Laid off during probation period . Suddenly, I was fired during the probation period for 1 month. The employer told me that I don’t have to come to work next month. Will I get compensation?
I would like to know that if we are fired or denied employment without prior notice, and the reason for the dismissal is not clearly stated, and the HR department says “We don’t know the reason, but you didn’t continue.” Is the employer right or wrong?
The matter of probation
A probationary period is when an employer or company agrees to hire an employee or employee, but a probationary period is required to prove whether the employee has the knowledge, ability, and skills to work in that position, including whether the employee can adjust to the rules, environment, organizational culture, and coworkers.
If the employee can perform to pass the standards set by the company or employer within the probationary period, he/she will be immediately hired as an employee of the company.
Regarding the probation period
In terms of the probationary period, there are no clear regulations on the length of the labor law. As a result, the employer or company has the right to determine the probationary period by themselves and can set it for as long as they want, depending on the agreement between the employer and the employee. The conditions of this probationary period can be agreed upon before or after the actual start of work. Most companies set the probationary period as 90-120 days, but in some cases, the probationary period may be extended.
Termination during probation period
Employees or staff can be terminated during the probationary period, divided into 2 conditions as follows:
Case 1: Termination without prior notice can occur if the employee has committed any of the following offenses under Section 119:
- Corruption in office or intentionally committing a criminal offense against the employer
- Intentionally causing damage to the employer
- Negligence causing serious damage to the employer
- Violating work regulations and the employer has already given a written warning, except in serious cases where the employer is not required to give a warning.
- Abandoning duty for three consecutive working days without reasonable cause and
- Sentenced to imprisonment according to the final judgment. However, if the employee commits an offense for the reasons mentioned above, when the employer terminates the employee, they do not have to pay compensation to the employee, but must specify the reason for the offense in the termination letter.
If the offense falls under the above categories, regardless of whether the employee’s probationary period is complete or not, there is no need to pay compensation to the employee.
Therefore, if we have passed the probationary period of 120 days or more, but the company wants to terminate the employment without us being at fault under Section 119, the company must pay compensation to the employee as a normal employee, according to the regulations of Section 118 of the Labor Protection Act. In the case of working continuously for 120 days but less than 1 year, compensation will be received equal to the last wage rate for 30 days.
For example, an employee receives a salary of 25,000 baht per month when the employee has worked for 120 days (passed the probation period), but the employer terminates the employment without giving him 1 month’s notice. Therefore, the total amount that the employer must pay to the employee is the final salary of 25,000 baht + 25,000 baht in compensation + shock payment (this amount will be as the company determines or sees fit).
Case 2: Termination must be notified in advance because the employee does not pass the probation period, whether due to work performance, qualifications, or behavior that does not pass the specified criteria, and the employee has not worked for 120 days. In this case, the employer does not have to pay compensation.
Therefore, if we are terminated during the probation period, without our boss or HR giving us a notice of one pay period in advance, we are entitled to receive money instead of “notice pay”, counting from the employment period, from the day we started working as an employee until the day we were terminated, to be calculated as the basis for paying compensation.
If I fail the probation period, is it a fair dismissal?
Reference information from the Bangkok Labor Protection and Welfare Office
“If the reason for not passing the probation period is due to incompetence, the employee can be terminated. This is a fair termination, but the evidence must be solid.”
- This means that employers should conduct assessments based on, for example:
- Non-discriminatory, the same principle applies to everyone.
- The assessors should be a committee, not just one person. Don’t let people with vested interests, people who are quarrelsome or biased be the assessors.
- The evaluation topics should be about work efficiency, work behavior, and getting along with coworkers. Most importantly, the topics should be scientific, i.e. countable, quantifiable, such as the number of days off, the number of work accomplished, and the number of mistakes made.
However, if the failure to pass the probation period is unreasonable, or is due to bullying, or is due to bias, it may be considered as unfair dismissal. The employee can file a lawsuit with the Labor Court. If the court finds that it is unfair dismissal, the court may award damages or order the employee to be rehired.
More information about termination during probation period
- Employees who are in the probationary period will have the status of “employees” in the same way as regular employees who have been hired. They are entitled to benefits and protection under the law from the first day of employment.
- During the 120-day probation period, the employer should conduct at least two formal performance evaluations or monitor, talk to, and brief the employee on how things are going. On the other hand, to protect the employee’s own interests, the employee should also find time to talk to the supervisor as a continuous performance evaluation to prevent unfair dismissal.
- For employers or companies, if they want to evaluate the probation period, they should do so early, before the 120-day deadline. Because if it exceeds the 120-day deadline, if the employee terminates the contract without any fault, they must pay compensation.
For more articles on labor law, please visit:
In what cases will employees not receive severance pay due to termination?
Thank you for the information from the Bangkok Welfare and Labor Protection Office and Dharma Nithi.
