Civil way: 11 May 2012

BACK WHERE WE STARTED
Two years, six months, one year, two years with a small employer, two years with small and large employers and one year. Such have been the qualifying periods for making an unfair dismissal claim since the Industrial Relations Act 1971 invented the right. We have to report that the avalanche of legislation faced by employment lawyers was even more acute than we had thought (see NLJ) and that the catchingly entitled Unfair Dismissal and Statement of Reasons for Dismissal (Variation of Qualifying Period) Order 2012 (SI 2012/989) and the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 (Tribunal Composition) Order 2012 (SI 2012/988), both of which were made on 30 March 2012, came into force on 6 April 2012. For employees who commenced employment on or after 6 April 2012, the qualifying period for an unfair dismissal claim and for the right to request a written statement of reasons for dismissal is raised to two years, which is where we came in. It is reckoned that the