Employment law insights & HR hub

Unfair dismissal: 2 years – reduced to 6 months from 1 January 2027
Discrimination: None
Breach of contract: None
Equal pay: None
Unlawful wage deductions: None

* There are exceptions to the rule where if a dismissal is deemed automatically unfair, for example dismissal for whistleblowing, there is no minimum period of service.

​​​​​Unfair dismissal:

• Basic award: Maximum £22,530
• Compensatory award: £123,543 or 52 weeks’ actual gross pay (from 1 January 2027, no limit on compensatory award)

Week’s pay: £751
Redundancy: £22,530 
Discrimination: No Limit 
Breach of contract: Tribunal – £25,000 

Unfair dismissal: 3 months from effective date of termination (extending to 6 months from 1 October 2026)
Statutory redundancy pay: 6 months starting with the “relevant date” which is usually (but not always) the termination date 
Discrimination: 3 months from last act of discrimination (extending to 6 months from 1 October 2026)
Breach of contract: Employment Tribunal - 3 months starting with the EDT or if no EDT the last day on which the employee worked (extending to 6 months from 1 October 2026)
Breach of contract: High Court or County Court – 6 years from the breach of contract
Equal pay: 6 months from EDT
Unlawful wage deductions: 3 months from last deduction/ payment (extending to 6 months from 1 October 2026)

* The time limits will be extended by the period of time taken in ACAS pre-claim conciliation

** The Employment Tribunal can extend time limits where it considers it was not reasonably practicable to comply or in certain claims e.g. discrimination where it is “just and equitable” to do so 

Parental leave 

• Qualifying service:Day-one right
• The right:18 weeks’ unpaid leave
• Who qualifies:Employees with parental responsibility for a child 

Time off for dependants

• Qualifying service:None
• The right: Entitled to reasonable time off in emergency, limited to care of “dependants”

Neonatal care leave

• Up to 12 weeks’ leave to reflect weeks where baby in care and receiving treatment within 28 days of birth

Paternity leave 

• Qualifying service: Day-one right
• The right:1 or 2 weeks’ leave may be taken together or separately within 52 weeks of the birth or placement for adoption. Adopting couple may choose who will get paternity leave and the other will get adoption leave. Paternity Pay requires 26 weeks’ continuous employment ending with the “relevant week”.

Flexible work requests

• Who qualifies: From 6 April 2024, all employees will be able to make flexible working requests, regardless of their length of service. Employees can make two requests in any 12-month period.
• The right:The application may relate to hours of work, times of work, the location of work or some other work changes. Employees no longer need to spell out in their request how the employer might deal with the effects of the request – reasonableness test being introduced in 2027.
• Procedure: On receiving a request the employer must follow a reasonable procedure and must notify the outcome to the employee within a two-month decision period. The employer will need to consult with the employee if it is considering rejecting a request. Employer can only reject on one of prescribed business grounds. 

Maternity pay: 6 weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings, then 33 weeks at £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower
Paternity pay: 2 weeks at £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower
Neonatal pay: Up to 12 weeks at £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower
Adoption pay: 6 weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings, then 33 weeks at £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower
Maternity allowance: 39 weeks at £194.32
Shared parental pay: 39 weeks, less weeks spent by child’s mother/ adopter in receipt of SMP, MA or SAP at £194.32​​​​​​​
Parental bereavement pay: 2 weeks at £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower

Statutory sick pay

• Rate: £123.25 per week or 80% of average weekly earnings if lower – up to 28 weeks per period of incapacity for work
• Qualifying conditions: Day-one right, no lower earnings limit
• Earnings over NI threshold: No waiting days 

National minimum wage

• Aged 21 and over (national living wage): £12.71 per hour
• Aged 18 - 20 (development rate): £10.85 per hour 
• Aged under 18 (but above compulsory school leaving age): £8.00 per hour
• Apprentices aged under 19: £8.00 per hour
• Apprentices 19 plus and over (in year 1 of apprenticeship): £8.00 per hour

• Qualifying service: 2 years’ continuous service
• Maximum weekly pay: £751 per week
• Maximum payout: £22,530 
• Years worked aged under 22: 0.5 week’s pay per full year worked
• Years worked aged over 22 - under 41: 1 week’s pay per full year worked
• Years worked aged over 41: 1.5 weeks’ pay per full year worked
• Maximum number of years: 20

• The lower band: £1,300 - £12,600 – “less serious cases, such as where the act of discrimination is an isolated or one-off occurrence”
• The middle band: £12,600 - £37,700 – “serious cases, which do not merit an award in the highest band”
• The top band: £37,700 - £62,900 – “the most serious cases, such as where there has been a lengthy campaign of discriminatory harassment on the ground of sex or race”
• Amounts in excess of £62,900 can be awarded in the most exceptional cases