[DanBC]

In the UK you can be fired within the first two years without reason (unless it's connected to a protected characteristic). After two years you can still be fired - the company just has to follow a simple procedure of giving you some warnings before firing you.

Employer tribunals are not free and are intimidating to use, so many people who are wrongfully dismissed don't seek justice.

[bshimmin]

Having had to fire someone who had been at a company for more than two years, I can say it was anything but a simple procedure: it involved a performance improvement plan which lasted interminably (and actually sapped a really surprisingly large amount of my own time...) and it became an awful lot more complicated when it turned out the guy was on anti-depressants. In the end, HR suggested I take the guy to the pub for lunch and they told me a series of things I could say to encourage him to quit but which couldn't possibly be construed as constructive dismissal; thankfully over lunch he told me he'd got another job offer, and I walked him out of the office the following day with a great sense of relief.