Your Rights If Dismissed On Probation
Being on probation does not remove your right to fair treatment at work.
Do Probationers Have Rights If Dismissed?
Yes, and the common belief that probation removes all protection is not accurate.
A probationer can still bring an unfair dismissal claim, and the employer still carries the burden of proving the dismissal was for just cause or excuse 2.
Probation gives an employer more room to assess whether someone fits the role, but it does not remove the requirement for a genuine reason and a fair process.
What differs is not whether you have rights, but what a successful claim can realistically produce.
How The Remedy Differs For Probationers
If reinstatement is not ordered, back wages can be awarded, capped at 12 months for a probationer compared with 24 months for a confirmed employee 1.
That difference reflects shorter service, not a lesser right to challenge an unfair dismissal in the first place.
Knowing this cap in advance helps you weigh the claim honestly rather than expecting the same figures a longer serving colleague might see.
What To Do If You Were Dismissed On Probation
Write down the reason given, any warnings or feedback you received, and how much notice you had to improve.
Read about what to do specifically after being fired during probation for the practical next steps that follow.
If your probation was extended before the dismissal, understanding how extensions differ from termination can clarify what actually happened in your case.
An employment lawyer can tell you quickly whether your specific facts point toward a genuine claim.
It also helps to think about how your probation was actually structured, since some contracts set specific milestones or reviews that were never carried out.
If your contract promised a review at a certain point and none took place before the dismissal, that gap is worth noting clearly.
Compare what you were told when you were hired against how the probation period actually unfolded in practice.
A wide gap between the two is a detail that often matters more than workers initially expect, and it is worth raising early with whoever reviews your case.
None of this needs to be resolved alone.
A brief, honest conversation early on often clarifies far more than searching for answers by yourself.
Short service does not mean a weak position once the facts are laid out.
A short record of the facts protects a short tenure just as well.
If you were dismissed while on probation and it did not feel justified, it is worth having an employment lawyer look at your specific situation.
Common questions
Can my employer dismiss me during probation for any reason at all?
No. A probationer can still be unfairly dismissed, and the employer still has to be able to point to a genuine reason if challenged. Probation gives an employer more room to assess fit, not an unlimited free pass to dismiss without cause.
Do I get less compensation because I was on probation?
If a claim succeeds and back wages are awarded, the cap for a probationer is lower than for a confirmed employee. The underlying right to challenge an unfair dismissal is the same, only the potential award differs.
Does length of service on probation matter?
It can factor into the overall picture, since a very short probation with no real chance to perform can support an argument that the process was not genuinely fair. Longer probation periods with documented issues are viewed differently.
What if my probation was extended instead of ended?
An extension is a different situation from a dismissal, though it can still raise fairness questions of its own. If you were dismissed after an extension, the same rights discussed here still apply to you.
Sources
- Back wages awarded for unfair dismissal are capped at 12 months for a probationer, compared with 24 months for a confirmed employee. DNH
- The burden falls on the employer, not the employee, to prove the dismissal was for just cause or excuse. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
Keep reading
If you were dismissed while on probation and it did not feel justified, it is worth having an employment lawyer look at your specific situation.