Probationary Period

[Ronaldinhio]

Can you wondrous ladies please give me some advice...
my friend's son was employed by a company 14 mths ago.
After 8 mths (during which he had passed his probation) the company asked him to move into a new job role...new avenue for the company and new for him. He obliged.
It is now 2 days before he would have been in the new role for 6 mths and he has been called into a meeting, told he isn't making targets and told that his probation will be extended for 3 mths.
In his 6 mths working in the new role he hasn't had a review and the targets set out in his contract have not been mentioned except in his meeting today

where does he stand?

tia

Probationary periods are pretty meaningless in law. It's all about length of service, so if he's been employed 14 months they won't be able to just get rid of him regardless of whether they are calling his employment 'probationary period' at the moment. In most cases the only thing that changes (if anything) at the end of a probationary period is the notice period.

Advise him to join a trade union.

many thanks

he has gone back to his manager and said that he wasn't aware that he was subject to a new probationary period as he has been with the company over a year now
she stated "well you are" and that "taking on a new role means that he has started from the beginning like a new employee"
told him she is extending his probationary period for a further 3 mths
during that time period she will have to up his targets (failing to meet previous targets though)
no mention what failure to meet targets will result in but as his director feels he is within probation failure to meet targets will end in dismissal

would that amount to an unfair dismissal?

It's no easier to dismiss someone 'on probation' than a 'normal' person once they have a year's service. It is possible to dismiss on performance grounds obviously, but it's not easy, takes a long time and would need to involve formal warnings etc.

Sounds as though the director genuinely thinks 'probation' means something legally, so if she dismisses him for failure to meet targets at the end of the 3 month extension without formal warnings first plus chance to improve in between etc, it would be unfair dismissal yes.