What is probation? (New employees)

[CatTNT]

Title, what’s the purpose and why is it useful

[Windows7ge]

I'm familiar with it in terms of things like company benefits or a union. In the case of a union it's a grace period where you don't get the benefits until the other employees or the company know you're going to stick around and not just quit within your first week or month.

[Krosis]

8 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

I'm familiar with it in terms of things like company benefits or a union. In the case of a union it's a grace period where you don't get the benefits until the other employees or the company know you're going to stick around and not just quit within your first week or month.

Following up oin this, it's also benefitial for the employer, because they can evaluate all the claims you made on your application. For e.g. if you said you are an advanced user of Excel, but turns out you can't even SUM two things, they can easily fire you.

[TetraSky]

In Canada(Or Quebec anyway...), probation usually last 3 months and is pretty much everything told above. After which you become a full fledged employee with all the benefits that derive from it like insurances, union, rebate on goods, etc...

 

But, if you're a part time employee(less than 30 hours a week), you'll likely never get any of those workplace benefits in the first place, unless the company you work for is good to their employees.

 

It's not rare for scummy companies here to keep you around for almost 3 months and come up with an excuse to not keep you, so that they don't have to give you any benefits.

[Aprime]

It's a 3 month period from official hiring date (prior trials are not accounted for).

Summarized:

You don't appear in videos.

You don't have employee benefits (insurance).

You're subject to a bit more scrutiny than you usually would be and you don't have your own access card to the building.

The benefits and scrutiny are typical practice across organizations.

 

[dizmo]

In Canada, a company needs reasonable grounds to fire you. During the probation period, this requirement doesn't exist. It lets companies feel you out.

 

@TetraSky To be fair, companies aren't required to give benefits at all. So that reasoning doesn't really hold much weight. There are many other ways to accomplish the same thing that is both cheaper and requires less paperwork.

[Crunchy Dragon]

-Moved to Off Topic-

[Crunchy Dragon]

47 minutes ago, Aprime said:

It's a 3 month period from official hiring date (prior trials are not accounted for).

I assume the probation period varies by company.

 

For example, Linus Media Group might have a 3 month probation period but another company like NCIX for example(RIP) might not.

[Zusafek]

2 hours ago, CatTNT said:

Title, what’s the purpose and why is it useful

The probation period for my new hires at my company is 60 days with verifiable experience.  Basically I hire them, keep an eye on them, and continue background checks as they work for me.  If everything is fine with the background check, I will listen to my senior employees onto their thoughts on the new hire.  If anything throws a red flag towards me it gives me a chance to remove the employee without having to worry about the benefits or unemployment costs.  But with me as long as your honest, hard working and show initiative....I will most likely never fire you.  I would actually do what I could to keep you.  Which is why the last person I had to fire from my company was nearly 10 years ago.  

[Drak3]

Probabtion is the period that an employeer might have for training and evaluation. You typically don't get any of the employment benefits, you'll probably be making a lower pay during, and you're mostly expected to shut up and comply with your superiors' orders.

16 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I assume the probation period varies by company

Correct. The probation period for my company is 6 months. During that 6 months, personal tools are provided. Once that period is over, easy jobs should be able to be done without constant supervision and employees must buy their own personal tools.

[dalekphalm]

13 hours ago, CatTNT said:

Title, what’s the purpose and why is it useful

In Canadian Employment Law (varies per province, but most of them are somewhat similar), you cannot fire someone “just because” - you need a valid reason to do so, such as:

poor performance

breaking rules

position no longer needed

 

etc (technically the last one, you would get “laid off” instead of fired - which is like getting fired but it won’t hurt you in future interviews)

 

If you fire someone without just cause, they can seek a wrongful termination ruling. They probably won’t get their job back, but if they win, they would likely get awarded a large cash settlement. 

 

Probation is a legal exempt period during (in Ontario) the first 3 months of employment where the employer can fire you for any non-discriminatory reason without fear of consequence (eg: they still can’t fire you for being black or gay or Jewish or a woman - that’s always illegal). 

 

It’s a system where new employees can be given time to try out the role, but if they aren’t a good fit, the employer can fire them without a lot of hassle.