What Probation Is (and Is Not)
Probation is a period at the start of employment during which the employer assesses whether the new employee is suitable for the job, with a lower threshold for ending the employment than applies to a confirmed employee. That is the whole of the concession the law makes.
What probation is not is a period during which the employee has no rights. Every BCEA entitlement applies from day one: notice periods, leave, sick leave, UIF, a written contract. And an employee dismissed on their second day may refer an unfair dismissal to the CCMA on their third. South Africa has no minimum service period for that right.
The five-second version
You need a lower reason to let a probationer go, not no reason, and never no process. Set a standard, support them against it, put the shortcomings to them, hear their answer, then decide. In that order, and in writing.
Probation is a period of assessment and support, not a no-questions-asked window.
Download the Probation Review & Outcome Letter
An editable Microsoft Word document and print-ready PDF. Part A records the period, Part B the suitability standard the 2025 Code now requires, Part C the support given at each review, and Part D the outcome, written so the employee's representations are captured before the decision, which is exactly where most probation dismissals fail. Enter your details and both files arrive in your inbox.
Review meeting today?
Copy the full letter, paste it into Word or Google Docs, and fill in the bracketed fields. Use Parts A to C at each review and Part D once, at the end.
What the 2025 Code Changed
The Code of Good Practice: Dismissal took effect on 4 September 2025 and replaced Schedule 8 of the LRA. For probation, three things moved.
Purpose widened to suitability
Probation used to be about whether the employee could do the job. The 2025 Code expands it to whether the employee is suitable for it, which brings conduct, attitude and how they work with others inside the assessment. Your review form should now ask about all of that, not only output.
Incompatibility became a recognised ground
For the first time the Code acknowledges incompatibility (the serious, persistent inability to work within the team or the role) as a ground for dismissal, handled under incapacity for poor performance. It is not a licence for "not a culture fit". You must show the disharmony is genuine and persistent, that counselling or mediation was attempted, and that the employee had a real chance to respond and improve.
Representations before the decision
The Code reinforces that an employee on probation must be given an opportunity to make representations before the employer decides not to confirm the appointment, or extends the probation. Not a full disciplinary hearing, but a genuine chance to be heard, before the decision, with the right to be assisted by a union representative or fellow employee.
Check what your template actually cites
If the probation clause in your contract or the form your managers use cites Schedule 8 of the LRA, it is citing law that was repealed on 4 September 2025. The Act itself is unchanged. It is the Code underneath it that was replaced. Update the reference, and while you are in there, check the clause actually states the length of the period.
How Long Can Probation Be?
There is no statutory maximum. The test is that the period must be reasonable in relation to the nature of the job and the time it genuinely takes to assess suitability. In practice:
One month
Straightforward, quickly-assessed roles. Rarely worth the administration.
Three months
The South African default for junior and administrative roles. Long enough to see a full cycle of work.
Six months
Common for senior, technical or specialised positions where the work only becomes visible over a longer horizon. Note that this is also where the section 22(3) sick leave rule ends, so the two dates often coincide.
Twelve months
Defensible only for genuinely complex or executive roles. On a general worker it invites the finding that probation was being used to avoid ordinary dismissal procedures.
Whatever you choose, it must be written into the employment contract. A probation period nobody agreed to is not a probation period at all: our free employment contract template carries the clause, and the offer letter template states it up front so nobody is surprised on day one.
Running a Probation That Holds Up
Six steps. Skipping the middle ones is what turns a lower substantive threshold into a lost case anyway.
The length of the period and the fact that the appointment is subject to confirmation. Without this clause there is no probation to rely on.
In writing, measurable, and reasonably achievable in the time. "Was the standard reasonably achievable?" is now an express fairness factor: if the target was never realistic, the failure to meet it is not the employee’s.
Reasonable evaluation, instruction, training, guidance or counselling. This is a positive duty, not a courtesy. An employee who was never told what good looked like cannot be dismissed for not producing it.
A single meeting on the last day of probation is not a review process. Two or three short documented check-ins, each recording what was raised and what the employee said, is the evidence that decides the case.
Invite representations on the proposed outcome, tell them they may be assisted by a union rep or fellow employee, and record what they say and how you responded. Before the decision, not as a formality after it.
Confirmed, extended or not confirmed, with reasons. If not confirmed: the last day, the notice, the leave payout, the certificate of service, and the 30-day CCMA referral window.
Confirm, Extend or End
Three outcomes, and you must actively choose one before the period expires.
Confirm
The appointment becomes permanent on the terms of the contract. Say so in writing. An employee who never receives confirmation but stays on is confirmed in any event, and the letter is what stops an argument about when that happened.
Extend
Permitted where the reason relates to the purpose of probation and the extension is a reasonable length. The employee must be able to make representations first. Record the reason and the standard to be met in the extension. An indefinite or repeatedly renewed probation will be treated as a device.
Do not confirm
Employment ends with the BCEA section 37 notice. Probation does not shorten notice. The employee is owed accrued annual leave under section 21 and a certificate of service under section 42, and may refer a dispute to the CCMA within 30 days.
The date nobody diarises
If the probation period simply lapses, the employee is confirmed in practice. The lower probationary threshold is gone, and any later dismissal for the same performance problem must run the full poor-performance route: counselling, a written improvement plan, a hearing. The cheapest thing you can do this week is put a reminder two weeks before every probation end date.
Rights That Apply From Day One
Probation changes the assessment. It changes none of these.
Written particulars (BCEA s29)
Must be supplied when employment commences.
Notice (BCEA s37)
One week under six months, two weeks to a year, four weeks after. Unaffected by probation.
Annual leave (BCEA s20)
Accrues from day one and is paid out at exit under s21.
Sick leave (BCEA s22(3))
One paid day per 26 days worked in the first six months.
UIF
Contributions from the first payslip, and the UI-19 on termination.
CCMA access
An unfair dismissal referral may be made from day one. No minimum service.
Work out what a probationer is actually owed at exit with the leave payout calculator and check their sick leave position with the sick leave calculator, which applies the section 22(3) first-six-months rule automatically.
Four Ways Employers Lose a Probation Dismissal
Using probation to dodge procedure
The 2025 Code treats probation used as a way to avoid ordinary dismissal obligations as itself unfair. A twelve-month probation on a general worker, or a probation that is re-started after a promotion, reads exactly like that.
Deciding first, hearing afterwards
The letter is typed, the replacement is lined up, and the "chat" happens on the last morning. The Code requires the opportunity to make representations to come before the decision, and a manufactured meeting is easy to spot in the timeline.
No standard, no support, no record
Nothing in writing about what was expected, no training, no interim review, then a dismissal for underperformance. The employer carries the onus of showing fairness, and there is nothing to show.
Letting the period lapse
Nobody diarised the end date. Four months later the manager says "she is still on probation". She is not, and the ordinary poor-performance route now applies.
The Hiring Sequence
Probation sits in the middle of a chain. Each of these is free.
Make the offer
Free template →Carries the BCEA s29 written particulars and states the probation period up front.
Sign the contract
Free template →Includes the probation clause, without it there is no probation to rely on.
Onboard properly
Free template →Setting the standard on day one is step two of a defensible probation.
Review and decide
The letter on this page: standard, support, representations, outcome.
If it needs longer than probation
Free template →Once confirmed, underperformance goes down the PIP route instead.
Never Miss a Probation Review Date
The most expensive probation mistake in South Africa is not a bad decision. It is no decision. Nobody diarises the end date, the period lapses, and an employer who had a lower threshold available loses it silently.
Synthro holds the probation end date on the employee record and prompts the manager before it arrives, keeps each review on file with its date, and NALA drafts the outcome letter against the 2025 Code so the representations step is not skipped.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can a probation period be in South Africa?
The law sets no fixed maximum. The 2025 Code requires the period to be reasonable in relation to the nature of the job and the time needed to assess suitability. Three months is standard for junior roles and six is common for senior or specialised ones. A twelve-month probation for a general worker is hard to defend.
Can you dismiss an employee on probation in South Africa?
Yes, but not summarily and not without process. The employee must have been given a standard, reasonable support to meet it, and a genuine opportunity to make representations before the decision. The substantive threshold is lower than for a confirmed employee. The procedural one is not optional.
What changed about probation in the 2025 Code of Good Practice?
The purpose of probation expanded from assessing performance alone to assessing suitability, which includes conduct, attitude and compatibility with the role. Incompatibility became a recognised ground, dealt with as incapacity. The Code also reinforces the right to make representations before an extension or a non-confirmation.
Can a probation period be extended in South Africa?
Yes, provided the reason relates to the purpose of probation, the extension is a reasonable length, and the employee is given an opportunity to make representations first. Extend by written letter that records the reason and the standard to be met. An open-ended or repeatedly renewed probation will not hold up.
What notice must you give an employee on probation?
The BCEA section 37 periods apply from day one: one week if employed six months or less, two weeks between six months and a year, four weeks at a year or more. Probation does not reduce notice. It may be paid in lieu under section 38.
Do employees on probation get sick leave and annual leave?
Yes. Every BCEA entitlement applies from the first day of employment. Annual leave accrues normally, and sick leave runs on the section 22(3) rule of one paid day per 26 days worked during the first six months. Probation changes the assessment of suitability, not the statutory conditions of employment.
Can an employee on probation refer an unfair dismissal to the CCMA?
Yes, from day one. There is no minimum service period for an unfair dismissal referral in South Africa. What differs is the threshold: less compelling reasons may justify dismissal during probation than after it, but the employer must still show a fair reason and a fair process.
What happens if the probation period expires without a decision?
The employee is confirmed in practice. Letting the period lapse and then relying on "still on probation" months later does not work. The lower probationary threshold falls away and the ordinary poor-performance route, with its heavier procedural requirements, applies instead.
Can you put an existing employee on probation after promotion?
You can agree a trial period in the new role, but it does not reset their employment. If they are unsuitable in the promoted role, the remedy is normally reversion to the previous position on the previous terms, not dismissal. Treating a promotion trial as a fresh probation is a common and expensive error.
Does an employee on probation need a written employment contract?
Yes. Section 29 of the BCEA requires written particulars of employment when employment commences, whatever the probationary status. The probation clause must state the length of the period and that the appointment is subject to confirmation, or you have no probation to rely on at all.
This guide and template reflect the Labour Relations Act, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the 2025 Code of Good Practice: Dismissal (effective 4 September 2025) as at August 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current position and take advice on a contested matter.
