Ashford Borough Council’s cabinet considered a revised probation policy on 8 October 2026 that would halve the standard probationary period for new employees, in response to the Employment Rights Act 2026 reducing unfair dismissal qualifying periods from January 2027.

Ashford Borough Council’s cabinet considered a proposal at its meeting on 8 October 2026 to approve a revised probation policy that would reduce the standard probationary period for all new employees from six months to three months.

Why the change is proposed

The Employment Rights Act 2026 will reduce the qualifying period for employees to bring a general unfair dismissal claim from two years’ service to six months’ service, with effect from 1 January 2027. Officers warned that retaining a six-month probation period after that date would leave very little time to identify concerns, provide support and reach employment decisions before the point at which a new employee gains the right to bring an unfair dismissal claim, increasing the council’s legal and financial risk.

The report noted that reducing the probationary period to three months is an approach being adopted across other local authorities in Kent in response to the changed legal landscape.

Key changes in the revised policy

Under the proposed policy, monthly review meetings would be held during the probation period to provide regular feedback, identify support or development needs and ensure expectations are clearly understood. Probation could be extended by up to six weeks in exceptional circumstances — reduced from the current maximum extension of three months. The time allowed for an employee to lodge an appeal against a probationary dismissal would increase from 14 to 21 days, in line with the council’s other appeal periods.

Employees moving to a different role internally within the council would not be required to complete a further probation period. The policy also states that employees cannot take annual leave during their probation period without express permission.

Officers noted that the changes would benefit employees by enabling them to move to a one-month notice period more quickly and access certain benefits, such as an electric car salary sacrifice scheme, earlier than under the current arrangements.

Consultation

The proposals were presented to the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) on 24 September 2026. During consultation, concerns were raised about a proposal to extend probation by one month; following discussion, a compromise was reached limiting any extension to a maximum of six weeks, which was subsequently agreed with Unison. The JCC also discussed the overall length of the probation period and agreed to the reduction to three months.

None of the changes would apply to employees already in their probation periods; they would apply only to new starters following adoption of the revised policy.

The council had not published the minutes of the meeting at the time of writing, so the committee’s decision is not yet on the public record.

Sources

Top image: illustrative, computer-generated. Illustrative AI-generated image. This is not a photograph of Ashford Borough Council or any real council office.