HR Actions for Probationary Periods Follow

Defining Probationary Period Lengths

The default probationary period length for the Mission is defined in the Mission Profile.

If an employee serves a probationary period of a different length, this is defined in the Employee Profile. Access the Employee Profile by selecting Manage Employees, then Edit in the Action column.

The In Probationary Period flag in the employee profile is set to No by default. When set to Yes, the Probationary Period Duration fields appear, allowing you to define a probationary period that differs from the Mission Profile Probationary Period. Setting the flag to Yes will also automatically set the Is In Probationary Period flag to Yes in the AWP when created by the rating supervisor. Once the In Probationary Period flag is set to Yes in the employee profile, the employee’s probationary period is no longer synced with the Mission Profile. Therefore, if the probationary period length is updated in the Mission Profile, this will not affect the probationary period length for the employee.

As soon as the rating supervisor creates the AWP, the flag in the Employee Profile will be turned off to avoid creating probationary periods on future AWPs.

If HR did not set the Probationary Period flag to Yes in the employee profile, the rating supervisor can directly flag the employee as in Probationary Period when creating the AWP. In that case, any updates to the Probationary Period Duration in the Mission Profile that occur before the employee’s probationary period has been certified will change its duration.

Under MBC, there is no separate AWP or EPR for a probationary period. The probationary period length is independent of the AWP time frame. The AWP start and end dates should not be adjusted when there is a probationary period. The AWP should cover the entire period that the rating supervisor serves as the rating supervisor for the employee during the current rating period.

View Employees In Probationary Periods

HR can easily view all employees with active probationary periods by selecting Manage Employees, then View Employees in Probationary Period.

The Employees In Probationary Period list shows the employees that have an active AWP or EPR that includes a probationary period. The list allows you to easily view the current probationary period status. To remind all supervisors of employees with 21 days or less remaining in the probationary period, select Notify Supervisors of Expiring Probationary Periods.

Extending a Probationary Period

When a rating supervisor requests an extension of a probationary period, HR must review and take action. On the Employees In Probationary Period list, an icon will appear in the Actions column when an extension is requested. Select the Edit icon to view the extension details.

The extension justification entered by the rating supervisor is listed. You can either Reject the extension request or, if permitted by local labor law, approve the request by adding the number of days for extension and selecting Approve. Only one probationary period extension is permitted. Extension durations cannot be changed once approved, so be sure to double-check before approving.

Probation Certification and Reset

At the end of the probationary period, the rating supervisor will indicate whether the employee is recommended for continued employment and certify the probationary period. To view the actions for the rating supervisor, please refer to the New LE Staff - The Probationary Period article for Rating Supervisors.

If a rating supervisor makes a mistake when certifying the probationary period, the certification can be reset by HR. First, open the AWP/EPR by selecting Manage Documents and View AWP/View EPR.

In the Probationary Period section, select the Reset Probationary Period button. This will remove the certification for the probationary period and the recommendation for continued employment, allowing the rating supervisor to complete this section again. 

Probationary Periods Crossing Performance Periods

When a probationary period crosses performance periods, the probationary period must be defined in the AWP for each corresponding performance period. The probationary period will only be certified at the end of the probationary period.

Step 1: Rating Supervisor Creates the AWP and Probationary Period When Employment Begins

When creating the AWP, the probationary period start date is the date the employment begins. The end date can be after the end of the performance period. For example, an employee begins employment on November 1 and the probationary period ends on April 30. The mission performance period is February 1 – January 31. The rating supervisor will create an interim AWP for the period November 1-January 31 with a probationary period from November 1 – April 30.

Step 2: Closing the AWP when the Probationary Period has not Ended

Rating Period Less than 120 Days

At the end of the rating period, the rating supervisor will not be required to complete a rating as the performance period was under 120 days. After the AWP has been acknowledged, the Close Out AWP button will be available to the Rating Supervisor in the AWP in the Mid-year Discussion and Certification section.

If this button is not available, verify the dates defined for the AWP are correct and under 120 days.

Rating Period 120 Days or More

Unless specified by local labor law, employees on probationary periods will not receive MBC reward payments. If no MBC reward will be paid, the rating should not be completed for employees in probationary period. At the end of the performance period, if the employee does not have eligibility for an MBC Reward, change the status of the EPR to finalized. To change the status, select Manage Documents, then select the Change Review icon.

From the Update Review screen, select the Finalized status in the Edit Status drop-down, then select Save status. These finalized reviews will be pulled into RCA, so be sure to exclude the EPRs before running calculations.

Step 3: Creating a New AWP with a Continued Probationary Period

At the start of the next performance period, the rating supervisor creates a new AWP with a probationary period. The probationary period start date will be the date the employee started employment and will precede the AWP start date. For example, if the rating supervisor will cover the entire performance period, they will create an annual AWP from February 1-January 31 with the probationary period from November 1 of the previous year (date employment started) to April 30 of the current year (date probationary period ends). The probationary period start date will need to be updated to reflect the correct date. The end date field is set based on the established probationary period parameters and cannot be edited.