Probation periods: what rights do I have?
Probation does not cancel your rights. Check your notice clause today, save your rota and payslips, and do not let a dismissal deadline run out.
If you are on probation, you still have statutory rights to wages, holiday and protection from discrimination. Start today: save your contract, rota and latest payslip, then check the notice clause and your start date. “You’re still on probation” is not an answer to wage theft or a dismissal because you are pregnant. But ordinary unfair dismissal protection usually needs qualifying service. The reason for dismissal and the deadline matter.
- No max
- no statutory maximum probation length
- 1 week
- minimum employee notice after one month’s service
- Day 1
- minimum wage, holiday accrual and discrimination protection
- 6 months
- GB unfair dismissal threshold scheduled for January 2027
What probation means in law
A probation period lets you and your employer assess whether the job is working out. There is no legal requirement to have one and no statutory maximum length. Acas confirms that probation can be any length, so six months is not a legal limit.
Your contract may set shorter notice during probation, delay bonuses or private health cover, and explain reviews and extensions. Those terms still have to meet the statutory rules. An employer cannot withhold minimum wage or statutory holiday just because you have not passed.
Probation can also accompany an internal move. Changing roles with the same employer does not, by itself, restart your continuous service. A long-serving employee does not lose dismissal protection by agreeing to a trial in a new job.
Notice during probation: the one-month line
The dividing line for statutory notice is one month’s continuous employment, not the end of probation. In Great Britain, the rule is in section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Northern Ireland has equivalent minimums.
| Continuous service | Employer must give | You must give |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 1 month | No statutory minimum. Check your contract. | No statutory minimum. Check your contract. |
| At least 1 month, less than 2 years | 1 week | 1 week |
| At least 2 years, less than 12 years | 1 week per completed year | 1 week |
| 12 years or more | 12 weeks | 1 week |
Before you reach a month, a short contractual notice period can apply. If the contract is silent, do not assume either side can end it without notice. There may be an implied right to reasonable notice, which depends on the circumstances.
Once you reach a calendar month’s service, a “no notice during probation” clause cannot override the statutory week. Four weeks is not necessarily a month. If you resign after a month, you must normally give at least one week, or longer if your contract requires it. Check before accepting a start date elsewhere.
Your employer must give the longer of contractual notice and the statutory minimum. If your probation clause promises a month, you get a month. Your employer may require you to work your notice, put you on paid garden leave or end employment with a payment in lieu where the contract permits it or you agree. Simply ending the job early without that authority can breach the contract even if notice pay is offered. Our notice periods guide explains the options.
Gross misconduct can justify dismissal without notice. A probation label, a poor review or a vague allegation of “bad fit” does not itself establish gross misconduct. Statutory notice applies to employees, not people who have worker status only or are genuinely self-employed. Their contractual notice terms still matter.
Example: a “no notice” clause at ten weeks
A warehouse worker has worked for ten weeks. The contract says “no notice during probation”, and the employer dismisses them for slow progress, not gross misconduct. The statutory minimum overrides that clause. They are entitled to one week’s notice. If normal notice pay is £600 and the employer ends the job immediately without paying it, the missing notice pay is £600. Any accrued holiday pay is separate.
If the worker resigns instead, the statutory minimum is also one week. A contractual requirement to give a month would still bind them.
Rights you keep from day one
Probation does not postpone rights you otherwise qualify for. Some rights start with the job; others have their own eligibility rules. This section describes Great Britain. Northern Ireland’s differences are covered below.
Minimum wage and holiday
From 1 April 2026, the minimum hourly rates are £12.71 for people aged 21 and over, £10.85 for those aged 18 to 20, and £8.00 for under-18s above compulsory school-leaving age. The £8.00 apprentice rate applies only if you are under 19, or aged 19 and over in the first year of your apprenticeship. Otherwise, your age rate applies. These are the official 2026 rates, not optional probation rates.
Statutory paid holiday accrues from the start. Most workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks a year, capped at 28 days. For a regular five-day week that is 28 days, and bank holidays can count towards it. Rest-break protections also apply. Probation is no reason to ignore them.
Sick pay
Since 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay has no lower earnings limit or waiting days. The weekly rate for 2026 to 2027 is the lower of £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings. You must still meet SSP eligibility conditions, including having done some work for your employer, and follow the sickness-reporting rules. “SSP from day one” means the first qualifying day of sickness, not an unconditional payment from your first day in the job.
Example: sick pay during probation
You earn £700 a week and have five qualifying workdays. You are eligible for SSP and miss all five through sickness. As 80% of £700 is £560, the lower weekly amount is £123.25. That is £24.65 per qualifying day. An eligible part-timer whose average weekly earnings are £100 gets £80 for a full qualifying week, because 80% of £100 is below £123.25.
Your employer can reserve enhanced contractual sick pay for people who have passed probation. It cannot use that restriction to deny SSP you qualify for. See our Statutory Sick Pay guide.
Discrimination, whistleblowing and written terms
Discrimination protection does not depend on service and can cover applicants as well as employees and workers. Probation does not remove protection against detriment for qualifying whistleblowing disclosures or the right to join a trade union. In Great Britain, employees and workers are also entitled to their principal written statement of employment particulars from day one.
Family leave and pay
Employees can take up to 52 weeks of statutory maternity leave without a minimum-service requirement. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave also became day-one rights in Great Britain on 6 April 2026. You still have to meet the other conditions, including notice requirements. Unpaid parental leave is unpaid; statutory paternity pay has separate eligibility rules.
Statutory Maternity Pay normally requires 26 weeks’ continuous employment by the qualifying week, the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, as well as meeting the earnings and other conditions. Being on probation does not decide whether you qualify. If you do not qualify for SMP, you may qualify for Maternity Allowance. Our guides explain maternity leave and pay and paternity leave and pay.
Workplace pensions
An employer can postpone pension assessment and auto-enrolment for up to three months. You can ask to join during postponement. Whether the employer must contribute depends on your age and earnings, not whether you have passed probation. See workplace pension rights.
Can you be sacked on probation?
Yes. If you have not reached the qualifying service for ordinary unfair dismissal, an employer can usually dismiss you for poor performance or an ordinary suitability concern without facing that type of claim. It must still honour your contract and notice, pay what it owes and avoid unlawful reasons.
As at 1 October 2026, ordinary unfair dismissal usually requires two years’ continuous service in Great Britain and one year in Northern Ireland. Passing a three-month probation does not give you that protection. Equally, extending probation cannot switch it off once you qualify. The British threshold is scheduled to fall to six months for dismissals from 1 January 2027.
You may still have a claim before that threshold. The reason and the employer’s conduct matter.
Automatically unfair dismissal
Many automatically unfair reasons need no minimum service. They include pregnancy or maternity, qualifying whistleblowing, certain trade-union activities and asserting specified statutory rights. The legal conditions differ between these protections. Calling a dismissal “failed probation” does not settle its real reason.
If you tell your employer you are pregnant at eight weeks and are then dismissed for supposed “culture fit”, save the messages, reviews and timing. Those facts may support a claim, but pregnancy followed by dismissal is not automatic proof of the reason. Our unfair dismissal guide explains eligibility.
Discrimination
A discriminatory dismissal can be challenged without minimum service. This includes dismissal connected to race, sex, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics. Employers must make reasonable adjustments for disabled staff during probation too. A performance problem may need adjustments or support, not simply a failed review.
Wrongful dismissal
Wrongful dismissal is a breach-of-contract claim, not a test of whether dismissal was fair. Failing to give notice owed, or breaking a binding contractual dismissal procedure, can support a claim without minimum service. A policy is not necessarily contractual. Compensation reflects the loss caused by the breach, usually notice pay and associated contractual benefits, rather than a reward for poor treatment. See wrongful dismissal and contract breaches.
Ask for the reason in writing even if you cannot require it. In Great Britain, employees normally have a statutory right to request written reasons after two years’ service, with a response due within 14 days of the request. Under section 92, no request or minimum service is needed if you are dismissed while pregnant, or your maternity or adoption leave ends because of dismissal.
Holiday and the end of probation
Your employer can control when you take holiday through the applicable notice rules. It cannot erase your entitlement because you are on probation. If you leave, it must pay for accrued statutory holiday you have not taken.
Example: untaken holiday when you leave
You work five days a week and have the statutory 28-day annual entitlement. You leave exactly a quarter of the way through the holiday year, having worked throughout that quarter. Your accrued entitlement is 28 × 0.25 = seven days. If you took two days, five days remain payable. If each day’s holiday pay is £120, that is £600, separate from notice pay. Irregular-hours and part-year workers have different accrual rules.
Our holiday pay guide explains accrual and pay calculations.
Can your employer extend probation?
Check the contract and any relevant policy for the power to extend and its conditions. Without an existing power, your employer may need your agreement to change the terms. Acas says an extension must be confirmed in writing before the original period ends and the written statement updated within one month. The extension should explain its length, review points, expected improvements and support.
Absence does not automatically justify failing or extending probation. An employer may have enough evidence to assess your work already. If more assessment time is needed, it must handle the extension without discrimination and make any reasonable adjustments required for disability. An agreed extension after family leave is different from penalising you for taking that leave.
Do you automatically pass if there is no review?
There is no statutory rule that silence means you pass. Some contracts give a fixed end date; others require written confirmation. Whether a late extension is valid, and when longer notice or benefits begin, depends on the wording and circumstances. Do not assume probation continues indefinitely or that its terms have automatically fallen away.
- After your shift, save the basics. Photograph or download your contract, probation clause, rota, clock-in records, payslips, reviews and messages. Write down the date and what happened while it is fresh.
- Ask one clear question in writing. If dismissed, ask for the reason, your final pay, holiday pay and notice pay. If an extension is proposed, ask which contract term allows it and what you must improve.
- Get help before the clock runs out. Contact Acas for early conciliation in Great Britain, or the Labour Relations Agency in Northern Ireland. A union can help you act: USDAW for retail, Unite or UNISON in many care and health workplaces, GMB in care and logistics, and IWGB for many delivery riders. Citizens Advice and local law centres can also advise. A grievance or appeal does not stop the tribunal deadline.
Status and where you live change the answer
Employee and worker status are different. Employees have statutory notice and potential unfair dismissal rights. Someone with worker status only usually has neither, but still has rights including minimum wage, paid holiday, rest breaks, protection against unlawful deductions and discrimination, and qualifying whistleblowing protection.
“Zero-hours”, “casual” or “agency” does not decide your status. Some people working on those arrangements are employees. Agency workers also have specific rights, including access to shared facilities and information about vacancies from day one. After a 12-week qualifying period in the same role with the same hirer, they are entitled to equal treatment in basic working and employment conditions, subject to the agency-worker rules.
Genuinely self-employed contractors rely mainly on their contract rather than employee rights, although discrimination law can cover some personal-work arrangements. If your status is disputed, start with am I an employee, worker or self-employed?
England, Wales and Scotland share the employment rights described above. Scotland’s tribunal deadline for breach-of-contract claims changes later, as explained below.
Northern Ireland has separate employment legislation. Its ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying period is normally one year, and employees can normally request written reasons after one year, with a response due within 14 days. Its statutory notice minimums mirror those in the table. Do not apply the British six-month dismissal threshold or new tribunal deadlines there. For family leave and local claim procedures, contact the Labour Relations Agency rather than Acas. For sick pay, nidirect directs readers to the GOV.UK SSP guidance. Our Northern Ireland employment guide explains the wider differences.
If you think dismissal was unlawful, act promptly
For most Great Britain tribunal claims about events on or after 1 October 2026, the usual limit is six months minus one day. For most events before that date, it remains three months minus one day. The change does not automatically extend every existing claim. In Scotland, breach-of-contract claims retain the shorter limit for breaches before 9 November 2026.
For unfair dismissal, time usually runs from the effective termination date, often the last day of notice or the dismissal date if no notice was given. Discrimination and unpaid-wages claims can have different starting points. As a simple example, a dismissal taking effect on 1 October 2026 normally has a six-month-minus-one-day limit ending on 31 March 2027, before allowing for early conciliation.
Keep your contract, dismissal letter, payslips and reviews. Request any unpaid notice, wages or holiday pay in writing, and ask about an appeal. A grievance or appeal does not pause the claim clock. Report minimum-wage underpayment to HMRC. If you suspect forced labour or labour exploitation, contact the GLAA; report immediate workplace safety risks to the HSE. The EHRC publishes guidance and takes action on equality issues. If you are thinking of resigning because of your employer’s conduct, get advice first. A constructive dismissal claim is not made easier by being on probation.
What changes next: the 2027 reforms
The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent in December 2025. It changes several rights relevant to probation, but does not create a statutory probation scheme. This is the position as at 1 October 2026, using the government’s implementation timetable. Future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change.
- Sick pay and family leave changes in force
SSP waiting days and the lower earnings limit were removed. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights in Great Britain, subject to their other conditions. Whistleblowing protection for sexual-harassment disclosures was strengthened.
- Longer tribunal limits in force
Most Great Britain claims about events from this date have six months minus one day. Scotland’s breach-of-contract change is scheduled for 9 November 2026. Earlier events retain their existing limits.
- Harassment duties scheduled to tighten
Employers are due to have to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and face a separate obligation not to permit harassment by third parties.
- Six-month unfair dismissal threshold scheduled
The ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying period in Great Britain is due to fall from two years to six months for dismissals from this date. The usual written-reasons threshold is also due to fall to six months, and the unfair dismissal compensatory award cap is due to be removed.
Probation lets an employer assess you faster. It does not let them pay you less than the law requires, deny your holiday, or sack you for having a baby, blowing the whistle, or joining a union.
Questions people ask
Is six months the maximum legal probation period?
No. There is no statutory maximum. A longer probation does not delay statutory rights or stop you gaining ordinary unfair dismissal protection when you reach the qualifying service.
Can I leave during probation without notice?
Before one month’s service there is no statutory minimum, but your contract or an implied notice term may still require notice. After a month, employees normally owe at least one week, or any longer contractual period. You can ask your employer to agree an earlier leaving date.
Can I be dismissed without notice during probation?
Probation alone does not justify it. Under one month’s service, check your contractual terms. After a month, employees are normally entitled to at least a week’s notice, or longer contractual notice. Gross misconduct can justify dismissal without notice; an authorised payment in lieu can end employment without working notice.
Can my employer refuse sick pay or holiday until I pass?
It cannot deny statutory holiday or SSP you qualify for. Enhanced sick pay or extra contractual holiday may have different eligibility terms. Since 6 April 2026, SSP has no earnings threshold or waiting days, but its other conditions still apply.
Have I passed if nobody reviewed me by the end date?
Not necessarily. There is no automatic statutory pass. Check whether the contract gives a fixed end date or requires written confirmation, and ask for an outcome in writing. Do not assume either the shorter probation notice or the longer post-probation notice applies without checking.
Can I appeal a failed probation?
Ask for the reason and check your contract and policy for an appeal procedure. You can request an appeal even if no procedure is stated. A binding contractual procedure matters to a breach-of-contract claim, and a fair process matters where unfair dismissal protection applies. An appeal does not stop the tribunal deadline running.
Sources
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 86, minimum notice, legislation.gov.uk
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 92, written reasons for dismissal, legislation.gov.uk
- Probation periods, Acas
- Extending probation, Acas
- Employment tribunal time limits, Acas
- Dismissal rights, GOV.UK
- Eligibility to claim unfair dismissal, GOV.UK
- Unfair dismissal factsheet, Department for Business and Trade
- Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act timeline, GOV.UK
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, GOV.UK
- Statutory Sick Pay eligibility, GOV.UK
- Holiday entitlement, GOV.UK
- Agency workers’ rights, GOV.UK
- Statutory redundancy pay, GOV.UK
- Giving or getting notice, nidirect
- Being dismissed by your employer, nidirect
- Statutory Sick Pay, nidirect
- Hundreds of employers handed penalties for illegally underpaying workers, Department for Business and Trade and HMRC