Terms and Conditions of Employment, the Unfair Dismissal and Statement of Reasons for dismissal (Variation of Qualifying Period) Order 1999
The length of service needed to gain protection from unfair dismissal is coming down from two years to one year from 1 June 1999.
Employees who are dismissed on or after 1 June 1999 will only need to have worked for the same or associated employer or have continuity of service protected by TUPE for one year - in other words since 31 May 1998 - to bring a claim in the Employment tribunal for unfair dismissal. They will also have the right to a written statement of the reasons for their dismissal, which must be asked for in writing. If their employer does not provide it, is slow in giving it, or gives inaccurate reasons, the employee can bring the claim to the Tribunal and get two weeks pay as compensation.
Other employment rights requiring two years service such as extended maternity leave and the right to a redundancy payment are not affected but maternity rights are being brought into line with the one year service rule in the Employment Relations Bill.