Navigating HR Confusions: Earned Leave and Benefits During Extended Probation Periods

Dear seniors, I had a small confusion regarding a few HR matters in our company:

Probation Period and Earned Leaves

1. The probation period of an employee in our company is 3 months. However, due to poor performance, we extended his probation, and now he has completed 15 months and has been confirmed as a permanent employee. My question is whether he is eligible for earned leaves from the 15th month onwards, or if the calculation includes the previous 14 months as well.

Maternity Benefits for Probationary Employees

2. A female worker has completed 80 days of work within a calendar year but is still in the probation period. Can she receive maternity benefits under these circumstances?

Extension of Probation Period

3. Is it permissible for the probation period to be extended to 1.5 years, or is there a limit? If there is a limit, will the employee be entitled to benefits during the probation period, or does that only begin once they are confirmed as permanent employees?

Benefits for Confirmed Employees

4. What other benefits can be provided to confirmed employees?

Please guide me on resolving these issues.

Regards,
Prasad Divi
HR

Probation Period and Earned Leave Eligibility

1. The probation period of an employee in our company is 3 months. Due to poor performance, we kept extending his probation, and now he has completed 15 months and been confirmed as an employee in our organization. The question is, is he eligible for earned leave from the 15th month onwards, or should it be calculated for the previous 14 months as well? [From the 1st day, leave has to be calculated].

Maternity Benefits for Probationary Employees

2. A female worker has completed 80 days of work in a calendar year, but she is still in the probation period. Can we provide her with maternity benefits or not? [The Maternity Benefit Act does not mention the probation period but emphasizes the requirement of 80 days of work].

Duration of Probation Period

3. Can the probation period be up to 1.5 years, or is there a limit? If there is a limit, will the employee receive benefits, or must they wait for confirmation as a permanent employee? [Up to what limit does your company intend to extend the probation period? If it is indefinite, it may imply a lack of interest in granting permanent or confirmed status to the employee until retirement].

Benefits for Confirmed Employees

4. What other benefits can be provided to confirmed employees? [Please refer to CiteHR for more information].

Regards,

Leave does not have any concern with probation or confirmed employees. Here, leave will be calculated from the date of joining. Leaves are calculated on a calendar year basis. An individual earns leave in a calendar year, and the same entitlement carries over to the next calendar year. Maternity benefits also do not have any relation to probation.

Probation Period and Legal Benefits

The period of probation is governed by certified standing orders of the company, but it should not exceed 240 days, as individuals become confirmed after 240 days. There is no difference in legal benefits during probation or confirmation.

Please let me know if you need any further assistance or clarification.

Is it a written law that probation should not be more than 240 days? Please clarify.

Eligibility for Permanent Employment After 180 Days

Any employee who has completed 180 days of service automatically becomes eligible for permanent employment. The policy of any organization to keep extending probation will not be seen as fair practice, neither in the eyes of the employee nor in the eyes of the law.

If 6 months are not enough for the employer/employee to decide and show whether it is worth keeping the employee or if their skills can be useful to the organization, then the better option is to part ways with the employee during the training/probation period.

Therefore, the new employee and their manager's (mentor's) efforts should be closely and objectively monitored in the first 3 months, giving them a fair chance to prove their worth to the organization.