Setting a probation period that works

Aug 29
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Introduction

A contract specifies a three-month probation period. Three months pass, nobody says anything, and the employee is confirmed in post by silence. In two of those months the owner privately thought the appointment might not be working.

Probation exists to give both sides a defined period to decide, with a lower threshold for ending the arrangement. Used properly it is one of the most valuable tools a small employer has. Left to expire on its own it is a clause in a document that changed nothing at all.

1. Setting a probation period that works means scheduling the decision

The mechanism is a date in a diary.

A review meeting booked before the period ends, with a decision to confirm, extend or end. Without that, the default is confirmation, and the default is being chosen by inattention rather than by judgement.

2. Choose a length that suits the role

Not a standard three months for everything.

A role whose competence is visible in weeks needs less; one with a long learning curve or a seasonal cycle needs more. The period should be long enough to have seen the person handle the actual demands of the job.

3. Say what success looks like at the start

Otherwise the review is a matter of impression.

Specific things they should be able to do, standards they should be meeting, and what will be assessed. An employee who was never told the criteria cannot fairly be failed against them, and most probation disputes come from exactly this.

4. Review during the period, not only at the end

The purpose is correction.

Short conversations at intervals, saying what is going well and what needs to change. Somebody told in week three that something is a problem usually fixes it; the same person told in week twelve is being informed of a decision.

5. Understand what protections apply regardless

The common misconception.

Probation does not remove all legal protection. Discrimination, statutory rights and any minimum notice generally apply from day one in most jurisdictions, so a dismissal during probation still needs a lawful and defensible reason.

6. Extend it properly if you are unsure

A legitimate outcome, done in writing.

Where somebody is close but not there, an extension with specific objectives and a new date is better than confirming and hoping. Do it before the original period expires, since extending afterwards is usually not possible.

7. Act quickly when it is clearly not working

The kindest and cheapest option.

Small employers delay because the conversation is uncomfortable and because they hope it will improve. Delay costs money, damages the team and is worse for the employee, who could have been looking for a suitable job weeks earlier.

8. Follow a fair process even when the threshold is lower

Process protects you.

Tell them the concerns, give them a chance to respond, and let them be accompanied where that applies. A defensible dismissal is one where the reason was genuine and the handling was reasonable, and probation does not remove the second requirement.

9. Confirm the outcome in writing either way

Closes the period properly.

A short letter confirming successful completion, or the extension, or the end of employment. Verbal confirmation leaves the position ambiguous, and ambiguity favours whoever has the better recollection later.

Use it as a mutual review rather than a one-sided assessment. Asking the employee what has been harder than expected, what they need and whether the job matches what was described surfaces problems you can fix, and it frequently explains a performance concern that looked like capability.

Conclusion

Put the decision in the diary, because probation confirms by default if nobody acts.

Match the length to how long the role takes to demonstrate, state the criteria for success at the outset, review at intervals rather than only at the end, understand that statutory and discrimination protections still apply, extend in writing before expiry where you are unsure, act promptly when it is clearly not working, follow a fair process regardless of the lower threshold, confirm the outcome in writing, and use the review in both directions.