Probationary Employees

Probationary Employees

All staff employees newly hired or rehired at Virginia Tech serve a 12 month probationary period.  This year provides the employee and the employer an opportunity to assess whether the employee and the job are a good match.  Usually the hiring process has worked well and the employee selected for the position is a great match. 

Probationary employees should receive training, coaching, mentoring and feedback from their supervisors frequently.  A formal written 6 month probationary review is required to be completed by using the form P125 Probationary Progress Review; this form should then be sent to Human Resources for inclusion in the employee’s personnel file.  If the employee’s performance is rated Below Contributor at 6 months, there should be a specific employee development plan in place and the supervisor should provide frequent feedback to the employee. 

At the end of the 12 month period, another formal, written evaluation is required to be completed using the form P125, Probationary Progress Review, and sent to Human Resources for inclusion in the personnel file.  If the employee is rated a Contributor, s/he becomes a non-probationary employee. 

Extending Probation
Infrequently, a probationary employee reaches the end of the 12 month period and is not meeting performance expectations.  In some cases, it is possible to extend an employee’s probation beyond the initial 12 month period.  Requests to extend probation must be made to Employee Relations on the form P146, Request to Extend Probation.  This form must be attached to the 12 month P125 (see above).

The Commonwealth of Virginia Probationary Policy 1.45 http://www.dpt.state.va.us/hrpolicy/web/pol1_45.html permits extensions of the probationary period (not to exceed a total probationary period of 18 months) for the following reasons:

• Performance:  If probation is extended for performance reasons, the employee must participate in training that was unavailable during the first 12 months of employment. 
• Leave:  Probationary periods must be extended when probationary employees are on any leave with or without pay, including Workers’ Compensation, Family Medical Leave, Military leave with or without pay, or on VSDP (Virginia Sickness and Disability Program) short-term disability (STD) leave or long-term disability (LTD)-working status for more than 14 consecutive calendar days.  Also included are periods of short-term disability where the employee is working in an “active employment” status with restrictions/modifications.  Extensions include the first 14 days of absence, as well as those days in excess of 14, up to the return to work date.
• Change of position (supervisor or employee):  When either the employee or the supervisor  changes positions during the first 12 months of the probationary period, the new supervisor may request an extension of the employee’s probationary period.

Probationary periods may not be extended for poor attendance, poor attitude or poor performance that is not a result of a lack of training.

Terminating a Probationary Employee
At any time during the 12 month probationary period the probationary employee may be terminated.  Managers are encouraged to consult with Employee Relations and/or with the Human Resources consultant assigned to the management area if a probationary employee is not meeting expectations.