Currently, employers have a comfortable two-year buffer before a team member qualifies for ordinary unfair dismissal protection. This meant that if a new hire wasn't working out, parting ways within the first 24 months carried a relatively low legal risk.

That buffer is being shortened. Starting 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protection drops from two years to just six months.

Here is the most urgent detail for businesses: this change is retrospective.

Because the rule goes live on 1 January 2027, anyone who has already accumulated six months of continuous service by that date will automatically gain full unfair dismissal rights overnight. Practically, this means anyone you hire or engage on or after 1 July 2026 will hit their six-month milestone exactly as the new law takes effect.

If you are onboarding long-term crew or staff this July, their trial run is officially operating under the new timeline. If they are still with you in January, you will no longer be able to dismiss them without following a rigorous, evidence-backed, and legally fair procedure.

The objective of this new six-month framework is not to trigger a wave of quick-fire dismissals just before the deadline hits. Using the six-month mark as an excuse to sack someone simply to prevent them from gaining unfair dismissal rights can be a highly counterproductive strategy. Not only does this reactionary approach completely disrupt production continuity and potentially damage your reputation, but it can also expose you to significant legal risk. If a dismissal is rushed or handled poorly, an individual can still bring a claim against the production from day one for "automatically unfair" dismissal (such as whistleblowing or for unlawful discrimination), neither of which requires any qualifying period of service at all. Good management means using those first five months to actively support, train, and assess your new recruit, so that if you do part ways, it is because of genuine performance fit, not a panicked race against the calendar.

Your legal obligations during a probation window depend on a team member's specific contract type.

• Employees: These new rules are explicitly designed for employees. For anyone on an employment contract starting this July, your window to evaluate them, offer support, and make a definitive decision on their future with the business is effectively compressed into their first five months (allowing time for statutory notice periods).
• Workers: Under UK law, standard ordinary unfair dismissal protection generally applies to "employees." However, separating "workers" from "employees" in the screen sector can be notoriously tricky, and tribunals often look at the day-to-day reality of the job rather than the label on the contract. To minimise misclassification risks, treat their performance reviews with the same level of care and documentation as an employee.
• Freelancers / Contractors: Genuinely self-employed freelancers do not hold unfair dismissal rights, meaning the shift to a six-month threshold does not apply to them. Their engagement is entirely governed by the termination clauses within their freelance contract.