Terminating an Employee on Probation: Do We Owe Them August Salary?

Dear Members, We are in the manufacturing sector, and recently, I came across a situation where we hired a new employee for our machine shop floor as a supervisor. This person had ten years of previous experience but was very reluctant to perform the tasks allocated to him. He was still in the probationary period, and we were not satisfied with his performance. Therefore, he was terminated on 03/08/2022, and his July month salary was paid in full. In this case, is it necessary to pay his August month salary since he is still in probation?

Query Regarding Termination Payment
I also have a query regarding the circumstances under which an employer must pay for an employee when terminating them.

I request guidance on this topic and the laws surrounding it.

Thanks & Regards,
Keerthana Chandrasekar

It is okay to terminate the services of a probationer without conducting prolonged inquiries. However, the termination should be as per the terms and conditions of service. Normally, the appointment order shall contain a clause stating, "During the probation, your service may be terminated without notice and without assigning any reason." In such cases, you can terminate the employee without quoting any reason, such as poor performance. If you cite poor performance as a reason for termination, you should give the employee an opportunity to demonstrate that they were not a poor performer.

If the appointment order states that "during probation, the service shall be discontinued for poor performance," then you can terminate the employee, but there should be some proof to show that their performance was subpar. Often, we provide letters to employees highlighting their performance, and if such letters are available, then the termination is justifiable.

If there is a general termination clause stating, "the services shall be terminated by means of one month's notice or payment in lieu of such notice from either side," then you must give one month's salary.

In your case, the salary paid is for the period the employee was in service. What is mandatorily payable now is the salary for the three additional days worked. Notice pay, etc., will depend upon the service conditions explained above.