Results Day Hiring Scenario

Kate 0:38

Picture this. It's the middle of August. Thursday is A-level results day. The local paper is full of grinning teenagers clutching envelopes, and one of them has just accepted a job with you. Bright, keen, first proper role. You shake hands, you sort out a start date, and you get on with your week. Here's the bit nobody mentions in that lovely moment. The young person you just hired is, in the eyes of the law, that lands on January 1st, 2027, already halfway to protected. Not in two years, not one day. Now. That's not a reason to panic, and it's certainly not a reason to think twice about hiring them. It's a reason to get the boring stuff right on day one while it's easy instead of scrambling in January when it isn't. Kettle on. Let's talk about it. The welcome to the hive. Welcome back to Buzzing About HR, the podcast that makes sense of the world of work. One honeycomb of good advice at a time. I'm Kate, your HR Queen Bee, and Hazel, our well-being officer, is on results week duty, which today means keeping the sofa warm and supervising the biscuit tin. Very dedicated. This week is results season, and it pairs with our blog, Contracts, Probation and the Six-Month Rule, Getting New Hires Right. It's also International Youth Day on the 12th, which feels like the right moment to talk about the people just stepping into their first jobs and what you as an employer need to have in place before they do. Here's my promise for the next 20 minutes or so. No jargon, no doom, no the sky is falling. Just why the new starter you take on this month matters more than you might think. What the January change actually does. And the simple things to sort on day one so that a good hire stays a good decision. Let's get into it. The buzz. Let's name the change precisely because half the confusion out there comes from people getting the dates muddled. From January 1st, 2027, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal drops from two years to six months. That's the headline. At the moment, someone generally needs two years' service before they can bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. From January, they'll need six months. Now here's the part that catches people out, so let me state it carefully. It officially starts on January 1st, 2027. But because

What Changes On 1 January 2027

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it applies to anyone with six months service on that date, everyone hired since 1st July 2026 is already in the window. Do the maths. Six months before the 1st of January is the 1st of July. So the person you hire this August will comfortably have their six months by the time the law lands, which means they qualify the moment it does. The rule did not change on the 1st of July. Nothing happened that day? The 1st of July only matters because it's six months before the change. I labour this because I hear it said the wrong way round all the time, and getting it right is what keeps you calm and accurate rather than spooked. Two more things arrive on that same January date, so they're on your radar. The cap on compensation for unfair dismissal is removed entirely. And fire and rehire becomes automatically unfair. Both are a nudge in the same direction. Getting dismissals right matters more, and the cost of getting them wrong goes up. That's the change. One date, the 1st of January 2027, and a window that's already open. The hive check. Let's do a quick check on something that trips people up because it changes how you feel about all of this. There's a difference between protected and impossible to let go. A lot of employers hear six months and they qualify, and picture being stuck with someone forever after half a year. That's not it. Qualifying for unfair dismissal protection doesn't mean you can never end someone's employment. It means that when you do, you need a fair reason and a fair process. That's it. If someone genuinely isn't up to the job or

Protected Does Not Mean Untouchable

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their conduct is a problem, you can still act. You just have to do it properly. Honest feedback, a fair chance to improve where that's appropriate, clear records, and a reason that stands up. So the January change isn't a trap that springs shut at six months. It's a deadline on your paperwork and your process being in good shape. The businesses that will feel it are the ones running on hopes and vibes, making decisions with no notes and no fair process behind them. The businesses that write things down and follow a sensible process will barely notice. That's the reframe. The law isn't making it harder to run a good business, it's making it more expensive to run a sloppy one. The sting. Here's the part worth sitting with, gently. And it's specifically about probation. Most small businesses have a probation period, and most set it at six months out of habit. Under the new rules, that habit is now working against you. Think it through. If your probation runs to a full six months, your are they right for us decision lands at exactly the same moment their protection switches on. You've given yourself no margin at all. The one week you most want a free hand is the week the door is closing. So here's my

Why Six-Month Probation Backfires

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strong opinion owned clearly. Probation periods should now sit under six months, not at it. Give yourself a genuine buffer. And the crucial bit, complete a proper suitability assessment before the threshold. Not on it. Sit down, review honestly whether this person is working out, make the call and record it with time to spare. If it's a yes, brilliant, confirm them and get on with growing a great employee. If it's a no, you've made that decision inside the window where a fair, well-run exit is more straightforward. The mistake I see is the probation review that drifts. It's booked for month six, then it slips a fortnight because everyone's busy, and suddenly the person you weren't sure about is on the other side of the line. Don't let a good decision drift into a harder one just because nobody put the meeting in the diary. None of this means being harsh with young hires. Quite the opposite. A clear probation with honest check-ins is kinder than a vague one, because the person actually knows how they're doing. Good practice here is financial self-defense and it's better management, both at once. The waggle dance. So what does getting a new starter right on day one actually look like? Here's the honest version, and it starts before they've even walked in. First, the contract. Not a handshake, not we'll sort the paperwork later. An actual written contract of employment in place from the start, with the right probation clause in it. If your contract still says six months probation as standard, that's the first thing to change. Our guide, contract of employment for small business, walks through what a good one contains, and this is exactly the moment to dig it

Day-One Setup Contracts And Checks

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out. Second, right to work. With a wave of young people starting their first jobs this month, this is the season it gets skipped because they're a local kid. It's fine. Check it properly every time and keep the record. Our Right to Work Complete Guide covers how to do it without turning it into a palaver. It protects you and it's not optional. Third, probation set up properly. Under six months with review dates actually in the diary from day one and a suitability assessment planned before the threshold. Our post-probationary periods, a UK Employer Guide, is the deeper dive if you want it. And fourth, remember what's already live, because it affects your new starter from their very first shift. Since 6 April 2026, statutory sick pay is a day one right with no waiting days and no lower earnings limit to clear. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are day one rights too. So the young person starting Monday already has those protections. Your policies and your payroll need to reflect that now, not later. If you'd like a clear picture of whether your contracts, handbook, and probation are actually ready for all this, that's exactly what our HR Health Check is for. It's free, it takes about five to seven minutes, and you get an instant red, amber, green result with a report emailed to you. The red flags it finds are the ones that bite in January. You'll find it at kateunderwoodh.co.uk slash hr-health dash check. And if you want to see how the whole set of changes phases in, our Employment Rights Act timeline tool lays it out month by month so you can see what's already in force and what's still coming. The swarm. The rule changed on the first of July, so anyone hired before then is fine. No, nothing changed on the first of July. The change is the first of January, 2027. The first of July only matters because it's six months earlier. Anyone hired since then is simply already inside the window. Myth two. If I keep probation to six months, I'm safe. It's the opposite. Six month probation now lines your decision up with the exact day protection kicks in. Set it under six months and make the call with room to spare. Myth three.

Four Myths That Cause Panic

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Young hires are risky now. Maybe I should hold off. Please don't. Hiring a keen young person is a great decision. The change doesn't make them risky, it just means you do the ordinary things properly. Contract, right to work, clear probation, honest reviews. Do those and you've nothing to fear. Myth four. Protection means I can never let them go. Not true. It means fair reason, fair process, good records. If someone isn't working out and you've managed it properly, you can still act. The paperwork is what protects you. The honeycomb, your quick action list. Here's your list of seven things to take away from today. One, remember the precise date. The change is the 1st of January 2027, and anyone hired since the 1st of July 2026 is already in the window. 2. Put a written contract in place for every new starter from day one with the right probation clause. 3. Move your standard probation to under six months, not at it. 4. Put probation review dates in the diary now and complete a suitability assessment before the threshold,

Seven-Step Action List

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never on it. 5. Run right to work checks properly for every new hire, this results season, and keep the record. 6. Check your policies and payroll reflect the day one rights already lived since April. SSP from day one, paternity and unpaid parental leave. 7. Run your free HR health check at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk slash HR-Health dash check, so you know exactly where your contracts and probations stand before January. Flying the hive, that's the lot. Results Week is a lovely time in a small business. Someone's starting their working life with you, and that's a genuinely good thing to be part of. The January change doesn't spoil any of it. It just asks you to do the ordinary things well on day one while they're easy. If you'd like a hand getting your contracts and probation into shape before the autumn, that's exactly what we're here for. Book a power hour and we'll fix the most exposed thing in a focused 60 minutes, or start with the free health check to see where you stand. Head to kateunderwoodhr.co.uk

Free Tools And Final Wrap

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or drop us a line at buzz at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk. No pressure, no jargon, just a proper conversation. Until next time, keep buzzing, look after your people, and get the paperwork right while it's easy. Kettle on.