Failing the probation period

Hezzawithkids

Just looking for some info. There's a new person at work who joined Sept/Oct 2015 and so is still in their 6 month probation period. They were recruited for a very specific job and I've been working quite closely with them on several projects (we're in the same department but on different teams). Over the last few weeks its become very clear to me that they don't have the right skillset or experience for the role. I alerted my manager and he has escalated specific issues to the newbie's manager on several occasions now. He (the newbie's manager) freely acknowledges the problems and has promised to do something about it but nothing has changed so either he hasn't done anything or the newbie is ignoring him (the final para in this post may explain why). My manager has now asked for a formal meeting with the other manager with the objective of getting this person removed from my projects altogether.

My question is how easy is it to get rid of a person who is still on probation? I imagine that there's lots of HR procedures to go through to prove incompetence and I can't imagine them getting a role anywhere else in the business. I also imagine that their manager (who recruited them) is going to be quite defensive in his decision to hire them in the first place.

I perhaps should also mention that this person is one of the most annoying people I've ever met in my life. They're incredibly arrogant, going around telling everyone what an expert they are, claiming all the credit for our joint projects and openly criticizing other people's work. Imagine a typical jumped-up Apprentice candidate and you'll get the idea - but you can't sack someone just for being annoying can you?

getmore4less

Hezzawithkids wrote: »

but you can't sack someone just for being annoying can you?

Yes you can.

Unless the company has policies they must follow it relatively easy to get rid of anyone under 2 years service.

let your managers sort it out.

daytona0

Unless you have the power to decide who gets sacked then I have no idea why you would want to talk about sacking them.... People come in all shapes and sizes, but they are ultimately just earning a crust. Those who do not fit in will eventually be sacked by those who have the power to do so.

I'd suggest that you keep an open mind with this apprentice and, if you are brave, also offer them some guidance as to help them improve (for your benefit and theirs). If that fails then report instances to the managers, without prejudice, and the natural outcome will happen.

anamenottaken

daytona0 wrote: »

Unless you have the power to decide who gets sacked then I have no idea why you would want to talk about sacking them.... People come in all shapes and sizes, but they are ultimately just earning a crust. Those who do not fit in will eventually be sacked by those who have the power to do so.

I'd suggest that you keep an open mind with this apprentice and, if you are brave, also offer them some guidance as to help them improve (for your benefit and theirs). If that fails then report instances to the managers, without prejudice, and the natural outcome will happen.

The person isn't an apprentice.

daytona0

anamenottaken wrote: »

The person isn't an apprentice.

Well I'm going off the

Hezzawithkids wrote:

jumped-up Apprentice candidate

comment.

If I'm wrong about them being an apprentice then I question the extent to which your post helped out the OP...

Crazy_Jamie

getmore4less wrote: »

Yes you can.

Unless the company has policies they must follow it relatively easy to get rid of anyone under 2 years service.

let your managers sort it out.

Even if the company does have such policies it generally doesn't need to follow them for someone that has less than two years of service. If the contract is fixed term and it is terminated early that may result in a claim for wrongful dismissal, but otherwise no claim for unfair dismissal can be brought without those two years of service. Irrespective of policies that the employer may have in place, there is no risk of a claim for unfair dismissal within those two years unless the dismissal is for an automatically unfair reason such as discrimination.

Of course your answer is fundamentally correct; within two years it is generally very easy to dismiss someone. The actual probation period is in many ways entirely superfluous.

Marktheshark

Lets put it this way.
If you worked for me and was discussing getting a co worker sacked on a forum, You would be sacked on the spot yourself.

You would be the last person I would want on a team, the very last.

anamenottaken

daytona0 wrote: »

Well I'm going off the

Originally Posted by Hezzawithkids
jumped-up Apprentice candidate

comment.

If I'm wrong about them being an apprentice then I question the extent to which your post helped out the OP...

The OP said the person had been recruited for "a very specific job" and the mention of the Apprentice was to explain the attitude/demeanor of the person, ie

They're incredibly arrogant, going around telling everyone what an expert they are, claiming all the credit for our joint projects and openly criticizing other people's work. Imagine a typical jumped-up Apprentice candidate and you'll get the idea

Given that description, trying to offer guidance to someone who considers themselves to be an expert didn't seem likely to succeed.

I was helping the OP by removing their need to post "not an actual apprentice" in response.

daytona0

anamenottaken wrote: »

The OP said the person had been recruited for "a very specific job" and the mention of the Apprentice was to explain the attitude/demeanor of the person, ie

In my post the word "apprentice" can be interchanged with 'employee' or 'colleague', I just used it because I had a reasonable belief (which I backed up in the second post) that they were an apprentice.

Given that description, trying to offer guidance to someone who considers themselves to be an expert didn't seem likely to succeed.

I agree. It is unlikely to succeed BUT that doesn't mean that you SHOULDN'T try!

I was helping the OP by removing their need to post "not an actual apprentice" in response.

You didn't help them at all on your first post. You called me up on a word which was interchangeable with 'colleague'. My advice applies to both a colleague and an apprentice.

DCFC79

Just let the 2 managers sort it out and you just carry on with your day job.

darrrren

You get annoying people everywhere,I work with many, I wouldn't be mallicious though and hoping they get sacked. How would you feel if this was happening about you? Sorry to say it buy just worry about yourself. All that person wants is to earn money and be happy just like you.