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An employment probation period, referred to as a probationary or employment training period, is a time frame used to determine if the new hire is the right fit for the position and the company is right for the employee. A typical time frame for a probation period is around 30/60/90 days. Once you’ve determined your time frame and what benefits will be available during that time, you should document your probation period policy and share it with your team via the employee handbook and other documentation.
Download our Employment Training Period policy template, which you can customize to meet your needs.
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| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It enables a new hire to determine whether the job is a fit. | It may violate labor laws in certain states that don’t honor at-will employment. |
| It allows the employer to terminate an employee during the period, so long as it is not for a discriminatory reason. | If documentation is not rock-solid, it could lead to misunderstanding and put your company at legal risk. |
| The employer avoids paying for expensive benefits and perks until the employee is proven. | There’s a misconception that passing the probation means at-will no longer applies to employees. |
Some employers feel that using a probation period for new employees reduces their hiring risk. There are also some downsides to a formal employment probation period, however. For example, courts may interpret your probation period to imply that employees can only be terminated for cause after it’s over. Ensure to have an attorney review your document for legality.
In some cases, a probation period could actually limit a company’s ability to terminate employees. Courts have held that by completing a probationary period, an implied employment contract exists, making it more difficult for companies to terminate employees without cause.
To implement a probation period at work, you’ll need to select the time frame, create your policy, and provide documentation to your staff and new hires. You also need to decide what benefits the employee will receive upon hire versus what benefits will wait until after the employment probation period.
The most common time frame for a new hire probation period is 30 to 90 days. However, you—as the employer—can set any time frame you want so that you can fully evaluate whether an employee fits the company culture and can do the job. Below are examples of when each of the following 30/60/90-day time frames makes sense.
Perhaps the hardest part of implementing a probation period is deciding what you will and will not include during the employment probation period. The following benefits generally should be provided upon hire and not wait until after a probation period:
A business should consider withholding the major types of employee benefits and perks until after the probation period is over and it knows the employee can perform the job to its standards. For instance:
All employees, especially those new to your company, should be given a copy of the company handbook, any company policies, job description information, and the tools to complete their assigned jobs. This also includes onboarding, training, and access to company resources, as well as all stipulations about a probationary period and its inclusions.
For more information on onboarding workers, including those within a probationary period, check out our guide on how to onboard employees.
After you decide the time frame and benefits that you want to include, it is time to create and document your policy in writing. Use the provided template as a starting point. This document should include the above-mentioned, as well as any rules that apply during the probation period at work, such as performance metrics, goals, and job expectations.
Follow these steps to create your employment probation period policy:
Here are some tips to keep your policy effective and compliant.
If set up incorrectly, a probationary period may violate local labor laws and employer rights. For instance, some states make it illegal to postpone sick leave until after the probation period. Plus, federal labor laws, like the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, protect employees from day one.
There is also a potential risk of the employment probation period undermining an employee’s at-will employment status (employees may feel their employment is guaranteed following a probation period). Additionally, be sure that you do not include any language in your policy that could be considered discriminatory.
Legal services can help small businesses with legal documentation, the creation of policies, and other legal matters required to stay compliant with federal and state laws. For help, check out our best online legal services.
Once your employment probation period policy is created, add it to your existing employee handbook and new hire documentation. This will ensure that your policy is read and signed before your new employee’s first day. This also creates a legal document that clearly outlines the details of the probation period.
For more information, see our guide on how to create an employee handbook.Once you have finalized your policy, you need to share it in writing with your staff. Discuss expectations and provide training, resources, and feedback. Be sure to also include your employee probation period policy in your job ads, interviews, and job offer letters. This clarifies upfront that the new hire will be subject to a probationary period.
Additionally, you can provide new hires with a probation period letter that explains the policy. In the letter, reiterate your probation policy, and have the employee read, sign, date, and return a copy of the letter on their first day of employment. A letter signed by the employee may prove that the employee was fully aware of the probation policy in case of a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Once an employee is hired under the new program, make sure you’re giving them good employee performance feedback so that they understand your expectations and can proactively address issues within the probationary period.
Once the job probation period ends, you should have a review meeting with the new employee to discuss their progress and performance. Then, there are three things you can do: choose to extend the probationary period, hire the new employee, or terminate the working relationship.
If the employee is not quite ready to move to a permanent position, you may choose to extend the probation period. This is good for employees who haven’t quite mastered the skills of the position but are showing growth and promise.
This will give you a little more time to train the employee and see if they can grasp the role faster. If you’ve given the employee a 30-day probationary period, then extend it to 60 days. If you gave a 90-day probationary period, consider extending it to a full six months.
Following the employee probation period, if the employee has learned and grown within their position, you may be ready to bring them on permanently. In this case, if the employee hasn’t already gone through onboarding, you will want to hold the orientation meeting and onboard them. If you have already onboarded, you can simply provide them with a permanent job offer letter and bring them fully onboard.
Depending on the pay rate the employee started with, you may want to consider increasing their hourly rate or salary when you bring them on permanently. This is a way to reward the new employee for their effort and progression.
When the probationary period ends, if the employee has not grasped the concept of the position, or doesn’t fit within your culture, it may be time to terminate them. Most states are at-will employers, meaning you can terminate the working relationship at any time for any reason (so long as it doesn’t break labor laws, such as discrimination).
Be sure to follow the same process for termination as you would for any other employee, as this will legally protect your business. For guidance, see our article on how to terminate an employee
A probation period is simply a timeframe, anywhere from 30 to 90 days, at the very beginning of employment where both the employee and the employer can decide if the job is a fit. It is a time for training and learning the role.
What are the benefits of the probationary period?The biggest benefit of the employee probation period is that it gives you the opportunity to gauge the employee’s skills and progress in learning the job. Another benefit is that it mitigates risk; if the employee isn’t meeting expectations, you can terminate them with little risk to your bottom line.
Is a probation period at work different from at-will employment?No. Essentially a probation period and at-will employment are the same. An employee can be terminated for any reason, other than discriminatory, during both a probation period and regular employment.
An employment probation period can give both the new hire and the employer a chance to decide if they are the right fit for the job. While some employers like having a new hire employment probation period, it may be unnecessary if your state allows the employment at-will doctrine as it would create redundancy and increased legal risks. If you choose to institute a probationary period, consider using our template and have your attorney review your probation period policy before implementation.
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Jennifer Soper has 25+ years of writing and content design experience, working with small businesses and Fortune 100 companies. For over a decade, Jennifer worked as an HR generalist, providing expertise in accounting, payroll, and HR by implementing payroll and benefits best practices and creating onboarding and employee-relations documentation.
