The purpose of the probationary period is to give the employer the opportunity to evaluate the employee’s performance before the employee’s appointment is confirmed.

Before an employer can terminate an employee, the employer needs to provide the employee “reasonable evaluation, instruction, training, guidance or counselling in order to allow the employee to render a service satisfactory” prior to the dismissal of an employee.

The employer is required to prove that the employee failed to meet the performance standards of the employer during the probationary period. In other words, an employee who purports to have a certain skill set, as an example an accountant, and is unable to meet the requirements expected of an accountant during the probationary period, the termination of the accountant at the end of the probationary period will be fair.

In the recent case of Masemola / International Union for Conservation of Nature (2024) 8 BALR 830 (CCMA), the employee claimed that her dismissal was unfair after she was dismissed at the conclusion of her probationary period.

The employee claimed that her dismissal was unfair because she was dismissed without a hearing and that she was not properly managed during the probationary period, this with regards to the guidance provided by her employer of her tasks and work functions.

In response, the employer submitted that the employee had misrepresented her capabilities within her CV, this being evident from the quality of her work and expectations the employer had of her.  

The Commissioner found that the probationary period is meant to give employers the opportunity to test the employee in different situations before the employee’s appointment is confirmed.  

In essence, the employer is required to provide the employee with assistance and guidance during this probationary period. If the employee is still unable to meet a reasonable performance standard after having been provided with assistance, the employer may dismiss the employee at the conclusion of the probationary period.

During the probationary period, the employer has the chance to evaluate the employee’s competence and should use this period to ensure that the employee is able to perform the work that the employee has been employed to do.  

If the employer goes ahead and employs an employee who is unable to meet the reasonable performance standard for the job the employee has been employed in, a lengthy disciplinary process may arise in having to proceed with the dismissal of the employee for incapacity, an unnecessary headache that an employer could have prevented, in having terminating the employee at the end of the probationary period.