Probation can be considered a ‘trial’ of employment to see if your Employee will be a good fit for the role. Usually between 3-6 months (but sometimes longer or shorter for zero-hours contracts or short-term employment), this space of time in a Contract of Employment protects you the Employer from unfair dismissal (except in cases of discrimination). This is a time where both parties can explore the job role, assess their progress, and decide whether the role really is right for them. However, this period needs writing into your Employee’s Contract of Employment. Here, in our toolkit you can find template documents including, an Employee Contract of Employment that contains a probationary clause, and other documents you would need to manage probationary periods.
