Written by Nicola Gater | 8th May 2025
With the new Employment Rights Bill 2024 on the horizon, businesses need to start thinking now about how they manage new starters. Once fully in place, the Bill will give employees more rights from their first day on the job – including the right to parental leave, paternity leave, and bereavement leave, and most significantly, protection from unfair dismissal.
Although most of the reforms aren’t expected to come into effect until 2026, employers will need to start adapting their processes now to stay compliant and avoid risk. A well-structured probation period is one of the most effective ways to do that. Not only do we expect that the new legislation will bring in statutory probation periods, but we also know that probation gives you time to make sure a new hire is the right fit, while offering the employee time to settle in and learn their role. When this is managed properly alongside an effective induction, it becomes a valuable tool to support your people and protect your business.
What probation periods are and why they matter
Probationary periods give both you and your new starter a chance to see how things go. It’s a time to assess how well someone is settling into the role, whether they have the right skills and attitude, and if they’re likely to fit into your team long-term. If things aren’t working out, it’s easier to make a change early on.
It works both ways. A new employee may find that the job or company culture isn’t quite what they expected. The flexibility during probation, especially around shorter notice periods, can make it easier for them to leave if things don’t feel like the right fit.
Most probation periods last between three and six months, depending on the role and the level of responsibility. More than a third (36%) of UK organisations are considering longer probation periods in response to the new law, according to a poll by WorkNest. If you do extend it, it’s important to make this clear from the start in the contract and ensure its managed fairly. Keeping someone on a longer probation period when they are clearly doing a great job can be demoralising and make them feel insecure.
The link between effective inductions and successful probation
Probation starts with induction. An effective induction process makes a huge difference to how quickly and confidently someone settles in. From the moment they accept the offer, your goal should be to help them feel part of the team and clear about what’s expected.
An effective induction is about helping people understand their role, how they contribute to the wider business, and who they can turn to for support. Putting in place the right training, introductions, and individual support means your new joiners can start adding value quickly. When done well, it creates a sense of belonging and engagement that pays off long term – with better performance, improved retention and fewer issues during probation.
We’ve written more about this in our blog on why onboarding is a vital part of the recruitment process.
What the Employment Rights Bill means for probation
Under current rules, employees usually need two years of continuous service before they can bring an unfair dismissal claim. That’s changing. The Employment Rights Bill 2024 proposes to remove the two-year qualifying period, meaning employees could be protected from unfair dismissal as soon as they start.
This will have a significant impact on how dismissals during and after probation are handled. This isn’t about stopping employers from parting company with new employees who cannot do the job they were hired to do, but it is about ensuring they treat those people fairly if they do decide to dismiss. Having a well-managed probation period with clear milestones and performance feedback will not only support the new joiners to succeed, but if a difficult decision does have to be made, it avoids risk by demonstrating that processes were followed fairly and consistently from day one.
That’s why many businesses are already reviewing their recruitment, induction, probation and dismissal procedures – making sure everything is up to date, legally sound and properly documented. It’s also why manager training is becoming more important than ever. Your managers need to know exactly what’s expected of them and how to handle probation properly if you want to avoid mistakes or disputes later down the line.
The new bill also proposes new leave requirements for bereavement, and paternity leave and parental leave are set to become day one rights. Full details can be found in our blog here.
Best practices for probation management
Clarity is key when it comes to managing probation. From the very start, your new hire should understand that they’re on probation, what the duration is, and what they’ll be measured against. Be clear about objectives, expectations and what success looks like. You should also agree how and when review meetings will take place, and make sure you stick to those dates.
Giving regular feedback throughout the probation period is essential. It shouldn’t be left until the end to raise concerns – by then it’s too late to turn things around. Checking in early and often allows you to spot any issues, offer support and give people a fair chance to improve. And if it does come to letting someone go, you’ll have a clear record of what’s been discussed and why, which will help protect your business from claims of unfair dismissal or discrimination.
You’ll also need to formally confirm the outcome of the probation period in writing. If that doesn’t happen and the employee continues working beyond the agreed date, they could reasonably assume they’ve passed by default, which can cause confusion and risk later on.
Legal considerations to keep in mind
Probation periods aren’t a legal requirement, but if you’re going to use one, it needs to be handled correctly. That starts with making sure it’s clearly outlined in the employee’s contract. This should include how long the probation lasts, whether there’s an option to extend it, and what happens at the end of probation (whether it’s confirmed, extended, or ended).
Someone on probation is still entitled to their statutory rights. That means holiday entitlement, normal salary and appropriate notice periods all apply. Once someone has worked for a month, the minimum notice period is one week, whether that’s you ending the employment, or them choosing to leave.
If you do need to dismiss someone during probation, it must be for a fair reason, such as poor performance or misconduct, and you’ll need to be able to justify your decision. With the new employment bill on the way, it’s even more important that probation decisions are based on clear, well-documented evidence, and that the process is fair from start to finish.
Putting a robust probation system in place
Creating a robust probation system isn’t just about protecting your business, it’s about giving new employees the best possible start. That means investing in the right training and resources for your managers, so they feel confident in setting expectations, giving feedback and making decisions.
Our Induction and Probation Toolkit gives you everything you need to manage the process properly, from practical templates and guides through to expert support from our HR consultants. It’s designed to make induction and probation smoother, simpler and fully compliant.
We also offer a CPD-certified training course to help managers understand the legal and practical aspects of onboarding and probation. It covers everything from setting objectives to conducting reviews and handling dismissals, so you can be sure your managers are doing things the right way.
If you’d like us to review your current recruitment, induction and probation processes we’re here to help. Just get in touch at info@realityhr.co.uk.