Probation Confusion: Should an Employee Give 3 Months' Notice After Probation Ends?

We are making standard offer letters to all employees, which contain a 6-month probation period. Employees can leave the job, or the company can terminate them with 7 days' notice during the probation. We have not specified whether we will issue confirmation letters separately.

The normal notice period is 3 months on either side. An employee who has completed probation but has not received a confirmation letter has resigned after one year of joining. We have also increased his salary after the probation period. The question arises whether the employee has to give 3 months' notice or if 7 days is sufficient.

Usually, it is understood that if probation is not extended, the job is treated as confirmed. Please clarify.

Have you only been given an offer letter, or have you received at least an appointment letter? If it is just an offer letter, it is not considered sufficient. Offer letters typically do not contain detailed policies. If an appointment letter was provided upon joining, and if the procedures for confirmation and relieving were clearly outlined, then that is acceptable. The absence of an appointment confirmation letter leaves the employee unsure about the extension of their probation period or any other official updates. A salary hike alone is not conclusive proof of confirmation.

Thank you.

After the completion of each probation period, every employee must receive a Confirmation Letter. If the probation period is extended, this should be communicated to the employee by issuing a letter of extension for the probation period.

Also, if an employee is confirmed after successfully completing the probation period, HR must issue a letter stating the successful completion of the probation period.

If an employee has served our company for a period of 1 year and has given just 1 month of notice period instead of serving 3 months, then there are two possibilities:

1. If the employee has been given a Confirmation Letter, then the notice period should be 3 months (as stated by you). In that case, the employee is absconding, and the Company should take immediate action against that employee.

2. If the employee has not been given any Confirmation Letter, then the employee has not been informed about the completion of his probation period. Assuming that his probation period has been extended, he has resigned and left the organization serving a 1-month notice period, which is correct on his part.

To avoid such complications in the system and non-adherence to the policies, I suggest starting to issue the Confirmation Letter to employees who have completed their probation period so that the notice period and the Full and Final Settlement (FFS) are transparent for the further process.

Regards

His terms of appointment are governed by a document which you have given and he has accepted, whether it is an offer letter or a letter of appointment. The issue is whether he is deemed to have been confirmed after completing the 6 months of probation. It is not clear whether the offer letter also states that the notice period will be three months after the completion of 6 months of probation. If the offer letter does not mention this, and since you have not provided any confirmation letter after the 6-month probation period, he is deemed to be under probation only. Thus, he cannot be compelled to serve a 3-month notice.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai