Posting for traffic, employment/dismissal law q

[lastqueenofscotland]

Having to keep this vague, a friend with a daughter in her early 20s mentioned this to me today
Her daughter was on probation at an entry level role in a large company (fair few thousand employees)
Her feedback had all been positive in her monthly meetings but on her most recent one 4 months in her manger who had been giving her all the good feedback said it wasn’t working and they wouldn’t be continuing her employment. She wasn’t in with anyone from HR received no written warning of this meeting abd wasn’t invited to bring in a representative or someone to sit with her.
I’ve had to dismiss staff before and we always had to invite them to bring someone in and have someone from HR...

She’s devastated, doesn’t want the job back but would she be able to go after them in any way for this. Seething on her behalf...

No, she has no recourse, she is still in probation, so can be let go for no viable reason. Full employment rights don't kick in until 2 years service.

I also don’t know if it makes any difference but she feels she was actively picked on in her last month by one other employee who happened to be very matey with the boss.

I don't think it makes any difference, unless she has proof she was unfairly selected due to a protected issue (sexuality, disability, race etc)

When you say she was picked on, could she have been discriminated against for things like sex or race? If so the two-year principle doesn't apply. It also doesn't apply for a whole range of other rather niche situations.

www.compactlaw.co.uk/free-legal-information/employment-law/exceptions-for-unfair-dismissal.html

Otherwise I'd agree - before two years continuous service she has no right to claim.

No, it makes no difference.

What rights do I have during the probationary period?
You have the same statutory employment rights as all other employees, which include:
· the National Minimum Wage;
· the right to rest breaks and paid holidays;
· entitlement to pay slips;
· statutory sick pay;
· the right not to be discriminated against;
· the right to have reasonable adjustments if you are disabled.

What rights don’t I have during the probationary period?

You will probably find that you have less generous contractual terms as compared to your colleagues who are not on probation. For example, you may not have access to full benefits such as bonuses, share schemes or private medical care. You are also likely to find that you are on a much shorter notice period until the probationary period has been passed.

You also do not have the right to claim unfair dismissal for most situations, including in relation to misconduct or poor performance. This is because you need to have 2 years’ employment with the same employer in order to qualify in making such a claim (unless the matter falls within one of the few exceptions where there is automatic unfair dismissal such as exerting a statutory right or making a protected disclosure).

This is a better guide :

www.peninsulagrouplimited.com/guides/dismissal-during-probationary-period/

Is a probation period dismissal legal?

In the UK, there’s no specific law on probation, so yes, a dismissal during the probationary period is legal.

Do I have to give notice?

Yes. The statutory minimum notice period is one week, but only where service is a month or more. You can choose to give more if you want to, but you’ll need to specify the amount in your employees’ contracts of employment.

Could an employee claim unfair dismissal?

To make a claim of unfair dismissal, your employee would need to have been working for you for at least two years. Because an employee is usually on probation for six months at most, a tribunal won’t consider their claim.

However, there are other claims an employee could make that don’t have a qualifying period. These include:
Whistleblowing: This is when an employee claims you fired them because they exposed wrongdoing at the workplace.
Discrimination: They could claim you dismissed them because of their age, gender, race or other protected characteristic.
That you dismissed them because they reported health & safety failings.