Posted: Tuesday 15 November 2011
Unfair Dismissal Qualifying Periods Through The Years
As most people will know, and as covered in my previous blogs, the qualifying period for raising an unfair dismissal claim is currently one year but set to rise to two years in April 2012. The qualifying period though has not remained static since the introduction of unfair dismissal protection in 1971 and I thought a brief history lesson on how it has changed over the years might be of interest.
The following table sets out what the change to the qualifying period was, when it took place and the Government in power at the time.
|
Qualifying Period |
Year |
Act / Regulations |
Government |
|
2 years |
1971 |
Industrial Relations Act 1971 |
Conservative |
|
6 months |
1974 |
Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 |
Labour |
|
1 year |
1979 |
Unfair Dismissal (Variation of Qualifying Period) Order 1979 |
Conservative |
|
2 years (small firms) |
1980 |
Employment Act 1980 |
Conservative |
|
2 years (not restricted as above) |
1985 |
Unfair Dismissal (Variation of Qualifying Period) Order 1985 |
Conservative |
|
1 year |
1999 |
Unfair Dismissal and Statement of Reasons for Dismissal (Variation of Qualifying Period) Order 1999 |
Labour |
|
2 years |
2012 |
Not yet enacted |
Conservative - Liberal Democrat |
The pattern is fairly obvious: Conservative governments tend towards raising the period whereas Labour governments reduce the period. It is a safe bet to assume that if and when Labour returns to power, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims may well be reduced once again.
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