Easily manage employment in United Kingdom

Termination from the employer valid grounds with any fair reasons. There are five potentially fair reasons for dismissals:

• Employee's capability or qualifications for performing work of the kind the employee was employed to do;
• Employee conduct;
• Employee redundancy;
• Employee could not continue work in position without contravening statutory duty or restriction; or
• Other substantial reason justifying dismissal

Notice periods vary based on how long the employee has been continuously employed and who gives notice.

If the employer gives notice:
Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, employers must give at least:

• 1 week’s notice for employment between 1 month and 2 years

• 1 additional week per full year of service (up to 12 weeks)

These are minimum legal requirements—longer contractual notice periods override them.

If the employee gives notice:
Employees must give the notice stated in their contract. Legally, the minimum is 1 week after one month of service, but longer contractual periods take precedence.

In all cases, notice cannot be shorter than the statutory minimum under Employment Rights Act 1996, Section 86.

There is no legal stipulation for minimum and maximum probation periods. Employers can set probationary periods in the employment contract. It is typical for a probationary period to last no longer than six months, and three months where an employee is moving to a new post internally.