Probation extension was notified verbally rather than in writing

Question

After my six month probation period with my current employer had expired, I was told that my probation period is being extended for three months. My original probation period was from 11 Nov to 11 April. In end of April, my manager told me about the extension. However, I was only told of the extension verbally by my manager; no-one asked me to sign anything, and I was not given any letter by our HR department.

At that time, my manager has told me that senior managers will perform a review and that I should keep looking for other jobs. And, my manager and TL told me this is all confidential, and I'm not suppose to talk with anybody about this (Otherwise i will be fired straightaway), which seemed strange.

How should I react to not receiving a written notice of the probation extension, and not being notified of the extension until after the initial period had expired?

** just got my termination letter **

Answer 1

If you have been told you should keep looking for jobs by your manager, then I would strongly recommend you follow that advice.

Did your manager say that senior management is performing a review now or at the end of the period? If the former, then they are possibly still deciding whether to formalise the extension.

Either way, it seems that your employer is considering not retaining you after probation and are just giving themselves a little more time to assess the situation. You could ask for a one on one meeting with your manager and ask them to outline new end date of the probation and what aspects of your job you need to work on during that period.

However, given that they are not keen on documenting the extension, there is a risk that they could well end up forcing immediate termination rather than formalise the change to your extension. I would still probably do that as if I don't know what to fix then my chances of termination at the end of the extension is considerably higher than if I do.

The choice is yours about whether to approach your manager, but try to do the very best you can while you are still there and definitely start looking for another job in earnest.

Answer 2

The last paragraph is what shows some serious warning signs to me

Now after over month they are doing this review And my manager and TL has told me its all confidential and i m not suppose to talk with any body about this which seems strange Otherwisw i will be fired straightaway

This isn't correct. In the UK you have a legal right to seek advice on employment matters. You even have the "Right to Representation" so in any disciplinary meeting you can be accompanied by a colleague or trade union representative. How large is your workplace, are you unionised? if so I would approach a rep immediately.

It's also important to not that while probation can be extended, depending on the terms of your contract, it cannot be indefinite. Normally an extension of probation is seen as a form of disciplinary i.e you've failed the terms of your probation but the company is prepared to give you another chance. Keeping someone on who's failed probation doesn't make good business sense.

I'd contact ACAS for some advice if I were you.

http://www.acas.org.uk

They're the organisation within the UK that deals with employment issues, prior to going to an employment tribunal. They offer conciliation services between employee and employer. Unfortunately due to your length of service you would be unlikely to take your employer to a tribunal and be successful for unfair dismissal, but you do have employment rights so i'd make sure you brush up on them so your employer cannot take advantage of you.