Changes to unfair dismissal protocol on government agenda

Plans are afoot to double the length of employee service needed prior to submitting an unfair dismissal claim.

Currently, an employee can launch an unfair dismissal case against their employer after one year. That could soon be changed to two under new proposals being discussed by the government.

David Cameron has appointed a new ‘enterprise czar,’ - former Tory minister Lord Young – in a bid to examine how government departments interact with businesses. Cameron aims to ‘slash red tape for businesses.’

One of the key focal points for Young will be the unfair dismissal system. He has announced that he will consider lengthening the time an employee needs to have worked for a firm prior to launching a claim for unfair dismissal.

Young said, “Back in the 1980s when we did that, the result was that employment starting shooting up again. I want to find out what small business people themselves think about this and then we’ll think about it.

“There are lots of lines I would like to go down... that is one of them but I would like to listen first,” he added.