Managing probation periods has always been an important part of making sure organisations have the right people on the right seats at the right time. The probation period is an excellent opportunity to induct, train, monitor and then decide if the new employee is right for the organisation.
What is Changing in Relation to Probation Periods?
From January 2027, the new Employment Rights Act law is coming into force that reduces the employment protection period from 2 years to 6 months. This means that the maximum period an organisation is able to dismiss an employee who is not performing or behaving before they attain Constructive and Unfair Dismissal rights will be 6 months less one day.
The impact of this means that as an employer, you have a much reduced period in which to induct, train, monitor and make a decision about new employees. Even more importantly, this law change will affect all employees employed prior to January 2027 i.e. retrospective application.
What Business Owners and Directors Should Do Immediately
Our advice would be to immediately review all employees in your organisation who are not performing or behaving satisfactorily or better.
You should then look at whether they can be encouraged to improve to satisfactory levels through informal correction techniques (manager meetings and 1-2-1 training) or whether you need to consider a formal Capability Procedure to improve their performance and behaviour. The latter process gives you an option to dismiss if they are still sub-standard after the Capability Process concludes.
If the employee has less than 2 years’ service, you can dismiss without following the formal Capability Procedure, but you should give them a chance to improve.
We would also advise you to review all policies and procedures and contract of employment templates to ensure that they are ready for the changes in January 2027.
How Should I Manage Probation Periods Post January 2027?
Our advice is to review how you source, interview and onboard new employees, and review performance and behaviours closely across the first few months of employment.
Recruitment
- · Look at where your candidates are coming from. Are you giving your organisation the best chance of succeeding in the recruitment process when you are inviting candidates to apply?
- · Look at the motivation of the candidate compared to the Job Role. Why are they applying? Is it just to earn some money or do they want to develop a career?
- · Test, Test & Test again. A candidate can tell you exactly what you want to hear, but you will only find out how capable they are once they have started. An effective way to find out before you hire them is to test the final interview candidates under pressure. This approach is more likely show you what they really know.
- · Don’t be afraid to reject them all. If none of the candidates are suitable, do not hire any of them. This will just waste time and money. Start the recruitment process again and try to attract better candidates.
- · Look after your chosen candidate. Good ones are hard to find so ensure that you communicate effectively with them and make them feel like they are wanted and valued by the organisation
Onboarding
- Don’t forget that Contracts of Employment must be signed no later than day one of the employment.
- · Make sure that any new employees know where to get help and advice. Mentor programmes can work well in larger organisations.
- · Train all new employees throughout their induction process on policies and procedures. This could take weeks rather than days, but it is important to train them up as quickly as possible so you can see their true capabilities as quickly as possible.
- · Set targets for them to meet in the first three months. Treat the probation period as a Performance Improvement Process. Technically that is what the probation period is.
- · Fail and Fail fast. If it is clear that the new employee isn’t right for the organisation after they start, then terminate the employment as fast as you can. It saves time and money overall.
- · Don’t be afraid to have to start over again. It is cheaper to fail a new employee in their first month than in their third or more months or even years.
Probation Performance
- · Make sure that the targets needed to be achieved in order to pass the probation are objective i.e. use data where possible, put in writing and agreed by the organisation and the employee together.
- · The Line Manager must manage the performance during the probation period pro-actively. Failure to manage the probation period through a rigorous process will likely result in the probation cut-off being missed and possibly the six month deadline also.
- · If the employee is not performing at a satisfactory standard for any length of time, the Line Manager must reassess the targets and any training that may be required. Do not let sub-standard performance persist for any length of time.
- · If the performance or behaviour levels are not what is expected after three months of probation, then make an objective assessment as to whether you think they can reach the required levels.
- · Remember – A new employee should be giving their all to get through their probation period. Anyone that isn’t exhibiting this behaviour should be questioned as to whether this is the job for them.
In Summary
The new Employment Right Act 2025 has introduced many sweeping changes to the employer landscape. The January 2027 change to protection of employee rights is one of the most important for organisations to take note of.
The probation period gives an organisation opportunity to make sure the right person is in the right seat. Make sure you get that right.
As always, should you need any help or advice, please email Jon at jon@hrsmartuk.com or call 01903 754107 if you think you need any specialist advice on this subject.
