Do I need 2 years of employment to claim unfair dismissal?

The general rule is that an employee needs at least two years of continuous employment with the same employer before they can bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim under the Employment Rights Act 1996. This qualifying period is sometimes called the "two-year rule". The Employment Rights Act 2025 reduces it to six months from 1 January 2027. However, there is an important exception: certain dismissals are treated as automatically unfair and carry no qualifying period at all. These include dismissal for whistleblowing (making a protected disclosure); dismissal for reasons related to pregnancy or maternity; dismissal for trade union membership or activities; dismissal for exercising rights under the Working Time Regulations; dismissal for asserting a statutory right; dismissal for acting as an employee representative; and dismissal in connection with a TUPE transfer. If your dismissal falls into one of these automatically unfair categories, you can bring a claim from day one of employment. Additionally, if you have been dismissed in circumstances that amount to unlawful discrimination — for example because of your race, sex, disability, religion, or another protected characteristic — you can bring a discrimination claim regardless of length of service. Given this, even if you have less than two years' service, it is worth assessing whether any automatically unfair or discriminatory reason played a part in your dismissal before concluding that you have no claim.