[helena@nb.sympatico.ca]

in reply to: Verbal Offer, Late Welcome Letter, and Probation – HR and Legal Risks #99168

The Contract Review Process Tool is an excellent preventative measure.

[helena@nb.sympatico.ca]

in reply to: Verbal Offer, Late Welcome Letter, and Probation – HR and Legal Risks #99166

In this situation, the recruiter and hiring manager did not document any discussion of a probation period at the offer stage. The only place where “probation” appears is in an internal external‑onboarding form that HR completed, which includes a statement that “probation was verbally discussed with the candidate.” There is no corresponding email, signed offer, interview note, or other contemporaneous record showing that probation was actually explained to and accepted by the employee. The welcome letter mentioning probation was sent only after the employee had already started and did not request a signature.

What is especially concerning is that this employee, who was treated as being on probation, was terminated after approximately six weeks of work. The external‑onboarding form, which should have been completed as part of the initial hiring/onboarding process, was in fact completed and signed by HR on the same day as the termination. The employee has since requested her employee file, and this form—with its statement that probation was verbally discussed—now appears inconsistent with the actual sequence of events and the absence of earlier documentation.

Questions:

From an employment‑law and HR‑governance perspective, what is the best way for the employer to remediate this situation, given that there is no real evidence that probation was discussed before the employee started, and the only “record” is an internal HR form completed on the day of termination?

How damaging is it that the external‑onboarding form (completed and signed by HR on the termination date) contains information that appears to contradict the actual events and other documentation in the file, especially now that the employee has a copy of this form?

What steps should HR take now to correct the record (for example, amending or annotating the onboarding form, issuing a clarification, or acknowledging that probation was not properly agreed), and how might this affect the employer’s ability to rely on probation or reduced notice if the employment is terminated or has already been terminated?

Does the existence and timing of this inaccurate internal form increase the employer’s legal and credibility risk if the matter is challenged (for example, could it be viewed as poor record‑keeping, negligence, or an attempt to retrofit documentation), and how should HR address that risk?

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