No mention of probation in contract, does it still apply?

grundie

Hello all,

I've been in a job for just over a month. It's going well and I have no problems.

Today I was told that I would be subject to monthly probation reviews. The thing is there is zero mention of probation in my employment contract. I mentioned this to my boss and he said "Oh no this is standard stuff, company policy, everyone has probation".

The Citizens Information website states that an employer can implement a probationary period if they wish, but it doesn't say what happens if it they don't explicitly implement one - as in my case.

So, if there is no mention of a probationary period in my contract can my employer still force one on me?

I don't want to rock the boat, I am quite happy in this company. But at the same time I don't want extra terms and condition forced upon me if I can avoid it.

Many thanks.

Mrs OBumble

Absolutely.

Probation is part of Irish employment law.

Eoin

I think it's more of a grey area than that - probation is allowed for; I don't know if it's implicitly in place if not stated in the contract.

What specific T&Cs are you worried about? I'd absolutely expect to have regular reviews in a new job; that's certainly not something I would be complaining about.

It's not that hard to let someone go in their first year of employment, so whether you're officially in a probationary period or not, it may not make a huge difference.

The legal forum may be a better place if you want to find what the letter of the law says, but if it's a bit of a non-issue (like having monthly meetings) and you don't think they're unhappy with you, then I'd be inclined to let it go.

grundie

My main concern is that my contract was very lightweight. Two pages, versus the usual eight or so that I am used to in my industry.

E.G. The termination section is just "Your employment may be terminated if you breach this contract or commit an act of gross misconduct" and the grievance section is just "Your line manager will deal with any grievances you may have". There is no mention or reviews or any kind.

There is no employee handbook or similar than fleshes out company policy and my main fear is that management will sort of add terms and conditions as they go along.

I don't want to be seen to to be taking advantage of a weak contract, but at the same time I don't want to be in a situation where they are acting like there are terms in the contract that don't exist.

EDIT: I suppose my concerns are a bit bigger than just the issue of probation. As I said my contract was lightweight, I was never given a formal job description and the company has no formal policies relating to HR/performance etc. At the review they talked about how well I was meeting expectations, I enquired as to what the expectations were only to be told that "You should know as you're a senior dev". (they were happy BTW) I'm used to working in environments where there is no ambiguity regarding such matters, everything is specified in the contact and in company policy documents. That isn't the case here and I feel like I should ask for clarity on such matters, but that by doing so I might be rocking the boat. I'm also afraid that if I say nothing about the HR practices they use then they will become part of my terms by virtue of the fact that I said nothing and accepted them.

Basically I'm confused.

bbam

I wouldn't fret too much over probation being mentioned or not.

In reality they can review your performance as often as try see fit.

Also at this early stage of your employment they can let you go at the drop of a hat for fickle enough reasons, being in or through your probation doesn't make this easier/harder for them.

I know some multinationals who have stopped with probation altogether. It's not needed and usually just leads to additional admin.