Continuous employment and employee rights
Minimum periods of continuous employment and qualification dates for employment rights
Guide
The following table sets out the minimum periods of continuous employment an employee needs to qualify for certain statutory employment rights. It also gives the relevant date on which an employee qualifies for that right.
Note that any statutory employment rights not listed here have no minimum service requirement. For example, an employee has the right to take statutory maternity leave or paid annual leave from day one of their employment.
| Statutory employment right | Minimum period of continuous employment needed to qualify | Qualification date | Further information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guarantee payment | One month. | The day before that in respect of which the guarantee payment is claimed. | Pay: employer obligations |
| Remuneration on suspension on medical grounds | One month. | The day before that on which the suspension begins. | |
| Notice of termination | One month. | Date notice is given. | Issue the correct periods of notice |
| Written statement of the particulars of employment | One month. | The written statement | |
| Maternity pay | 26 weeks. | End of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. | Maternity leave and pay |
| Paternity leave and pay (births) | 26 weeks. | End of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. | Paternity leave and pay |
| Paternity leave and pay (UK adoptions) | 26 weeks. | End of the week in which the main adopter was notified of having been matched with the child for adoption. | Paternity leave and pay |
| Paternity leave and pay (overseas adoptions) | 26 weeks. | End of the week in which the main adopter received an official notification or by the time their leave/pay is due to begin, whichever is later. | Paternity leave and pay |
| Adoption leave and pay (UK adoptions) | 26 weeks in respect of adoption pay but adoption leave is a day one right. | End of the week which adopter was notified of having been matched with the child for adoption. | Adoption leave and pay |
| Adoption leave and pay (overseas adoptions) | 26 weeks in respect of adoption pay and adoption leave. | End of the week in which the adopter received an official notification or by the time their leave/pay is due to begin, whichever is later. | Adoption leave and pay |
| Parental bereavement leave and pay | 26 weeks in respect of parental bereavement pay but parental bereavement leave is a day-one right. | The employee or worker must have been continuously employed by you for at least 26 weeks up to the end of the ‘relevant week’. The ‘relevant week’ is the week (ending with a Saturday) immediately before the week of the death or stillbirth. | Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay |
| Right to make a flexible working request | 26 weeks. | Date of application. | Flexible working: the law and best practice |
| Parental leave | One year. | The start date of their first period of parental leave. | Parental leave and time off for dependants |
| Written statement of reasons for dismissal | One year (none if dismissal occurs during an employee's pregnancy or statutory maternity leave). | Generally, the last day on which the employee worked. | Dismissing employees |
| Right to claim unfair dismissal | Generally, one year, but dismissals for an automatically unfair reason require no minimum length of service, eg dismissals relating to pregnancy or maternity. (One month where medical suspension could apply). | The date when an employee's contractual notice or statutory minimum notice expires (or would have expired), whichever is later. | Dismissing employees |
| Redundancy payment | Two years. | The date when the employee's contractual notice or statutory minimum notice expires (or would have expired), whichever is later. | Redundancy: the options |
| Paid time off to look for work or to arrange training when being made redundant | Two years. | If the employer gives redundancy notice in person, the notice period should start from the next day. If the notice is given by email or post, the notice period should start when the employee has had time to read it. | Redundancy: the options |
| To become a permanent employee on the renewal of a fixed-term contract (or re-engagement on a new fixed-term contract) and to a written statement confirming this | Four years unless continuation of the fixed-term contract can be objectively justified. | The date on which the employee acquired four years of continuous service. | Recruiting staff |
See qualifying periods for employment rights - Labour Relations Agency (LRA) guidance.
