Have you reviewed your probationary periods recently?
“Why should we do that?” you may ask.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is back on track and we are starting to get more detail about the legal changes that are coming up.
One big change which you are probably aware of is the end of the so called “two year rule”, which means that an employee needs to have 2 years service with their employer before the gain protection from ordinary unfair dismissal. For many years, employers have been able to rest assured that if they need to dismiss someone during the first 2 years of employment, the risk has not been too high and they have been able to do so without following too strict a process.
If you have ever found yourself in that situation of relying on that 2 year buffer, it is a good time to re-think what you do now.
From an HR point of view, I’ve found it has often been a tough gig to get managers to take a probationary review process seriously! The meetings get forgotten, the paperwork seen as a tickbox exercise..
Even if you are reading this thinking “well that doesn’t apply to us then, we have a thorough 6 month review process in place and we never forget to do it…” please stick with me while I explain why it does.
From January 2027, employees will have protection from ordinary Unfair Dismissal on the day they reach 6 months service with their employer, and this will be applied to all existing employees. That means that if you have a 6 month probationary period now, you may want to think about changing it. Because anyone that joins your organisation from 1st July 2026 will gain this protection on the day the law changes.
If you need to dismiss someone due their unsuitability during their probationary period, you will need to complete this within that 6 month period and not a day later, otherwise you are running the risk of an unfair dismissal claim.
So what would I recommend you do right now?
Set your probationary periods to less than 6 months – Ensure that suitability of new starters is considered well within the window, and that there is enough time to take corrective action or give notice if needed.
Update your documentation – Think about everywhere you mention the probationary periods, make sure it is all updated in good time, and don’t get caught out.
Train your managers – This is probably the most important bit. Onboarding and probation will be key. Make sure managers know the reasons why, and how to manage this when performance is not meeting expectations. If you would like help with this please get in touch.
Please don’t rely on updating your probationary periods on paper and hoping that everyone will know what to do.
The cap on unfair dismissal compensation is also increasing – so the stakes are getting higher if you are found to have dismissed someone unfairly.
My key message is do not wait until 2027 to do something about this. By reviewing your probation policies today and ensuring that your managers are appropriately trained, you will protect your culture, your budget, and your peace of mind.