I wanted to make you aware of an important change to employment law that will have a significant impact on how employers manage probationary periods, performance concerns and early-stage employment issues.
From 1 January 2027, employees will gain ordinary unfair dismissal protection after six months' service, rather than the current two-year qualifying period.
In practical terms, this means that any employee who starts employment on or before 1 July 2026 will have accrued six months' service by 1 January 2027 and will therefore be covered by unfair dismissal protection from that date. Employees who join after 1 July 2026 will acquire these rights once they reach six months' continuous service.
This change significantly reduces the flexibility employers have traditionally relied upon during an employee's first two years of service and places much greater emphasis on robust recruitment, effective onboarding, meaningful probation reviews and well-documented performance management processes.
I would strongly encourage you to review:
• Probationary periods and review schedules
• Performance management procedures
• Manager capability and confidence in having difficult conversations
• Documentation standards and record keeping
• Employment contracts and probation clauses
For many organisations, this means that waiting until the end of a probation period to address concerns may no longer be sufficient. Managers will need to be clear on expectations from the outset, hold regular review meetings, provide documented feedback and take timely action where performance or conduct issues arise.
The key takeaway is that employees who start employment before 1 July 2026 will automatically fall within the new six-month qualifying period when the legislation comes into effect on 1 January 2027. For all future hires, unfair dismissal protection will be acquired much earlier than employers have historically been accustomed to. As a result, it is more important than ever that probationary and performance management processes are robust, consistent and fully documented.
I recommend using the rest of 2026 to review your current processes and ensure managers are equipped to identify and address issues early, fairly and effectively.
If you would like support reviewing your probation process, updating documentation, training managers, or discussing how these changes may affect your business, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to help.
