What are the effects to employees of having two years of continuous employment?

In this blog, we will explore the rights of an employee without two years of continuous employment, compared to the rights of an employee with two years of continuous employment. This will be with the aim of establishing how important it is to an employee that they have two years of continuous employment and what it can mean for their employment rights.

What are an employee’s employment rights with under two years of continuous employment?

Notice period

Firstly, they are entitled to a minimum notice period of one week if they have been continuously employed for one month or more. This statutory notice period is incorporated into any contract of employment unless enhanced contractual terms are provided.

Unfair dismissal

Employees have the right not to be unfairly dismissed for specified automatically unfair reasons, regardless of their length of service. These reasons include dismissal related to pregnancy, raising health and safety concerns, whistleblowing, and other protected disclosures.

Discrimination

They are also protected against discrimination due to characteristics such as race, gender, disability, and age. This protection applies from the recruitment stage and throughout the employment period, including termination.

Pay

Employees are entitled to statutory sick pay, provided they meet the qualifying criteria, and they also have the right to receive the national minimum wage and paid annual leave as day one rights.

Family related leave

Maternity leave entitlements are available from the first day of employment; a pregnant employee is entitled to 52 weeks of statutory maternity leave irrespective of the length of service or hours of work.

Paternity leave entitlements are not available from the first day of employment. An employee must have accrued 26 weeks of continuous employment by the relevant date to be entitled to paternity leave.

What are an employee’s employment rights with two years of continuous employment?

Unfair dismissal

Employees in the UK who have two years of continuous employment have the right to bring a standard claim for unfair dismissal. This means that if they are dismissed, they can challenge the fairness of their dismissal before an Employment Tribunal.

Redundancy

They are also entitled to a statutory redundancy payment if they are made redundant. This payment is calculated based on their length of continuous employment, amongst other factors.

Conclusion

While employees with less than two years of continuous employment have more limited rights, there are specific protections and entitlements that apply regardless of the length of service. Employees with two years of continuous employment in the UK gain the right to claim unfair dismissal and receive statutory redundancy payments.

It is important that businesses understand the difference in the rights of each of their employees, since this can vary.

For help and advice on the changes to an employee’s rights once they have two years of continuous employment, please do not hesitate to contact our Employment team at employment@mlplaw.co.uk