probation after 8 yrs in employment

aoifed6

hi,
after working on a relief panel for 8 yrs i decided to take up a temporary assignment with my current employer. i did three 6 month contracts and there was never an issue with my working performance until i raised issues about being bullied by a head of unit.

when the 3rd six month contract was up i gave a months notice in writing. i was told i had to do a probation period in order for me to revert back to the relief panel which i never left and continued to work on it while i was in the temporary contracts.

my employers are adamant that i need to do a probation. i expressed that i was probated in 2005 but they said they have no record of it.

i am seeking legal advice but its just insane what employers think they can get away with. i was told by my manager that i slipped through the cracks of the organization . this is nonsense as they have offered me three jobs to date!

would like some peoples views on this.

ciao x

Mr. Loverman

Has your performance at work gone downhill over the past few months?

For example, you say you were being bullied. Did this cause you to drink more?

Could you tell us a bit more about the bullying?

seamus

It doesn't really matter whether your employer has a record of your probation from 8 years ago. If you've employed with them continuously for 8 years, they can't really decide to put you on probation for no reason.

There are two reasons why an employer may put you on probation after the first year of employment:

1. Promotion/change of job. This would have to be an actual change of role, not just an adjustment of your existing role or a transfer to a different department.
2. Poor performance. They can put you on probation after issuing a formal warning in line with their disciplinary policy. The nature of this probation must be in the policy though, not just something they have decided to do. Probation after formal warning usually occurs when you're on your last chance - i.e. continued poor performance leads to dismissal.

It's worth noting that in the above two cases of probation, the employer can't dismiss you with a week's notice as if you were a brand new employee. In the promotion scenario, the probation usually applies to the promotion, giving the employer the option to demote you again within the probation period if it's not working out. In the disciplinary scenario the employer has to follow their own procedural rules.

In this case you describe, you've been in continuous employment with this employer for 8 years, so any probationary period at this stage is pointless. Ask them what the purpose of the probationary period is.