From 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) becomes a Day 1 right. Ensure your probation tracking is audit-ready for the Fair Work Agency launch on 7 April 2026.
Operational Guidance
This is the working knowledge layer behind ProbationWatch: Day 182 timing, Practical review process, and documentation standards that support clear employer records.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 cuts the unfair dismissal qualifying period from two years to six months. Once an employee hits Day 182, they can claim unfair dismissal. Here's what that means for your business and the steps to take before January 2027.
Latest Guidance
Tribunal cases are regularly lost not because employers made the wrong decision — but because they made the right decision with no paper trail. Here's the documentation that actually holds up.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces 28 reforms — but the one that rewrites your probation process is the reduction of the unfair dismissal qualifying period from two years to six months. Here's what that actually means on a Monday morning.
Two seismic changes landed on consecutive days in April 2026: every employee now qualifies for statutory sick pay from their first day of illness, and a new enforcement body can audit your records without waiting for a complaint. Here's what both mean for your probation process.
Most employers run a single end-of-probation review and hope for the best. From January 2027, that approach is a tribunal claim waiting to happen. Here is a staged review schedule that ensures every decision is made, documented, and defensible before Day 182.
Under the old two-year qualifying period, you could quietly let an underperforming new hire go. From January 2027, that luxury vanishes. Here is how to identify issues early, intervene fairly, and document everything before Day 182.
Many employers extend probation thinking it buys them time. It doesn't. From January 2027, the employee gains unfair dismissal rights at six months of continuous service — regardless of whether probation is still running. Here's what that means and how to handle extensions properly.
88% of spreadsheets contain errors. The Fair Work Agency can request your records without warning. From January 2027, unfair dismissal compensation is uncapped. If your probation process runs on Excel and email, the question isn't whether it will fail — it's when.
A bad hire at mid-manager level costs over £132,000. From January 2027, add uncapped tribunal compensation to that figure. The six-month qualifying period doesn't just change probation — it reprices every hiring mistake you make.
The Fair Work Agency launched on 7 April 2026 with the power to investigate employers proactively. When they ask for your probation records, the question isn't whether documentation exists — it's whether it's credible. Here's how to build records that prove compliance on demand.
A nine-point checklist for running a probation review that survives Day 182. Print it, copy it into a template, or run reviews through ProbationWatch directly.
If you extend probation past Day 175, here's exactly what the record needs to show — so the extension decision holds up if it's later challenged.
182 days, counted from the start date. Why the start date in the contract is now the most important date in HR — and how to make sure you're counting from the right one.
The five documents that protect a probation dismissal. What weak records look like, what strong records look like, and why a hash matters once the decision is made.
A working template for review notes that look right to an HR auditor and an Acas-trained tribunal. Covers the seven fields and the right of representation question.
Spreadsheets are fine until they aren't. Here's the line — and what changes after Day 182 makes a sealed record, not a spreadsheet, the minimum viable tracker.
A probation review template is only useful if it captures what a tribunal will later ask for. Here's what a 2027-ready review record must include — and a free PDF template you can use today.
As of 1 July 2026, anyone you hire could reach Day 182 after the new rule takes effect. The preparation window and the compliance window now overlap. Here's what to do, month by month.
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