Probation Delayed by 72 Days: How Does This Impact Employee Seniority?

There is an employee in my organization whose probation completion has been delayed by 72 days. What is the effect on his seniority?

Seniority is counted after the completion of the probation period when an employee becomes regular. If delayed, seniority will be granted after 72 days.

Probation in Employment

"Probation," in the realm of employment, is the term indicating the time-specific on-the-job assessment process of a newly appointed employee in an organization to evaluate their suitability for the job as well as for the organization. The period during which the assessment is made is called the "Probation Period," and the employment status assigned to them is "Probationer." The length of this probation period differs from organization to organization depending on various factors like the type of organization, nature of the jobs, service regulations/standing orders, etc. In the absence of specific deeming provisions in the service regulations, normally upon a declaration in writing by the employer as to the successful completion of the probation period, the probationer becomes a full member of the service or a confirmed employee of the establishment. Failure, if any, in this regard either in terms of performance or interpersonal relational aspects on the part of the probationer will result in the simple termination of their employment as stipulated in the contract of employment. At times, the employer can extend the probation period to give the probationer an opportunity to improve their performance or to acquire the expected standards of suitability for the organization.

Seniority and Its Impact

"Seniority" is the objective/merit-based sequential order of an employee's initial appointment. From the analysis of probation as above, it automatically follows that the delay in the declaration of probation will certainly affect one's seniority in employment benefits such as increment, promotion, etc.

Understanding Probation and Employment Dates

A probationer is an employee who is appointed to a permanent vacancy. If, during the period of probation, the employee's performance is not satisfactory, the employee is removed. However, if the performance is considered satisfactory, the date of employment is recognized from the start of employment, not from when the probation ends. Even if the probation period is over, the original date of employment is to be considered. Only when an employee is removed and subsequently re-employed does the new date of employment affect seniority.

Regards, Vibhakar Ramtirthakar

I opine that seniority counts based on the date of joining, as rightly mentioned by Mr. Vibhakar, but not from the date of completion of probation. The service encompasses the period from the date of joining the organization until the last working day.

In other contexts, such as promotions, other factors come into play, such as performance, failures, behavior, and skills.

Thanks, Kameswarao

I am very sorry to differ from the views expressed by our learned friends M/S Vibhakar and Kamesh. The query in the original post about the impact of a belated declaration of probation on one's seniority is not about the isolated case of the appointment of a single employee and the declaration of his probation. On the contrary, it presupposes the situation of more than one employee getting appointed at the same time and placed on probation. When more than one person is selected and appointed to the required number of vacancies of the same cadre, their seniority is based on their merits, and the sequential order in the appointment letter conveys it. In government service, the difference in the dates of joining does not alter the original seniority assigned in the appointment orders.

For example, out of 5 candidates placed on probation on the same date, if the one with seniority position 2 fails to complete probation successfully and it gets extended, say, for a further period of 3 months, while others with seniority positions 1, 3, 4, and 5 get declared to have successfully completed probation. Just within a month, there arises a situation for filling up 3 vacancies in the immediate next higher post by promotion from the feeder category. Of the 4 approved probationers, only the employees with seniority numbers 1, 3, and 4 will be promoted.

Now, further imagine that the employee with seniority number 2 completes his probation successfully in the extended period, and immediately after a month or so, a further vacancy for promotion arises. When the question of merit issues like the ones mentioned by Mr. Rao is to be considered, the junior with the original seniority number 5 would be preferred over 2 by virtue of earlier completion of probation. In government service, one would be required to draw his second annual increment onwards only after the declaration of probation. In private employment, I suppose that no employer would grant an annual increment exactly on the original date due to an employee undergoing an extended period of probation. Thus, seniority becomes effective only from the date of confirmation for employment benefits such as increment, posting, and promotion.