All new employees join the company on a probation period of six calendar months. The aim of this period is both to give the employee time to learn the role properly and to give the employer time to assess whether the role, the team and the individual are a good fit. What follows summarises what you can expect and what we will expect from you during this time.

**Support during probation.** Every new employee is assigned a line manager and a buddy. The line manager is responsible for your formal supervision, including your objectives and your end-of-probation decision; the buddy is a more experienced colleague who is there to answer informal questions. You should meet your line manager for a structured one-to-one at the end of weeks one, four, twelve, twenty and twenty-four. These meetings are short (typically thirty minutes) and are intended as an opportunity for you to raise any concerns.

**Objectives and feedback.** By the end of your first month, you and your line manager will agree a small number of objectives for the rest of the probation. These objectives are deliberately modest: they focus on what 'settled' in the role looks like, rather than ambitious stretch targets. Progress is reviewed at each one-to-one, and any difficulties identified early can normally be resolved well before the end of probation.

**Extending or ending probation.** In most cases, the standard six-month period is sufficient. Where additional time is judged to be helpful — for example, because the new employee has been on a long period of sickness absence, or where a change of role has occurred during the probation — the period may be extended by up to three months with the written agreement of both parties. If, on the other hand, serious concerns arise early, the probation may be ended at any point after the first month, with two weeks' notice on either side.

**Passing probation.** In the final month of the probation period, the line manager holds a formal end-of-probation meeting. This is a structured conversation covering the whole probation period, supported by a brief written assessment. A copy of the assessment is shared with the employee no later than three working days before the meeting, so that it can be read and reflected on in advance.

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