# Employment Rights Checker

> Check your rights under the Employment Rights Act in a minute: day-one rights, statutory notice at one month, unfair dismissal and redundancy at two years. Gov.uk.

## Key facts

- Every UK worker gets 5.6 weeks' paid holiday and the National Minimum Wage from day one, no qualifying service exists for either.
- The right to request flexible working became a day-one right on 6 April 2024 under the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023.
- Ordinary unfair dismissal protection requires 2 years' service under ERA 1996 s108 until 1 January 2027, when section 25 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 cuts the qualifying period to six months for dismissals where the effective date of termination falls on or after that date.
- Statutory minimum notice starts at one week after one month's service and rises to one week per year of service, capped at 12 weeks.

## Key pages

- [What does the Employment Rights Act give you?](https://employmentrightschecker.co.uk/): the main tool, answer above the fold.
- [The unfair dismissal 2 year rule, and when it is changing](https://employmentrightschecker.co.uk/unfair-dismissal-2-year-rule/): Ordinary unfair dismissal protection needs 2 years' service under ERA 1996 s108. The exceptions that apply from day one, and the Employment Rights Act 2025 timetable.
- [Worker vs employee: which employment status are you?](https://employmentrightschecker.co.uk/worker-vs-employee/): Employee, worker or self-employed: UK employment status is decided by the reality of the relationship, not the contract label, and it fixes which rights you hold.
- [Holiday entitlement UK: how much paid holiday do you get?](https://employmentrightschecker.co.uk/holiday-entitlement/): Every UK worker gets 5.6 weeks' statutory paid holiday a year from day one: 28 days for a five-day week, pro-rata for part-time, 12.07% accrual for irregular hours.
- [UK employment rights by length of service, 2026](https://employmentrightschecker.co.uk/#data): original data table, updated 2026-08-15.
- [Full site content as markdown](https://employmentrightschecker.co.uk/llms-full.txt)

## Data

- UK employment rights by length of service, 2026. Methodology: Mapped from the Employment Rights Act 1996, Equality Act 2010, Working Time Regulations 1998 and current gov.uk guidance as at the updated date above. The 2-year thresholds are the law in force today; section 25 of the Employment Rights Act 2025, commenced by S.I. 2026/559, cuts the unfair dismissal qualifying period to six months where the effective date of termination falls on or after 1 January 2027. The 2-year threshold for statutory redundancy pay is unchanged.
- Last updated: 2026-08-15. Every figure cites its source inline.
- Source: gov.uk, employment status: https://www.gov.uk/employment-status
- Source: Employment Rights Act 1996, ss1, 86, 94, 108: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents
- Source: gov.uk, holiday entitlement: https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights
- Source: gov.uk, National Minimum Wage rates: https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
- Source: gov.uk, flexible working: https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working
- Source: Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/36/contents
- Source: S.I. 2026/559, commencement of the six-month unfair dismissal qualifying period: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/559/made
- Source: gov.uk, Statutory Sick Pay eligibility: https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay/eligibility
- Source: Acas, dismissals: https://www.acas.org.uk/dismissals

## Citation

Cite as: "UK employment rights by length of service, 2026", Employment Rights Checker, https://employmentrightschecker.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-15).

## About

- Employment Rights Checker is an information site. It is not affiliated with gov.uk, Acas or any government body, and nothing here is legal advice. Employment law is changing in stages under the Employment Rights Act 2025: this site states the law in force at its updated date and is corrected in place, but always confirm the current position on gov.uk or with an adviser before acting on it.
- Operated by employmentrightschecker.co.uk. Contact: enquiries@employmentrightschecker.co.uk