{"id":27718,"date":"2025-11-27T20:23:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T01:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/2025\/11\/27\/labour-ditches-day-one-protection-from-unfair-dismissal-in-u-turn\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T20:23:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T01:23:09","slug":"labour-ditches-day-one-protection-from-unfair-dismissal-in-u-turn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/2025\/11\/27\/labour-ditches-day-one-protection-from-unfair-dismissal-in-u-turn\/","title":{"rendered":"Labour ditches day-one protection from unfair dismissal in U-turn"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

<\/p>\n

Henry Zeffman,<\/span>Chief political correspondent<\/span>and<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul Seddon,<\/span>Political reporter<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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The government has U-turned on its manifesto commitment to offer all workers the right to claim unfair dismissal from their first day in a job.<\/p>\n

Ministers now plan to introduce the right after six months instead, after business groups voiced concerns it would discourage firms from hiring.<\/p>\n

The government argued it was making the climbdown to stop its employment legislation being delayed in the House of Lords, where it has run into opposition. <\/p>\n

Other new day-one rights to sick pay and paternity leave will still go ahead, coming into effect in April 2026. <\/p>\n

A source said most unions backed the changes, though Unite said the U-turn would “damage workers’ confidence”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Business groups welcomed the announcement, which followed talks between major industry groups and unions.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the six business groups involved in the discussions said companies would be “relieved” – but added firms still had “concerns about many of the powers” contained in the government’s employment package.<\/p>\n

Currently, employers face additional legal hurdles if they want to sack employees who have been in their role continuously for two years.<\/p>\n

They must identify a fair reason for dismissal – such as conduct or capability – and show that they acted reasonably and followed a fair process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Labour had planned to abolish this qualifying period completely, alongside a new legal probation period, likely to have been nine months. <\/p>\n

The promise was a central pledge in Labour’s manifesto ahead of last year’s general election, and a key plank of its Employment Rights Bill.<\/p>\n

Labour pledged to create “basic rights from day one to parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal”.<\/p>\n

But asked if it was a breach of the Labour manifesto, Business Secretary Peter Kyle said: “No.”<\/p>\n

Instead, he argued the manifesto had pledged to “bring people together” and “that this would not be legislation that pits one side against another”.<\/p>\n

Speaking to broadcasters, Kyle said the compromise had been found by “unions and the employers” and it was “not my job to stand in the way of that compromise”. <\/p>\n

The government now plans to implement unfair dismissal protection after six months instead of day one, and ditch the new legal probation period.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, the House of Lords has twice voted in favour of a six-month period, slowing the legislation’s passage through Parliament. <\/p>\n

The Fair Work Agency – a new body tasked with overseeing the new rights – will also be set up in 2026, the government announced.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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‘Humiliating’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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There had been fears day one rights could overwhelm an employment tribunals system already facing huge backlogs.<\/p>\n

One union source has told the BBC that the “vast majority of unions” present at discussions were comfortable with introducing unfair dismissal only after six months.<\/p>\n

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) welcomed the news, adding the “absolute priority now is to get these rights \u2013 like day one sick pay – on the statute book so that working people can start benefitting from them from next April.”<\/p>\n

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak called on the House of Lords to “respect Labour’s manifesto mandate” and ensure the legislation was passed as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

Kate Nicholls, chair of UK Hospitality, said: “This is a pragmatic change that addresses one of hospitality businesses key concerns.”<\/p>\n

The six month waiting peroid would “give businesses much-needed breathing room and avoid further damage to employment opportunities,” she added.<\/p>\n

Labour MP Andy McDonald branded the move a “complete betrayal” and vowed to push for its reversal.<\/p>\n

“When Keir Starmer asked me to work with our trade unions to develop a programme for the biggest uplift in workers’ rights and protections in a generation, I did exactly as I was asked and we produced the New Deal for Working People,” he said.<\/p>\n

But Unite the Union – a major Labour donor through the affiliation fees its members pay to the party – hit out at the U-turn, adding the employment bill was now a “shell of its former self”.<\/p>\n

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham added: “These constant row backs will only damage workers’ confidence that the protections promised will be worth the wait. Labour needs to keep its promises.”<\/p>\n

The Conservatives called the U-turn “humiliating” but added that the legislation was “still not fit-for-purpose”.<\/p>\n

“Keir Starmer must grow a backbone, stand up to his union paymasters and ditch every single job-destroying anti-growth measure in the employment rights bill now,” added shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Henry Zeffman,Chief political correspondentand Paul Seddon,Political reporter Getty Images The government has U-turned on its manifesto commitment to offer all workers the right to claim unfair dismissal from their first day in a job. Ministers now plan to introduce the right after six months instead, after business groups voiced concerns it would discourage firms from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,21,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-market","category-news","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}