Is It Fair to Terminate Employees on One Day's Notice During Probation? Seeking Advice

Dear Seniors,

I hope you are doing well. Please provide me with suggestions on whether it is fair to include a clause in an appointment letter stating that during the 6-month probationary period, an employee can be terminated with one day's notice. How logical is this, and what are the potential negative impacts for a company so that I can effectively convince the top management?

Please share your feedback promptly, as this is urgent since I have already taken a stand on this issue.

Thank you,
Kamrul Hasan

Probation is a period to train, induct, and watch the professional performance of an employee. Performance needs to be monitored and communicated so the person can understand shortcomings and change for the better. That way, termination with one day's notice may be too harsh if these prior steps were not taken with seriousness and documented. How a company treats its employees is an important factor in developing commitment to the company. So, I would avoid such abrupt terminations of employees on probation.

Probation Period Evaluation

During the probation period, the company evaluates the work of the employee and the potential they carry. The company also uses this period to assess whether it has made the right hiring decision. Not all recruits are compatible with the company. Furthermore, some are seen to be absolutely unproductive and troublesome.

Once the employee is confirmed, there is no option of removing them except by following a long process provided in the standing orders. To avoid the standing orders during probation, the clause of immediate termination is provided.

What you need to explain to the management is that although this clause exists, it should not be used unless the company is absolutely sure that the employee is a complete misfit. There is no negative impact because it is a standard practice followed by all companies. Therefore, having this clause in the probation period does not reflect badly on the company.

Legal and Ethical Considerations in Employment Termination

There are two sides to the issue. One is the legal side, and the other is the ethical side. The clause is tenable from a legal standpoint once the employee agrees to that condition. However, all the steps preceding such termination should be better complied with by the employer, such as giving regular feedback to the employee about his performance during probation and providing opportunities for him to improve his performance.

Ethically, the employee should have reasonable notice about his impending termination so that he can mentally prepare for it, start looking for a job elsewhere, and also balance the principle of fairness if the contract contains a provision that he shall serve a 15-day notice before his resignation.

Regards, B. Saikumar

Legally, it will be okay. But logical, ethical, or fairness depend on how the management/company wants to deal with its Human Resources. It is always best practice to keep the probationer informed about his performance periodically. This could be once every 3 or 6 months. This will prepare the probationary employee mentally for the worst scenario and will also serve as added legal protection, establishing that fair treatment is being meted out.

- bgramesh, Hosur.