Letter extending probation period

What’s a letter extending probation period and when should you use it?

Where a probationary employee is not achieving the standards of performance or conduct that you expect, you might want to extend their probationary period.

You should use this letter when an employee has come to the end of their initial probationary period, but you are looking to extend it to serve as a warning that an improvement in performance and/or conduct is needed if the employee wants to avoid being dismissed.

This letter informs your employee that you are extending their probation, the reasons why you have made this decision and what improvement is needed.

You must make sure that these reasons are factual, related to performance and that there are no known factors that might explain why the employee’s performance during the probation period has been less than satisfactory.

Finally, if you have decided to extend the employee’s probation period, you must make sure that the terms of your contract allow you to do so.

If you extend the probationary period without the contractual right to do so your employee has a potential claim against you for breach of contract.

You should also make sure that you will continue to assess and review the employee’s performance in the same way you did during the initial probation period.

This may include discussing your observations and any concerns you or they may have at each stage and listening to what they say in response.

What else might you need?

For more information on probation periods, how they work and what’s the best practice for managing them, take a look at our guide on this topic.