The effect of this is that if an employee is dismissed during the probation period and the employer does not have a valid reason and/or does not follow an appropriate procedure, there is little that can be done. However, while that is technically the case, the reality is that regardless of whether a contract of employment contains a probationary period, an employee cannot bring an unfair dismissal claim if they are dismissed, unless they have been employed for a minimum of six months (or one year in the case of a person employed by a ‘small business employer’, defined as an employer who employs less than 15 staff).
If the employer wishes to dismiss the employee during the probation period, technically it would be required to have a valid reason for the dismissal and follow the correct procedure before dismissing the employee.
