step is understanding what is actually happening, what matters and what doesn’t.
TrustForce provides independent workplace support to help employees make sense of difficult situations before deciding how they want to respond.
TrustForce — Someone in your corner.