September 7th, 2026.



- Under the changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protection will drop from two years to just six months.

- Unless SME business owners and leaders act now, thousands could find themselves caught out and exposed to costly and time-consuming employment tribunal claims in the new year.

- Two other changes amplify the risk: the tribunal claim window is doubling from three months to six months; and the compensation cap is being removed, meaning awards could be significantly higher.

- Reviewing the duration of probation periods and strengthening recruitment processes can reduce this risk.


Small business owners are used to juggling everything: sales, operations, finance, customer service and, more often than not, HR. For many, managing employees is a practical, common-sense exercise built on experience rather than any formal HR training.....


For the full story at smallbusiness.co.uk CLICK HERE.