Probation Completion Letter template
A probation completion letter is the written confirmation an employer gives an employee who has successfully passed their probationary period — confirming their continued employment, the date probation ended, and any contractual changes that take effect on confirmation, such as a longer notice period or eligibility for additional benefits.
It is the easiest letter in the probation set to skip, and skipping it is a mistake twice over. Practically, Acas guidance says successful completion should be confirmed in writing — and if confirmation changes terms in the employee's written statement of employment particulars, you must notify them of the change in writing anyway, so this letter is doing a required job. Culturally, people remember whether anyone noticed they passed; the confirmation letter matters as much as the difficult ones.
This template gives you the full letter text ready to personalise, plus what to check before sending it and how to deliver and file it.
Full text, ready to adapt.
Highlighted fields are placeholders — replace them with your organisation's specifics. A starting point, not legal advice.
Probation Completion Letter
Letter · Company Policies
1. When to use this letter
Use this letter once the final probation review has been held and the decision to confirm employment is recorded, in line with our probation policy. Send it promptly — on or before the probation end date, so the employee is never left wondering. The letter confirms a conversation that has already happened; the review meeting is where the news is delivered.
If the final review points to extending probation or ending employment instead, stop — those outcomes have their own letters and procedures, with process requirements this letter does not carry.
If a probation end date has already slipped past in silence, employment has simply continued on the existing terms — send this letter as soon as the gap is spotted, accurately dated, rather than leaving the personnel file open-ended.
2. What to check before you send it
- The contract: what does it actually say changes on confirmation? The letter must match the contract — if notice moves from [number] week(s) to [number] [weeks/months] on confirmation, the letter states those figures, not a manager's recollection.
- The final review record is on file and supports the decision — this letter should never be the only evidence that probation was actively assessed.
- Benefit start dates and enrolment steps: which benefits begin on confirmation, from what date, and who contacts the employee about joining.
- Payroll and benefits administrators are copied, so eligibility changes take effect on the date the letter promises.
- Who signs: a letter from the line manager reads warmer; one from [HR/owner role] reads more formal. Decide once and apply it consistently.
3. The letter template
[Date]
[Employee name]
[Employee address, or record that the letter was sent by email to their usual address]
Dear [first name],
Confirmation of successful completion of probation
I am delighted to confirm that you successfully completed your probationary period on [date] and that your employment with {{org.name}} is confirmed. Congratulations — [add one genuine, specific sentence about their contribution, e.g. 'the way you have taken on [project/responsibility] has already made a real difference to the [team/department]'].
From [date], the following changes take effect under your contract of employment: your notice period is now [number] [weeks/months] on either side, and you are now eligible for [benefits that begin on confirmation, e.g. enhanced company sick pay, [scheme name]] — [name/role] will be in touch about [enrolment/next steps]. All other terms and conditions of your employment are unchanged. [If nothing changes on confirmation, replace this paragraph with: 'All terms and conditions of your employment continue unchanged.']
Your first review under our regular [appraisal/performance review] cycle will take place in [month/timeframe], and [manager name] will carry on your usual one-to-ones in the meantime. If you have any questions about this letter or your terms, please speak to [name/role].
Thank you for a strong start — we are very glad you are here.
Yours sincerely,
[Name]
[Job title], {{org.name}}
4. Delivery and record-keeping
- Deliver the news in person at the final review, then send the letter the same day [by email / as a printed letter] so the written record follows immediately.
- Where the letter changes particulars in the employee's written statement — the notice period is the common one — it doubles as the written notification of that change the law requires, so send it within the statutory timescale on GOV.UK, not eventually.
- File a copy on the personnel file in [system/location], alongside the probation objectives and review records.
- Update [HR system] with the confirmation date and trigger any payroll or benefits changes from the effective date in the letter.
- Diarise the first regular performance review so the support does not stop the day probation ends.
How to adapt this template.
Check the contract before drafting — the notice period and benefits in the letter must match what the contract says happens on confirmation.
Hold the final probation review first and record the outcome; the letter confirms a decision already reached and shared in person.
Personalise the congratulations sentence with one specific, true observation — it turns a form letter into something people keep.
Adapt or delete the changes paragraph honestly: if nothing changes on confirmation, say so plainly.
Copy payroll and benefits administrators so eligibility changes actually happen on the date the letter states.
File the letter with the probation review records and set the date of the first regular performance review.
Turn this template into trained, proven behaviour
A policy in a drawer proves nothing. In TrainedTeam this template becomes assigned training with knowledge checks, e-signature acknowledgments, version history, and an audit-ready record of who completed what, when.
Probation Completion Letter template FAQs
Do employers have to confirm probation completion in writing?
No single statute requires a completion letter, but Acas guidance says employers should confirm successful completion in writing — a letter or email. And where confirmation changes terms in the written statement of employment particulars, such as the notice period, the change must be notified to the employee in writing within the statutory timescale on GOV.UK. One well-drafted letter meets both expectations.
What should a probation completion letter say?
Four things: the confirmation itself with the date probation ended; any contractual changes taking effect — typically the notice period and benefits that begin on confirmation; a statement that all other terms are unchanged; and a genuinely warm, specific word about the person's start. Keep it to one page.
What happens if a probation period ends and nothing is said?
Employment simply continues — probation ending is not an event in law, and in practice the employee is treated as having passed by default. What you lose is clarity: changes tied to confirmation, like a longer notice period, are left ambiguous on the file. Send the letter as soon as the oversight is spotted, accurately dated, and tighten the review-tracking step in your probation policy.
Does passing probation change an employee's legal rights?
No. Statutory rights — minimum wage, paid holiday, discrimination and whistleblowing protection, statutory minimum notice — apply from day one and were never suspended by probation. What changes on confirmation is contractual: typically the notice period and eligibility for any benefits the contract ties to completing probation.
When should the probation completion letter be sent?
On or before the probation end date, straight after the final review meeting where the decision is shared face to face. Our probation policy works on the principle that no probation end date passes without a recorded decision — for a pass, this letter is that record.
Related templates
Probation Policy & Procedure
Free probation policy and procedure template (UK): probation length, review meetings, extension and dismissal steps. Full text online, no signup.
Probation Extension Letter
Free probation extension letter template (UK): states the reason, new end date, support and review date. Full text free online — no signup.
Probation Termination Letter
Free probation termination letter template (UK): reasons, notice, final pay and appeal route, aligned with Acas guidance. Full text online, no signup.
Performance Review & One-to-One
Free performance review and one-to-one procedure for UK teams: preparation, meeting structure, objective setting, one-to-one cadence, and records.