Probation extended, Dominic Vasquez, Ironvale Freight

Probation extension letter with the measures that decide the outcome

Extending probation is only fair if the employee is told why, what has to be true by the new date, and how it will be measured. This letter gives two reasons, three measures with a target and a check for each, the support that makes them reachable, and the date the decision is made.

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Ironvale Freight
2 Depot Road, Ashford ยท people@ironvalefreight.example

3 December 2026
Private and confidential
Dominic Vasquez, Freight Coordinator
Ashford depot

Probation extended by three months to 5 March 2027

Dear Dominic, your six month probation was due to end on 5 December 2026. We met on 1 December and agreed to extend it to 5 March 2027, because the day role has not been worked long enough to judge. The reasons:

Six of the twelve weeks since August were spent covering the night desk
Load sheet errors in weeks 7, 9 and 10 held three runs at the dock
Measure
Target
Checked by
Load sheets finished before dispatch
Every run
Daily dock check
Tuesday exception report sent
By 10 am, every week
Report timestamp
Customer callbacks about missed drops
Two or fewer a month
Service desk log

By 5 March these three measures have to be true. To make that reachable you stay on days for all three months, Anneke Roth sits with you each Monday, and the dispatch refresher on 19 January is booked and paid.

We meet on 26 February 2027 to review them, and you have the outcome in writing by 5 March. If they are met your employment is confirmed. If they are not, it may end with the notice in your contract.
Yours sincerely,

Anneke Roth, Operations Manager, Ironvale Freight
Date
:

Section by section

What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.

Letterhead and addressee
Ironvale Freight ledger letterhead, 3 December 2026, private and confidential, to the freight coordinator.
Subject
Probation extended by three months to 5 March 2027.
Why it is extended
The original 5 December end date, the meeting on 1 December, and the day role not yet worked long enough to judge.
The reasons
Two bullets: six of twelve weeks on the night desk, load sheet errors in weeks 7, 9 and 10.
What has to be true
A table of three measures with targets and the record each is checked against.
The support offered
Days for the whole period, an hour each Monday with the operations manager, a paid dispatch refresher on 19 January.
Review and outcomes
A review meeting on 26 February, the outcome in writing by 5 March, and both possible results named.
Signature block
One party, the operations manager, with a date line.

How to adapt this document

For an extension caused by the employee's own absence rather than by the roster, keep the same shape but state the number of days actually worked against the period, since that fact alone justifies the extension without any judgement about performance. For a role with no dock, no report and no service desk, replace the check column with the record that already exists in that job, a roster, a case file, a till reconciliation or a delivery log, and never invent a new form of monitoring just to run the review. For a second extension, name the first one, list which measures were met and which were not, and shorten the period, because a third extension is a decision nobody is willing to make.

What makes this document work

The reason is circumstance, not character

Six of the twelve weeks since August went on the night desk, and load sheet errors in weeks 7, 9 and 10 held three runs at the dock. Both are things that happened rather than judgements about the person, which is what makes the extension defensible and the conversation survivable.

Every measure names who checks it

Load sheets finished before dispatch, checked at the daily dock check. Exceptions logged and the Tuesday report sent by 10 am, checked against the report timestamp. Callbacks about missed drops kept to two or fewer a month, checked in the service desk log. Nobody has to argue about whether a target was met.

The support is specific and already booked

He stays on days for the full three months, Anneke Roth sits with him each Monday, and the dispatch refresher on 19 January is booked and paid. An extension that asks for improvement without removing the cause of the problem is an extension that ends the same way.

Questions people ask

Can an employer extend a probation period?

Usually yes, where the contract allows it and the employee is told before the original period ends. Extending after it has expired is much weaker, because the employee has already passed by default. Always put the new end date, the reasons and the measures in writing, as this letter does.

How long should an extension be?

Long enough to see the work the original period could not, and no longer. Three months is common, and it is what this letter gives because the day role was only half worked. An extension of a fortnight proves nothing, and one of six months usually means the decision has already been made.

Does extending probation change unfair dismissal rights?

No. Access to unfair dismissal is based on a minimum employment period set by law, which a contractual probation period does not alter. An employer who thinks an extension buys more time to dismiss without process has misread the rule, which is why the process in this letter matters on its own terms.

Does the employee have to agree to an extension?

The employer relies on the contract rather than consent, but agreement helps. Here the extension was discussed at a meeting on 1 December, and the letter records that it was agreed. A signature on the letter makes the conversation harder to dispute later.

What should the measures look like?

Countable, checkable, and tied to a source that already exists. Every run, every exception, by 10 am every week, two or fewer a month. Measures like a better attitude or improved communication cannot be evidenced, which means the review turns into two opinions rather than a decision.

What happens at the end of the extension?

One of two outcomes, and both are named here. If the measures are met, employment is confirmed. If they are not, employment may end with the contractual notice. The letter also fixes a review meeting on 26 February and promises the outcome in writing by 5 March, so nobody waits in silence.

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Sources

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