You have the offer in front of you, the salary works, and then you hit the clause about a six-month probation period. Most candidates skim it, sign, and only think about it again when something goes wrong. That is a mistake: the probation clause often carries the most personal risk of anything in the contract during your first year. Here is what it actually does, what it does not do, and what to ask before you put your name on anything.
What a probation period actually is
It is a defined window at the start of employment during which the employer, and usually you as well, can end the contract with much shorter notice than normal. Everything else varies by country and sector.
What it is not:
- Not a trial where you are unemployed or self-employed. You are a full employee from day one, on payroll, paying tax and contributions like anyone else, at the agreed salary.
- Not a rule-free zone. Discrimination protections apply throughout, in most jurisdictions from the moment you are hired.
The real difference is procedural. Outside probation, many employers must follow a documented process before terminating. During it, that process is compressed or skipped.
Typical lengths and extensions
- UK: probation is a contractual convention, not a statutory concept. Three or six months is standard, and it matters less than people assume, since unfair dismissal protection generally requires two years of service anyway.
- US: most states are at-will, so either side can end employment at almost any time for any lawful reason. A "90-day introductory period" usually gates benefits eligibility rather than changing your legal status.
- Continental Europe: probation is capped by statute or collective agreement, with rules on maximum duration and whether renewal is allowed at all.
Extension is where people get caught out. Where permitted, it is normally allowed once, must be written into the contract, and often requires your written agreement. A manager telling you in month five that they are "giving you another three months" is not automatically lawful.
What changes during probation, and after
- Notice: the main one. Days or a couple of weeks during probation, weeks or months after confirmation, in both directions.
- Dismissal process: afterwards, documented grounds and a formal procedure. During, a short conversation may be all there is.
- Benefits: private health cover, pension above the statutory minimum, share schemes and enhanced sick pay are frequently gated behind confirmation. Many companies also block internal applications until it ends.
- Mortgages and rentals: lenders and landlords in several countries treat someone on probation as higher risk.
Questions to ask before you sign
Ask by email, after the verbal offer and before signature. Nobody reasonable will object.
- How is probation assessed, and against what criteria?
- Who makes the confirmation decision, my manager or someone above?
- Is there a mid-point review, and on what date?
- Can the period be extended, and under what conditions?
- What is the notice period during probation, for each side?
- Which benefits start on day one and which after confirmation?
- Do I get written confirmation at the end, or is it automatic?
In a well-run company, confirmation depends on objectives agreed early and reviewed on a fixed date. In a badly run one, it depends on whether your manager remembers the date. The job ad will not tell you which you are joining. Those answers will.
Making the first 90 days count
- Days 1 to 30: get the objectives written down. If nobody offers, send your own email after week one setting out what you understand your priorities to be and ask your manager to confirm. That email protects you more than anything else.
- Days 31 to 60: deliver something visible and finished, even if small. Managers assess on evidence they recall, not effort they never saw.
- Days 61 to 90: ask for feedback before the formal review, and ask specifically. "Is there anything that would stop you confirming me today?" gets a more useful answer than "how am I doing?".
Keep a short note of what you shipped and when. If confirmation becomes contested, that note is your case.
If it does not work out
Being let go during probation is common and much less damaging to a CV than people fear.
- Do not hide it. A three-month gap in your dates invites worse assumptions than the truth.
- Give a short, neutral explanation and move on. "The role turned out to be far more operational than described, and we agreed it was not the right fit" is enough.
- Never criticise the former manager. The interviewer hears a future complaint about themselves. End on one thing you took from it.
Weighing a stable job against a long probation
Resigning from five years of service for a role with six months of probation trades accumulated protection for a stretch where you can be released in days. Look at your financial buffer, how liquid your sector is right now, whether the employer has had recent layoffs, and whether the raise compensates. Sometimes it clearly does. Sometimes people take nine percent for six months of insecurity.
Red flags
- Assessment criteria that stay vague after you have explicitly asked, or no scheduled review at any point.
- A pattern of extensions in the team, which you can probe by asking how long recent joiners took to be confirmed.
- Verbal promises that confirmation is "just a formality" next to a contract that says otherwise, or a probation length at the legal maximum for a role that does not need it.
Rules on duration, renewal and notice are country-specific and often set by collective agreements. Treat this as general guidance rather than legal advice.
Before you sign, read the probation clause twice and send those questions by email. You either get clear answers, which makes starting easier, or you get evasion, which is worth knowing while you can still walk away.