Probationary Periods Toolkit

Don’t be caught out on Probation: changes to be introduced by the ERA 2025 on 1 January 2027 are already impacting employers!

The reduction in the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal from two years to six months will happen on 1 January 2027 – this means that anyone employed on and from 1 July 2026 will qualify for unfair dismissal rights after six months. This is one of the most impactful changes contained within the Employment Rights Act 2025 and will be affecting your business imminently.

Probationary Periods and the Employment Rights Act 2025 Toolkit

Option 1:

Initial 30-minute discussion with a member of the Birketts employment
team to discuss the Employment Rights Act 2025’s impact on your
organisation’s approach to employee probations.
Our team will flag clauses within one standard template employment contract (provided by you) which you will need to consider adapting in light of these changes.
We will provide a basic template probationary guide for managers for you to adapt to your organisation’s needs.

Fixed fee – £750 plus VAT

Option 2:

30-minute discussion with a member of the Birketts employment team (as in Option 1).
Full review of one standard template employment contract (for compliance with current understanding of Employment Rights Act 2025 changes).
Full review of your probationary guide/policy with suggested amendments/or provision of our template probationary guide/policy.
Follow up call (30 minutes) to discuss bespoking of template probationary policy and suggested changes to contract.

Fixed fee – £2500 plus VAT

Option 3:

All parts of the advice outlined within Option 2; and
Our “Don’t be caught out during probation” session for up to 15 managers/employees

Fixed fee – £3950 plus VAT

Don’t be caught out during probation training

2 hour session which can be tailored/flexed for the SLT, HR Teams or Line Managers.

Join our experienced employment law trainers to examine the impact of this change over two hours of practical and pragmatic training. We will cover the basics of unfair dismissal and consider changes which may be needed to the terms, length and management of your contractual probation period. Learn how a more proactive approach to those initial months of employment could result in better results for informed employers as well as a reduction in legal risk.

Course content:

Overview of the Employment Rights Act 2025: key changes and context (including signposting to related training on prevention of sexual harassment and third-party harassment).
Contractual and statutory rights on dismissal: understanding the difference.
Unfair dismissal essentials: definition, legal tests and automatic unfair dismissal.
Key timing changes to unfair dismissal qualifying periods and why they already matter.
Notice periods and the impact of statutory notice on qualifying service.
Probationary periods in practice: drafting, length and termination provisions.
Managing probation effectively, including performance management
and limited extensions.
Case study examples applying the new framework in practice.
Looking ahead: proposed changes to unfair dismissal compensation.

To discuss your specific requirements and get a quote, please contact Sam Greenhalgh, Partner and Head of Shaping Excellence or Jonathan Shevlane, Employment Law Trainer.