For Ben Smith, senior associate at law firm Littler, reducing the current two-year qualifying period to six months is a “simpler solution for employers” that “will give some certainty”.
He added: “It avoids introducing new concepts into law that would take time to be clarified by the tribunal. But it is still a big change, and employers will need to update their policies and practices.”
But, said Smith: “In theory, the government could bring it into force sooner, as it is now a less complex change that will require less by way of regulations and guidance.”
Smith pointed out that one potential quirk was that the House of Lords amendment pushing for a six-month qualifying period retained the new concept of the “initial period of employment”, a statutory probation period.
He said: “It is unclear how this fits with the government’s announcement. If that concept is retained, it will be a potentially complex new process for employers to get to grips with.”
In the initial New Deal for Working People plan before the election, Labour said it wanted to entirely remove caps on compensation, Smith pointed out. “Removing the cap entirely would be a major change and could mean that dismissals carry more risk for employers, particularly where the employee was a high earner,” he said.
