Unfair Dismissal: Your Rights, Time Limits and Compensation

Reviewed 30 October 2026 · England and Wales · General information, not legal advice

A dismissal is unfair when the employer lacks a fair reason or a fair procedure. Most employees need two years of employment to claim until 31 December 2026, and six months for dismissals taking effect from 1 January 2027.

If you have been dismissed and your employer either had no fair reason or did not follow a fair procedure, you may be able to claim unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal in England and Wales. Today most employees need two years of employment with the same employer to bring an ordinary claim; for dismissals that take effect on or after 1 January 2027 the Employment Rights Act 2025 cuts that to six months. You must contact Acas before claiming and keep to a strict deadline, and a successful claim normally ends in compensation rather than your job back. This guide explains who qualifies, what makes a dismissal fair, the time limits, how awards are calculated and how people pay for advice.

Who can claim, and the change on 1 January 2027

Unfair dismissal is a statutory right under Part X of the Employment Rights Act 1996, available to employees (not the self-employed) with enough continuous employment. Which rule applies depends on your effective date of termination (EDT): the day your notice runs out or, if you were dismissed without notice, the day you were told to go.

• EDT on or before 31 December 2026: you need continuous employment of at least two years (section 108 of the 1996 Act).
• EDT on or after 1 January 2027: you need six months. Section 25 of the Employment Rights Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, makes the change, and it applies even where notice was given before the new year.

In practice, anyone who started on or before about 1 July 2026 and is dismissed in January 2027 or later will qualify. The earlier proposal for day-one protection was dropped, so six months is the settled position. The same threshold will apply from 2027 to the right under section 92 to demand written reasons for dismissal, which the employer must supply within 14 days.

Northern Ireland has its own system: the qualifying period there is one year, claims go to an industrial tribunal and conciliation is run by the Labour Relations Agency rather than Acas.

What makes a dismissal fair or unfair

An employer defending a claim must first show that the real reason for the dismissal was one of the five potentially fair reasons in section 98 of the 1996 Act:

1. Capability or qualifications, which covers poor performance and long-term ill health.
2. Conduct, from persistent lateness to gross misconduct such as theft or violence.
3. Redundancy, where the work has genuinely dried up (see the guide to redundancy rights and statutory redundancy pay).
4. A statutory restriction that makes it unlawful to keep you on, such as a driver losing their licence.
5. "Some other substantial reason", a catch-all that includes business reorganisations and a breakdown in working relationships.

A fair reason is only half the test. Under section 98(4) the tribunal asks whether the employer acted reasonably in treating that reason as sufficient, taking into account its size and resources and the equity and substantial merits of the case. Tribunals apply the "band of reasonable responses": the question is not what the tribunal would have done but whether dismissal was open to a reasonable employer.

Procedure counts as much as the reason. In a misconduct case the employer must genuinely believe you did it, on reasonable grounds, after a reasonable investigation. The Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures sets out the expected steps: an investigation, a letter setting out the allegations and evidence, a meeting at which you can be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative, a written decision and the chance to appeal. The Code does not cover redundancy dismissals, but where it applies a tribunal can raise or lower compensation by up to 25% under section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 if either side unreasonably ignored it. Capability dismissals need warnings and a genuine chance to improve; ill-health dismissals need medical evidence and consultation about alternatives.

Automatically unfair dismissals

Some reasons are automatically unfair, and most of them need no qualifying service at all. They include dismissal for:

• pregnancy or maternity, or taking paternity, adoption, shared parental, parental, carer's or neonatal care leave;
• making a protected disclosure (whistleblowing), where compensation is already uncapped;
• raising health and safety concerns;
• asserting a statutory right, such as the National Minimum Wage or paid holiday;
• trade union membership or activities and, since 18 February 2026, taking part in lawful industrial action however long it lasts;
• making a flexible working request, doing jury service, or being a part-time or fixed-term employee;
• a transfer of the business under the TUPE regulations, unless there is an economic, technical or organisational reason.

On the government's current timetable, dismissing someone from March 2027 for refusing a change to their contract ("fire and rehire") will become automatically unfair in most situations. Where the reason is that you acted as a health and safety or employee representative, a pension trustee or a trade union member, the basic award cannot be less than £9,157. Dismissal because of a protected characteristic is discrimination, which needs no qualifying service and has no compensation cap; the guide to discrimination at work covers those claims.

Wrongful dismissal is a different claim

Wrongful dismissal is a breach of contract claim rather than a statutory one. It arises when you are dismissed without the notice your contract or section 86 of the 1996 Act requires: at least one week after a month's employment, one week for each complete year between two and twelve years, and twelve weeks after twelve years. An employer can dismiss summarily, without notice, only for gross misconduct; if a tribunal decides the behaviour did not justify that, you recover the pay and benefits you would have earned during the notice period. There is no qualifying period, so it is often the only claim for someone dismissed early in a job.

The tribunal can hear a contract claim alongside unfair dismissal but can award no more than £25,000 for it, so a high earner with a long notice period may do better in the civil courts, where the limitation period is six years but fees apply. If you resigned because of your employer's conduct rather than being sacked, the relevant claim is constructive dismissal, which the law treats as a dismissal for both purposes.

Time limits and Acas early conciliation

The clock starts on the effective date of termination. Where the dismissal takes effect on or after 1 October 2026 the time limit is six months less one day, so a dismissal on 15 October 2026 has a deadline of 14 April 2027 before any Acas extension. For dismissals before 1 October 2026 the former limit of three months less one day still applies. A tribunal can extend time only where it was "not reasonably practicable" to claim in time, a test applied strictly; not knowing the deadline rarely counts.

Before you can submit a claim you must notify Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) and go through early conciliation. It is free and compulsory, and a conciliator will try to broker a settlement with the employer for up to 12 weeks, a period extended from six weeks on 1 December 2025. The time limit pauses from the day after you notify Acas until the day the certificate is received, and if the limit would otherwise run out within a month of the certificate you have until one month after it. You then enter the certificate number on the ET1 claim form. The guide to making an employment tribunal claim explains each stage that follows.

What you can be awarded

A successful claim brings two separate awards, with figures revised each April.

The basic award

The basic award follows the statutory redundancy pay formula: half a week's pay for every full year of employment when you were under 22, a week for every year aged 22 to 40 and one and a half weeks for every year aged 41 or over, counting a maximum of 20 years. A week's pay is capped at £751 for dismissals on or after 6 April 2026, so the maximum is £22,530. Any statutory redundancy pay you have already received is deducted.

The compensatory award

The compensatory award is whatever the tribunal considers just and equitable for your financial loss: net earnings from the dismissal to the hearing and for a reasonable period afterwards, lost pension contributions and benefits, the cost of looking for work and a modest sum for loss of statutory rights. You are expected to limit your loss by seeking work. Where the dismissal takes effect by 31 December 2026 the award is capped at the lower of £123,543 or 52 weeks' gross pay; where it takes effect from 1 January 2027 the Employment Rights Act 2025 removes the cap entirely. Most awards fall far short of the cap: the median unfair dismissal award in 2023/24 was £6,746.

Reductions and adjustments

Three adjustments commonly reduce an award. A "Polkey" reduction, named after a 1988 case, cuts the compensatory award by the percentage chance that you would have been fairly dismissed anyway had the employer followed a proper procedure. A finding of contributory fault reduces both awards where your own blameworthy conduct played a part, occasionally by 100%. And the Acas Code adjustment of up to 25% can work in either direction.

Reinstatement and re-engagement

The tribunal can order reinstatement to your old job or re-engagement in a comparable one, with back pay. Such orders are rare because few claimants want to return, and an employer who refuses to comply without good reason pays an additional award of 26 to 52 weeks' pay, currently £19,526 to £39,052.

Settling, funding and getting advice

Most claims settle before a hearing, either through Acas on a COT3 form or through a settlement agreement drawn up by the employer, which binds you only if you have taken independent legal advice on it. There are no tribunal fees and each side usually pays its own legal costs whatever the result, so the real decision is how to fund your own advice.

An employment law solicitor will assess the strength of the claim, work out realistic compensation, handle Acas conciliation and the ET1, and either negotiate a settlement or run the case to a hearing. Ways of paying include legal expenses cover on a household or motor insurance policy, trade union representation, a no win no fee damages-based agreement under which the solicitor keeps a share of what you recover, capped by law at 35% including VAT, fixed fees for individual stages, and hourly rates for the whole case. Legal aid does not pay for tribunal representation in England and Wales beyond limited telephone advice in discrimination cases, but Citizens Advice, law centres and the Acas helpline give free help; see can I get legal help for free?. A simple claim for unpaid notice or holiday pay is manageable alone; a disputed dismissal with tens of thousands of pounds at stake is not.

Before you instruct anyone, gather your contract, payslips, the dismissal letter and any disciplinary paperwork, and write down your EDT and deadline. You can compare employment law solicitors in Manchester or use the solicitors near me search to find a firm offering a free first meeting, and the overview of what employment law covers is a useful place to start.

Frequently asked questions

Can I claim unfair dismissal if I was dismissed during my probation period?

Probation has no special legal status; what matters is your continuous employment at the effective date of termination. If your dismissal takes effect on or before 31 December 2026 and you have under two years of employment, you can only claim if the reason was automatically unfair or discriminatory, although you may still have a wrongful dismissal claim for unpaid notice. From 1 January 2027, six months of employment is enough, so a six-month probation that ends in dismissal after that date will often be open to challenge.

What if notice was given in 2026 but ends in January 2027?

The effective date of termination decides which rules apply, and where notice is given that is the date the notice expires. An employee given notice in December 2026 that runs out on 10 January 2027 is dismissed under the new rules: a six-month qualifying period and no cap on the compensatory award. Employers who want the old rules to apply need the dismissal to take effect by 31 December 2026, which is why some are expected to act before the end of the year.

How much compensation do people actually get?

Far less than the headline cap in most cases. The basic award depends on age, length of employment and a week's pay capped at £751, and the compensatory award reflects your real financial loss, less any reductions for contributory fault or a Polkey finding. The median unfair dismissal award in 2023/24 was £6,746. Someone who finds a new job quickly loses little; someone out of work for a year with pension losses can recover much more, up to the cap until it is removed for dismissals from 1 January 2027.

Can an employer dismiss someone without any warning?

Only for gross misconduct, and even then a fair process is expected: an investigation, a disciplinary meeting at which you hear the allegations and can respond, and a right of appeal. For poor performance or minor misconduct the Acas Code expects a series of warnings and a chance to improve before dismissal. Skipping those steps does not make the dismissal unfair automatically, but it usually does in practice, and an unreasonable failure to follow the Code can increase compensation by up to 25%.

Do I have to go through Acas before claiming?

Yes. Early conciliation is compulsory for almost every tribunal claim, and the ET1 form asks for your certificate number. Notifying Acas is free and takes a few minutes online or by phone; taking part in the conciliation itself is voluntary for both sides, and either can end it. The process lasts up to 12 weeks and pauses your time limit, so notifying Acas within the original deadline is the single most important step in protecting a claim.

Can I get my job back?

A tribunal can order reinstatement or re-engagement if you ask for it in your claim and the order is practicable, but it makes such orders in only a small minority of cases, partly because trust has usually broken down by the time of the hearing. If the employer refuses to comply without good reason, you receive an additional award of between 26 and 52 weeks' pay on top of your compensation.

Related guides

• Constructive Dismissal: When Can You Resign and Claim?
• How to Make an Employment Tribunal Claim: Acas, Time Limits and Hearings
• Settlement Agreements: What They Are and Why You Need a Solicitor
• Redundancy: Your Rights, Consultation and Statutory Redundancy Pay
• What Is Employment law?

This guide describes the law in England and Wales as at 30 October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice about your situation; the law and the figures it quotes change, so check the position with a solicitor before acting. LawFirms.co.uk is a directory and does not provide legal services.