To think my probation shouldn’t be extended because I took a week of annual leave?

[668r]

I’m currently in my 4 month probation period of my new job. I’ve been there 9 weeks so far, and had tried to hold out on booking annual leave as long as possible as my manager hadn’t mentioned me taking any annual leave and I wasn’t sure if it would be frowned upon to take it when I’m so new. However, I’ve been there 9 weeks now so have technically ‘earned’ 5 days of annual leave when I look at my entitlement for the year. I can also feel myself feeling a bit burnt out and in need of a break. So I asked my manager if I could take a week off in just under 2 months time, it will be the week before the end of my probation period.

My manager agreed and approved my leave, but mentioned that HR will probably want my probation period extended another week to cover this additional week?

Is this normal or should I be worried? I’ve not come across this in jobs before, and thought that I should be entitled to take the annual leave I’ve accrued so far without it impacting my probation.

Will u have completed the specified amount of time for probation? If not then this is fine. I would be concerned that after 9 weeks that u are feeling a bit burnt out. Is it suitable?

I thought it was fairly normal to not take annual leave during a probation period. It does sound like it may not be the right role if you’re already feeling burnt out?

Makes sense, probation is to see how you perform, you have to actually be there for that.

I'd be more worried about feeling burnt out after 9 weeks.

Was the leave accrued information in your actual contract?
It would be very unusual for someone to take a week off during a longer probation, let alone such a short one. Especially telling them you are feeling burnt out.

Sorry, but I think you've done yourself no favours and can totally understand why your probation would be extended. (though do also check the terms under which that can happen - again, it will be in your contract T&C)

4 months is a third of a year. Of course it's normal for people to take annual leave, probation or not.
In my workplace probation is not impacted by annual leave unless we expressly ask HR to extend it, but I assume different work places have different rules.

It makes sense if they want X number of weeks probation and you take a week off that they add that week on the end so they still get the same number of weeks to monitor your work etc.

I think given you've taken the annual leave right at the end of the probation period, it might have been better to just wait another couple of weeks and take it once the probation period was done.

I'd be worried about the feelings of burnt out after 9 weeks. Is this job very demanding ? Why are you so worried about a week on the probation? I mean it's only a week, neither here nor there really unless there's some other issue ?

Not everywhere will do this but it makes sense, I don’t really see the issue.

Probationary periods are a bit of a myth anyway. They can dismiss you at any time with notice during your first two years of employment, and you don’t have the right to claim unfair dismissal (unless it’s for an automatically unfair reason - like whistleblowing - or is unlawful
discrimination).

My work has 6 months probation and has no problem with people booking (reasonable) annual leave in that time. They also wouldn’t extend the probation time for annual leave. Realistically, one week out of 4 or 6 months isn’t going to affect the decision on whether you pass the probation or not.

So you think that in say a 6 month probation period, you shouldn't take any annual leave?

And then take the 25 days in the 6 months afterwards?

What about if you have children? No holidays with them?

Normal to expect it to be extended, but very unusual to take annual leave during probation

I would see it as they want to be able to assess everyone for 4 months of work, so to be fair if you have time off during that then the probation period is extended by that amount. Say you'd had a longer period of sick leave or mat leave or jury duty or a pre-booked holiday - you could then have a situation where someone misses a larger proportion of their probation. So I think it's just a blanket HR policy that the probation is 4 months of working time and is extended for any absences.

I do hope you didn't mention feeling burned out after only 9 weeks though.

Whether a company extends probation to cover annual leave would be down to their individual culture. I’ve never come across it before though.

I’d think that if you are being assessed over a six month period, a week or two is neither here nor there. It’s actually helpful for the company to see how you leave things before going off, manage handovers and pick up when you get back. As a manager, you usually see what’s not been done when an employee is on leave so I’d actually welcome leave during probation.

As pp have said, I’d be more concerned about feeling burned out after 9 weeks. Is it a very high pressure job @668r

Very unusual in the places I've worked to not allow annual leave in probation period, unless they are very short.

In fact, everywhere I've worked has encouraged people to take leave so they don't end up having to take loads after they pass probation/pay out remaining leave if they don't.

I think it’s great you’re looking after your mental health by taking a week off. (A week that you’re very much entitled to!) If it means you manage the job well and get a better work life balance then that sounds really sensible.

wtf? Are you in the uk? This isn’t unusual at all to take time off during the first three months. I’d ask my manager if there are any specific areas of my performance causing concern that I could work on.

I think a probationary period for a new job can be draining - especially if you need to learn a lot of new tasks/processes/procedures. I would encourage any new starter working for me to consider a break ins 4 month period

Burnt out after nine weeks?

Probation periods seem to be longer than a few years ago - a month used to be common for more junior staff, three months for more senior. Where I am now its three or six months.
On a short probation period I'd extend - but one week out of 16/17? - no. A 3 week break out of that maybe I would.
I don't find taking annual leave in probation periods odd - people often join with holidays pre-booked, and if you have a long probation period that stretches over the summer, unreasonable not to take any break.
As for the comments that the job isn't for you if you're feeling burnt out after a couple of months - a new role can be quite full on if you're taking on a lot of new stuff, leaving a job can be stressful, if you didn't get a break between the roles that can add to it.
Enjoy your break.

My immediate thought is:
In a hypothetical scenario where an employee had worked 4 months but had two weeks off in that time, if you are judging peoples suitability to pass probation, there's an argument to be had that they aren't being judged fairly against the same length of learning time as someone whose been there 4 months without a break, as you could in theory be 2 weeks behind development wise, or have missed coaching/shadowing etc opportunity in that time. Now, you could argue that a week is too short of time to have an impact, or you can say we'll you havnt missed any coaching and your performance is fine, but often it's just easier to have a blanket policy to extend by days off to avoid any accusations of unfairness.
I might be wrong! But that's what immediately came to mind. Glad to hear you are taking some time off, sounds like you earnt it.

I'm currently in the middle of a 6 month probation period and am off on holiday next week. It didn't even occur to me that this wouldn't be allowed and it was signed off by my new manager no problem!
If they say my probation needs to extended by a week to accommodate it that also wouldn't bother me 🤷‍♀️.
Seems a non issue to me.....feeling burnt out is your main issue here. I would look to address that as a priority.

Absolutely bonkers. I work in a high pressure job in the City and it’s perfectly acceptable to take annual leave when on probation. Our probation periods are 6 months.

Did you tell your manager you want a week off as soon as you've earned it because you're burned out after nine weeks in the job?