In the UK, on average one in five employees starting their new roles will not finish or pass their probation period and move on to other opportunities. In some cases this is the choice of the employee, however, in others the business may need to ask them to leave as they are not suited for the position.

Unfortunately there is no such thing as a perfect recruitment process, and each business will at one stage or another lose employees during their first months of employment.

Notice periods during probation

An employee generally has a shorter notice period during their probation, with most company agreeing on a one week notice period with their new starters.

When an employee is terminated, they generally are not asked to work this week, however will receive pay in accordance with their employment contract.

Reasons for dismissal

If an employee is not capable of executing their role to the requirements set out by the company, and is unlikely to become capable as a result of training and guidance, its best to let them go early and avoid spending more time and money on their development.

An employee is not able to claim unfair dismissal until they have been employed by your company for more than two years, unless the dismissal took place out of discriminatory reasons.

To safeguard the business against any employment tribunal claims ensure you keep good records of employees’ performance and performance reviews throughout their employment, and only dismiss an employee on fair grounds even if they are within their first two years of employment.