Were you ever confirmed in your job?
Whether your probation formally ended can change what your claim is worth.
Confirmation sounds like a small formality, but it marks a real change in your employment status. Disputes over whether it ever happened are common.
What it means
Confirmation is the step where your employer formally ends your probation and confirms you in your role. It usually comes as a letter or another clear written message.
Once confirmed, you are treated as a permanent employee for most purposes, not as someone still on trial.
Why it matters to you
Your status directly affects the numbers if your case reaches an award. Back wages are capped at 24 months for a confirmed employee, against 12 months for a probationer.1
Disputes are common where probation quietly rolled on past its end date. No letter either confirmed you or extended the period.
Why does this status change things
Check your contract for the stated probation length, then compare it with how long you actually worked before dismissal. A mismatch can support an argument that you were effectively confirmed.
If you are unsure how probation applies to you, that page covers the earlier stage in more detail.
Whatever your status turns out to be, the same 60-day deadline applies. Confirm it on the deadline calculator without delay.
If your confirmation status affects your claim and you want a lawyer to act, an independent employment lawyer can assess your facts. They can tell you how they would act on it.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.
Common questions
What if my employer never confirmed me but also never extended my probation?
A probation period that quietly runs past its stated end without a clear decision is a common and genuine dispute. A lawyer can help work out how your paperwork and dates should be read.
Does verbal confirmation count?
It can support your position, but written confirmation, such as a letter or an email, is stronger evidence. Keep anything in writing that called you confirmed or permanent.
Sources
- Back wages awarded by the Industrial Court are capped at 24 months for a confirmed employee and 12 months for a probationer, under the Second Schedule of the Industrial Relations Act 1967. DNH, Monetary Remedies at the Industrial Court
Keep reading
If your confirmation status affects your claim and you want a lawyer to act, an independent employment lawyer can assess your facts. They can tell you how they would act on it.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.