Rejoining Employees: Do They Need to Undergo Probation Again Within a Year?

Good morning, please let me know if any employee rejoining within the year needs to go through probation.

Rejoining Employees and Probation Period

Yes. If a person left an organization and completed all separation formalities, including F&F settlement, even if he/she rejoins the same organization, he/she will be treated as a new employee. A new ID-cum-Access Card shall be issued to him/her, and all HR policies applicable to new employees shall apply to him/her.

However, Management may, at its discretion, waive off the probation period or reduce the probation period for such employees who are re-employed.

Dear colleague, there are no legalities involved in the re-employment of any individual who had left the organization. It is solely discretionary and governed by the HR policies of the given organization.

Probation period considerations

The probation period is usually applied to judge the suitability of an individual after observing their performance in the role during the probationary period. If a person has performed successfully in a role over a long period and then left but wishes to rejoin, I don't believe putting them under probation would make sense.

Factors influencing probation for re-employment

Putting someone who left and is being reemployed on probation will also depend on their new role—whether it is at a worker, supervisory, or managerial level—and their earlier length of service, as well as their past performance and the reasons for their departure.

Usually, it may be better to put a 'workman' level person's re-employment under probation.

Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar HR and Employee Relations Consultant

Reemployment and Probation Waiver

An employee must have been good enough to get reemployed. Management can easily waive the need for probation if they deem it fit.