Probation Period

A probation period is a contractual arrangement — typically 3 to 6 months — during which an employer assesses a new employee's performance and conduct. Employees accrue employment rights from day one: the right to the National Minimum Wage, statutory paid holiday (5.6 weeks pro-rata), protection from unlawful discrimination, and the right not to suffer unauthorised deductions from wages. Rights requiring 2 years' service (unfair dismissal, statutory redundancy pay) will not have accrued. Employers should conduct regular reviews during probation and give clear feedback. Extending probation beyond 6 months should be done by agreement and in writing. Dismissal during probation should still follow a fair procedure — a very short process may suffice, but summary dismissal with no process at all risks a wrongful dismissal claim or, if discriminatory grounds were involved, an automatically unfair dismissal claim regardless of service length.

What it means in practice. A probation period has no independent legal status. It is simply a clause in your contract, usually allowing a shorter notice period and sometimes withholding discretionary benefits until it ends. It does not create a rights-free zone. Everything that applies from day one applies during probation: the minimum wage, working time limits, holiday accrual, protection from discrimination and harassment, whistleblowing protection, and the right not to have unlawful deductions made from your wages.

A worked example. Amara starts a six-month probation and tells her manager in month two that she is pregnant. In month three she is told she has "not settled in" and is dismissed with one week's notice. She has nowhere near two years' service, so she cannot bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. But dismissal because of pregnancy is automatically unfair with no qualifying period, and is also direct sex discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, where compensation is uncapped and can include injury to feelings. The probation clause gives her employer no protection whatsoever.

Common pitfalls. Employers often believe probation lets them dismiss without any process, and then find themselves defending a discrimination or whistleblowing claim they cannot win because there is no record of a genuine performance concern. Employees, meanwhile, often do not realise their holiday accrues from day one and must be paid on termination. Watch for silent extensions too: a probation period that simply drifts past its end date without a written extension usually means you have passed it, and with it any enhanced benefits.

How it relates to other terms. Probation affects the length of your notice period, not the existence of it, and statutory minimum notice still applies after a month's service. It does not shorten the qualifying period for unfair dismissal, which is separate. Where performance concerns are genuine, the fair route is the process set out in the Acas Code, and a dismissal without contractual notice remains a wrongful dismissal whatever the probation clause says.

What to do next. Read our probation periods guide to see what your employer must still do, and disciplinary meetings if you have been invited to one. If you think the real reason for a probation dismissal was pregnancy, disability, race, or raising a concern, read unfair dismissal — several routes need no qualifying service at all.