Probation Policy for UK employers, built for the Employment Rights Act 2025. Structured reviews, extension mechanics, the six-month threshold. From £9.99.
A Probation Policy sets out how an employer runs the probationary period for new starters — the review structure, the support provided, how and when probation can be extended, and how the confirmation or termination decision is taken. Probation itself is a contractual arrangement: the Employment Rights Act 2025 contains no statutory probation regime, and the probation clause (duration, notice, any right to extend) lives in the employment contract. The policy is the operating manual that sits alongside it.
From 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal reduces from two years to six months under the Employment Rights Act 2025 — and the compensation cap is removed on the same date. The two-year buffer employers relied on for early-stage decisions is gone. What counts is the effective date of termination: where statutory notice is not given, the termination date is treated as extended by the statutory minimum notice, so a probation decision must complete — notice included — before six months' service is reached. A structured, documented probation process is how that decision is made in time and made defensibly.
Duration and start, with the reminder that probation terms are mandatory day-one written particulars under ERA 1996 s.1. Structured reviews in the Acas shape — formal checkpoints, informal check-ins, written notes, no surprises. Extension mechanics done lawfully: the right reserved in the contract, written confirmation before the original period expires, and the change to particulars notified within one month under ERA 1996 s.4. Outcomes and timing, including the right to be accompanied at any meeting where dismissal is a possible outcome. Notice, cross-referred to the contract with the ERA 1996 s.86 statutory floor stated. Absence during probation, including day-one Statutory Sick Pay. Pay, benefits and pension — including the boundary the template mills miss: statutory rights cannot be restricted during probation, and the one lawful deferral is pension auto-enrolment postponement, a distinct mechanism with its own notice requirements.
A Probation Policy works alongside a Disciplinary and Grievance Policy — capability and suitability during probation are handled under the probation process, while misconduct is handled under the disciplinary procedure — and the Employment Contract, which carries the probation clause itself: the duration, the notice period, and the right to extend without which probation cannot be extended at all.
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