Probation review template — soon the most important form you'll fill in

Sources last checked: 26 July 2026 — every legal claim on this page links to gov.uk or Acas.

A probation review is a structured, written check-in during a new employee's probation period — the record of how they're doing against what was agreed. Probation used to be the low-stakes part of employing someone: if it wasn't working out inside two years, you could usually part ways with little legal risk.

That ends on 1 January 2027. From that date, an employee with just six months' service can claim unfair dismissal (for dismissals taking effect on or after 1 January 2027) — and the cap on the compensatory award goes. Source: government's ERA 2025 implementation roadmap, as revised 16 July 2026 — see our Employment Rights Act 2025 timeline.

What that means in practice: your probation period — and the reviews you hold and write down during it — become the record that shows any decision was fair and reached properly, before rights kick in at month six. A dismissal decision left to month five is cutting it fine: the date that counts is when the dismissal takes effect, not when you start thinking about it.

Two ground rules first:

• Your contract must state the probation conditions and duration — that's part of the day-one written statement. Source: gov.uk — employment contracts.
• You can only extend probation if the contract allows it. Check before you promise. Source: Acas — probation.

The template: probation review form

Guidance: hold reviews at least at the mid-point and before the end of probation — monthly is better. Fill this in during the meeting, share it, and both sign. Keep every copy.

Guidance: if the outcome is heading toward dismissal, that decision gets its own meeting and letter — never dismiss inside the review form itself. Follow a fair procedure: set out the concerns in writing, meet, listen, then decide. Source: Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

The habit that protects both of you

A probation file with dated reviews, specific examples, agreed support and the employee's own comments is what "we treated them fairly" looks like on paper. From 1 January 2027, it's also what keeps a parting of ways from becoming a tribunal claim — one you'd now face with six months on the clock for them to bring most claims, not three (that extension arrives 1 October 2026). Source: government's ERA 2025 implementation roadmap — dates tracked on our Employment Rights Act 2025 timeline.

And if the role itself is disappearing rather than the person struggling, that isn't a probation matter — it's a redundancy, with its own process: see our redundancy letter template.