Dismissed With Less Than Two Years’ Service: What Are Your Rights?

February 25, 2026February 14, 2026 by Tom Street

Calendar showing the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims

🔄 Updated for 2025/26 • Last reviewed: 25 February 2026 Written and reviewed by: Tom Street, Solicitor Principal, Tom Street & Co. Solicitors (SRA No. 566718) Last updated: 25 February 2026 ⏱️ 10 minute read Quick Summary If you’ve been dismissed with less than two years’ service, you generally can’t claim ordinary unfair dismissal. But that doesn’t mean you have zero rights. Claims for discrimination, whistleblowing, automatically unfair dismissal and …

Menopause in the Workplace: A Comprehensive Guide to Your Rights and Protections

September 11, 2024 by Tom Street

Introduction to Menopause and Employee Rights Menopause is a natural phase of life that can bring a variety of symptoms which might affect work performance. Understanding your rights and the legal protections available is crucial for navigating this stage while maintaining your career. This guide explores the legal framework surrounding menopause at work, particularly focusing on sex discrimination, and offers practical advice on managing this transition in the workplace. The …

Are Gagging Orders a Good Idea?

June 14, 2019February 27, 2019 by

A gagging order is basically a freely used term for privacy injunction. It can be an order granted by high court to restrict an information about a person or company being broadcasted or published. There can be various levels of gagging orders. For example, the names of the parties can be withheld but the information pertaining to those parties can be broadcasted or published. In order to obtain a gagging …

Do Employers have a Right to Refuse Evidence at a Misconduct Tribunal?

June 14, 2019February 4, 2019 by

The much discussed case of Hargreaves vs Manchester Grammar serves as a useful reminder for employers of the importance of a well conducted and responsible investigation, especially where the employee in question is facing consequences which may alter his career due to said allegations. In this case, the Employment Tribunal decided that it was reasonable for an employer to refuse to provide certain evidences of potential witness who had “seen …

Employers Need to Protect their Employees against Data Loss

June 14, 2019January 30, 2019 by

In July 2013, a begrudged Morrisons employee, who posted staff data on the internet was jailed for eight years and found guilty of fraud. Andrew Skelton, 43, leaked details of nearly 100,000 supermarket staff following an accusation of dealing in legal highs at work. He tried to cover his tracks by setting up a fake email account using a colleague’s details. Skelton abused his position as a senior internal auditor …

Court of Appeal overturns National Minimum Wage rules for Sleep in workers

January 29, 2019November 15, 2018 by

Over the past decade, EAT decisions appeared to have established that a myriad of sleep-in workers were liable to be paid minimum wages for every hour of their shift spent in the organisation, including the hours when they are asleep. In a recent case this year, the court of Appeal rejected the rule, stating that the workers will be paid only for the hours they were awake and carrying out …

Social Media and Employment

April 22, 2019May 14, 2018 by

In recent years, social media has evolved to become the voice of the masses. Whether it is joy, fun, anguish, disinterest, or even dislike, individuals find solace after posting what they feel, on social media. Normally, such emotional outbursts are fine as long as they do not come into direct conflict with anyone or anything. However, there are situations when you post something on social media (for example, any outburst …

Guide to Employer Relocation Rights

June 20, 2018May 13, 2018 by

Nowadays, companies may relocate for a number of reasons, for instance, consolidating properties to shift two workforces into one place after a merger, leveraging cheaper overheads, or even setting up regional offices in a bid to expand their market. Amidst all this, employees and workers are increasingly expected to keep focus at the workplace as organisations battle possible instability under the wake of impending takeovers and mergers. However, it is …