Probation and Confirmation Policy

It is important to be consistent with the probation and confirmation criteria so that there is no ambiguity in the minds of both employees as well as Managers. This policy helps to evaluate the performance of an employee on probation and to ensure the company has hired the right skills and experience to be able to pursue its long term and short term goals and aspirations.

This policy template is available for download in Word format.

Probation and Confirmation Policy

Objective

The objective of the Probation and Confirmation policy is to communicate expressly with the employees regarding the duration of the probation period of employment and the subsequent confirmation of employment with the organization.

Scope & Applicability

The scope of the Probation and Confirmation policy is to set a framework for communicating the probation duration within the organization. The scope is also to indicate the rights of the employees and employer during the probation and the benefits to which the employees shall be entitled after successfully completing the probation duration.
This policy applies to all full-time employees within the organization.

Policy / Process

Policy Definition

This policy tends to clarify the probation and confirmation process to standardize the procedure. This will help not only HR teams but also Hiring managers to follow.

The idea behind having a probation period in the UAE is to assess the employee's performance within the first few months before offering them a permanent position. During the probation period, the employee undergoes a thorough evaluation and performance screening. Once the review concludes, the employer will hire the person as a permanent employee if deemed suitable for the particular position.

Procedures

The "Probation Duration" explains the procedure for probation and confirmation of employees within the organization.

Probation – Probation Duration and Process

• Probation Duration: As per the UAE Labor Law, employees shall have a mandatory probation duration of SIX MONTHS.
• No Extension of Probation Duration: The probation duration shall not exceed SIX months. During the probation duration, the performance of the employee shall be assessed.
• Termination of Employment in Probation Duration: The organization upholds the right to terminate an employee/s during the probation period in the event the employee/s underperforms. Written notice prior to 14 days from the termination date shall be extended to employee/s.
• Employee/s who leave the country without notice during their probation period will be prohibited from acquiring a work permit for a year. Employee/s under the probation duration are not entitled to End of Service Benefits.
• Employee/s Resignation in Probation Duration: Employees who intend to leave the UAE possess the right to resign during the probation duration with written notice of 14 days.
• No Entitlement of Sick Leaves – Employees under probation are not entitled to Paid Sick Leaves.
• Start of Probation Duration – The probation duration starts from the first day of the employee/s reporting on the job.

Confirmation – Confirmation process

Confirmation – Once employees satisfactorily complete the probation duration of SIX MONTHS, then the employment tenure of employees is considered as CONFIRMED.

• Termination Post Confirmation – If an employee is terminated post-confirmation, then the employee is entitled to End-of -service Benefits. The reason for termination shall be related to underperformance or the redundant position.
• Resignation post the confirmation – If an employee decides to resign, then the employee is entitled to End of Service Benefits. Confirmed employees shall have to serve a notice period of 30 days.
• Entitlement of Sick Leave & Paid Leave - Employees can take Paid Sick Leave Post confirmation. Employees' entitlement for paid leave is for 30 days annually.

HR Department and Business Head Responsibilities

Close assessment and record of new employees' performance: Business HR and the Business Head of the department in which the new employees are placed should closely evaluate and record the performance of new employees via continuous interaction. Performance feedback should be assessed, and feedback from the new employees or challenges encountered in the job must be resolved by the Business Head of the department where the new employees are placed, along with the Business HR. Performance gaps need to be indicated by the Business Head of the department to the new employees under the probation duration to improve performance.

Non-compliance and consequences

Non- Compliance with this policy in the following events will be treated as Non-Compliance and shall lead to the issuance of show cause notice to the parties involved:

• In the event that employees under the probation period are not extended with proper resources to perform the job role better.
• In the event that any challenges of employees under the probation duration are not resolved by the Business Head of the department to perform the job role better.
• If the reasons for underperformance and termination are not clearly quoted by the Business Head of the department to employees under probation duration and confirmed employees.
• Employees under the probation duration and confirmed employees also reserve the right to raise Non-Compliance events stated above if observed or experienced.

In addition to issuing the Show Cause notice to the parties involved in the above-stated events, intervention by the Management Committee and HR Head of the organization shall be undertaken, if considered necessary. The Management Committee and HR head may formulate an investigation committee for the Non-Compliance event if deemed necessary.

The investigation results may lead to the termination of parties involved in non-compliance with the Probation & Confirmation policy.

Special Circumstances and Exceptions

In the event employees under the probation duration is unable to perform due to personal health issues or injury, then the probation period shall be extended with a benefit of the doubt to the employee, and the employment of the respective employee shall be considered as confirmed.