Whenever I do a presentation to employers, the question of firing an employee before or after the probation period has been completed is one of the most frequently asked questions.
Even if an employee has extremely strong credentials, the true test of how well he or she will do on the job comes from after the employee starts work. To gauge the performance of a new employee, many employers establish a special probationary period. During the probation period, the employer expects the employee to prove that he or she is capable of performing the job. Employee receives extra observation, feedback, and guidance during this time.
Many employers believe that once a person completed the probationary period, some additional cause is required before an employee could be terminated. This is simply not true.
I do not recommend having a probationary period. However, if an employer decides to offer a probationary period to employees, it should be sure to described it as a period of more intense scrutiny to ascertain if the employee is qualified for the position. It should not be labeled as a period when an employee may be discharged for any reason whatsoever because in California that is true of the entire period of employment at will.
An employer may treat employees on probation differently from other employees as long as there is no prohibited discrimination within the group of probationary employees. The Court has said that employees who have not completed their training and probationary period are not similarly situated with respect to other employees who have completed their training and probationary periods.
Once the probationary period has ended, the employer must either take the employee off probation or notify the employee that the probationary period has been extended. If the probationary period ends and the employer takes no action, affected employee is allowed to assume that they have successfully passed.
