The 182-Day Deadline: What UK Employers Must Do Before 1 January 2027

From 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal drops from two years to six months. That means any employee who reaches Day 182 of continuous service gains the right to bring an unfair dismissal claim. The Employment Rights Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, makes this the single biggest shift in employer risk in a generation. If your probation process isn't built to make a defensible decision before that deadline, you are exposed.

Not sure where your current probation process falls short? Request a free sample audit from ProbationWatch and see exactly where the gaps are before the law changes.

What Is the 182-Day Deadline for UK Employers?

The 182-day deadline is the point at which an employee completes six calendar months of continuous employment. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, this is when ordinary unfair dismissal protection kicks in. Before this change, employees needed two years of service to bring a claim. From January 2027, that safety buffer shrinks to six months.

The government estimates that 6.3 million additional employees will gain unfair dismissal protection as a result. ACAS expects roughly 9,000 more early conciliation referrals per year, with around 3,000 progressing to tribunal claims.

This isn't a gradual shift. It's a hard line: Day 181, you can dismiss with relatively limited legal exposure. Day 182, you face an uncapped compensation claim if the process wasn't fair.

When Does the Six-Month Unfair Dismissal Rule Come Into Force?

The six-month qualifying period takes effect on 1 January 2027. It applies to all employees whose continuous service reaches six months on or after that date. If you hired someone in July 2026, they cross the threshold in January 2027. This isn't limited to new hires made after the law changes. It catches anyone whose service clock hits 182 days from 1 January 2027 onward.

The Act also removes the compensation cap for unfair dismissal. Currently set at £118,223 or 52 weeks' gross pay (whichever is lower), this cap is abolished entirely from January 2027. Awards will instead be based on actual financial loss, with no statutory ceiling.

What Happens When an Employee Reaches Six Months' Service?

Once an employee completes six months of continuous employment, they gain the right to claim ordinary unfair dismissal. This means that if you dismiss them, you must demonstrate a fair reason (capability, conduct, redundancy, statutory restriction, or some other substantial reason) and that you followed a fair process in reaching your decision.

Before the change, most employers treated probation as an informal window where they could part ways without much legal risk. That assumption becomes dangerous from 2027.

Here's what changes in practice:

Before January 2027: An employee dismissed at month five has no unfair dismissal claim (assuming no automatically unfair reason applies). The employer doesn't need to prove a fair process.

After January 2027: The same employee dismissed at month five with no documentation, no structured reviews, and no evidence of support provided is a tribunal risk. And if the employee passed month six without a decision, the employer must now meet the full statutory test for fair dismissal.

What Changes to Unfair Dismissal in 2027?

The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces several connected changes that compound the risk for employers who don't update their probation processes:

Qualifying period reduction. Two years becomes six months. This is the headline change and the one that rewrites how probation periods function in practice.

Compensation cap removal. Unfair dismissal awards are no longer capped. A senior employee earning £80,000 who is unfairly dismissed could secure an award significantly exceeding the old cap, based on their actual losses.

Tribunal volume increase. Employment tribunal single claim receipts were already up 20% year-on-year in Q2 2025/26, with 515,000 claims currently outstanding. The six-month change will add thousands more.

ACAS Code compliance. Failure to follow the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures can increase a tribunal's compensation award by up to 25%. This makes structured, documented probation management a direct financial concern.

ProbationWatch tracks the 182-day countdown automatically from each employee's actual start date. Alerts fire at Day 150, 165, 175, and 182, so you never miss a decision window. See how it works.

Does Extending Probation Delay Unfair Dismissal Rights?

No. This is one of the most dangerous misconceptions circulating among employers. Extending a probation period beyond six months does not delay or suspend unfair dismissal rights. The statutory threshold is based on continuous service, not contractual probation status.

If an employee has been continuously employed for six months, they have unfair dismissal protection. It does not matter whether their contract says they are still "on probation." The legal clock runs from their start date, not from the end of a probation period you've defined internally.

This means employers who extend probation to nine or twelve months in the hope of buying more time are actually increasing their risk, not reducing it. The employee gains protection at month six, but the employer hasn't made a decision. Worse, the extension itself could be challenged as evidence that the employer failed to manage the process properly.

Employment law specialists now recommend setting probation periods at no more than five months, leaving a clear buffer before the 182-day threshold to make a documented, defensible decision.

What Do UK Employers Need to Do Before January 2027?

There is a concrete checklist of actions every employer should complete before the new rules take effect. This isn't legal theory. These are operational changes.

Review and update employment contracts. Ensure your contracts include a probation clause that aligns with the new reality. If your standard probation period is six months, consider reducing it to five months. Include a clear extension clause that specifies the maximum duration, the reasons for extension, and the requirement for written confirmation.

Implement a structured probation review schedule. Relying on a single end-of-probation review is no longer viable. Best practice is a staged review process with documented checkpoints. At minimum, schedule formal reviews at Day 30, 60, 90, and 150, with a decision-making window between Day 150 and Day 175.

Train your line managers. Fewer than half of UK organisations currently provide line manager training on managing probation. Line managers are the people having the conversations, setting objectives, and raising concerns. If they aren't trained, your documentation will be incomplete and your process will be vulnerable.

Create a documentation standard. Every probation review should produce a written record that includes the date, attendees, topics discussed, performance against objectives, concerns raised, support offered, agreed actions, and the next review date. This record should be signed or acknowledged by both parties.

Adopt a system that tracks deadlines automatically. Spreadsheets and calendar reminders fail when you're managing multiple employees across different start dates. A missed review at Day 150 can cascade into a missed decision at Day 175, which results in an employee crossing Day 182 with no defensible process in place.

Audit your current probation population. Identify every employee currently on probation and calculate their Day 182 date. For anyone who will cross that threshold after 1 January 2027, ensure their probation process is already running to the new standard.

ProbationWatch gives you the countdown, the review structure, and the sealed evidence trail. Every review generates an ACAS-compliant record with a SHA-256 hash chain, ready for tribunal or Fair Work Agency scrutiny. Start your free trial.

FAQ

What is the 182-day deadline? The 182-day deadline marks six calendar months of continuous employment. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, this is the point at which employees gain unfair dismissal protection, effective 1 January 2027.

Does the six-month rule apply to all employees? It applies to all employees who reach six months of continuous service from 1 January 2027 onward. There is no exemption based on company size, sector, or contract type.

What is the penalty for getting this wrong? Uncapped compensation at tribunal, plus up to 25% uplift if you failed to follow the ACAS Code of Practice. There is no statutory ceiling on awards from January 2027.

Can I still dismiss someone on probation? Yes, but only if you can demonstrate a fair reason and a fair process. Dismissing without documentation, without reviews, or without evidence of support is likely to be found unfair.

Is a six-month probation period still appropriate? Many employment law specialists now recommend five-month probation periods, giving employers a clear buffer before the statutory threshold. This allows time for a structured extension if needed, without crossing Day 182 without a decision.

What should I do first? Audit your current contracts and identify anyone whose Day 182 falls after 1 January 2027. Then implement a structured review process with documented checkpoints and automated deadline tracking.