Employee probation notice period guidance for employers

Navigating the employee probation notice period can be tricky. What is the notice period during probation? And can an employee leave during probation period without notice? We’ll cover all of this and more so you’re clued up on employee probation periods.

Are employee probation periods a legal requirement?

No, they’re not. You don’t have to have probation periods, however, they are recommended. For more legal information, see our guide to probation period employment law in the UK.

Can an employee leave during probation period without notice?

In short, no. If an employee’s in their probation period and chooses to leave before it’s over, if you don’t have a set term in your contracts of employment, they must give the statutory minimum notice period – which is one week.

However, you can set your own notice period specifically for probation periods in your contracts of employment.

So, for example, if an employee’s notice period would ordinarily be four weeks outside of probationary periods, you can set their notice period during probation to two weeks, providing it’s in writing in their contract of employment.

As you’ve probably gathered by now, the key is that whatever the term, it should be in writing to show what‘s been agreed.

Can an employee be fired during probation period?

If the shoe’s on the other foot and it becomes apparent in an employee’s probation period that things aren’t working out, it should be easier for you to let them go.

Before doing this though, it’s good practice to try to make it work by clearly setting out what’s expected of them, and holding regular reviews to monitor performance and further reiterate your expectations – particularly as you’ll have no doubt spent time and money during the recruitment and training process already.

If, despite your efforts, things still aren’t working out, you’d be within your rights to dismiss the employee. Remember though, even in their probation period, employees still have certain rights – like the right to be accompanied by a work colleague or an accredited trade union official.

Unfair dismissal during an employee probation period

Furthermore, although those who’re still in their employee probation period can’t claim ‘straightforward’ unfair dismissal, they can still claim discrimination. Grounds for discrimination include: age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage or civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation.

They can also claim for ‘automatically’ unfair dismissals – for example, that they were dismissed for whistleblowing.

Therefore, you should follow a fair and consistent process at all times and collect relevant evidence, especially as this will go a long way to evidencing the reasons why the employee was dismissed.

With the Labour government looking to make changes to unfair dismissal rights, here’s what we know so far. Labour looks to remove the service requirement to make the right to claim unfair dismissal a day one right, as they believe it acts as a deterrent to people moving jobs, impacting productivity. Labour reiterates that such a change will not prevent fair dismissals and employers will still be able to exercise probationary periods “with fair and transparent rules and processes”.

Take a look at our handy blog on dismissal during probationary periods for more helpful information.

Talk employee probation periods with Citation

At Citation, we have a number of HR & Employment Law Services that can support your business when it comes to the employee notice period during probation. Our Employment Law Consultants are on hand to answer any queries you may have, whether it’s about dismissals, employee contracts, probation notice periods employee handbooks, or employment tribunals.

Got a question? Contact us today to see if our service offerings work for your business, or complete the form on this page.