Ask a room full of Alberta business owners what a probationary period is for, and you’ll usually hear the same answer: it’s the time when you can let someone go without consequences. There is some truth to that, but it leaves out the part that creates the most risk. The Employment Standards Code waives termination notice during the first 90 days of employment, but it does not remove your other obligations. Human rights legislation, the terms of your employment contract, and the need for good documentation all apply from an employee’s very first shift. After 26 years of advising employers, we’ve seen that misunderstanding lead to complaints and legal costs that could have been avoided with a more structured approach to the first 90 days.
How long is a probationary period in Alberta?
Alberta’s Employment Standards Code does not set a probationary period. It waives termination notice when an employee has been employed 90 days or less, which is why most Alberta employers use a 90-day or three month probation. A contract can set a longer probation, but written termination notice is still required once employment passes 90 days.
The province’s guidance on Alberta’s termination and layoff rules never uses the word “probation.” It simply explains that notice is not required when employment is 90 days or less. Everything Alberta employers refer to as a probationary period is a workplace practice built around that rule, and the practice does not change the legislation itself.
What the 90-day window actually covers
Termination notice and pay sit in Part 2, Division 8 of the Employment Standards Code. During the first 90 days, neither the employer nor the employee owes notice. You can end employment without written notice or termination pay, and an employee who resigns is not required to provide resignation notice either. Beginning on day 91, employers owe at least one week of written termination notice or termination pay, and that minimum increases with length of service to eight weeks at ten years or more.
The 90-day window is much narrower than many employers assume. Final earnings, including vacation pay, must still be paid within 10 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which termination occurred, or within 31 calendar days after the last day of employment. The 90-day rule only removes the statutory termination-notice requirement. Other applicable employment standards, including rules governing wages, vacation pay, and hours of work, continue to apply, although some entitlements have their own eligibility requirements and industry-specific exceptions.
The myths that cost Alberta employers real money
Most of the problems we help employers resolve during a probationary termination in Alberta can be traced back to three common assumptions.
Myth one: the first 90 days carry no legal risk
Alberta’s termination guidance states clearly that employers cannot terminate an employee if doing so would violate human rights legislation, and it directs employers to the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Human rights protections begin on an employee’s first day of work. If a new hire discloses a medical condition, announces a pregnancy, or requests accommodation in week six and is terminated in week ten, the timing alone may attract scrutiny. The fact that termination notice is waived provides no protection against a discrimination complaint.
We regularly see this scenario in smaller organizations. An owner ends employment on day 85 believing the 90-day rule protects the business, only to discover there is little documentation explaining the decision. If the employee raises concerns involving a protected ground, that version of events may become the strongest evidence available.
Myth two: a longer probation clause extends the window
Many Alberta employment contracts include a six month probationary period, often because the wording came from a template drafted in another province. Evaluating a new employee over six months can make good business sense. What that clause cannot do is extend the Employment Standards Code’s 90-day threshold.
Once an employee has worked more than 90 days, the statutory minimum of one week of notice or pay applies regardless of what your contract calls that stage of employment. Extending a probationary period may support continued performance management, but it does not change your statutory notice obligations. We review contracts every month where employers genuinely believed they owed no notice in month five because the employee was still “on probation.”
Myth three: documentation can wait until probation ends
The Code does not require employers to provide a reason when ending employment within the first 90 days, and some employers interpret that as a reason to skip documentation altogether. The province’s own employer guidance recommends documenting the time, date, and outcome of conversations about conduct or performance because those records become important if the decision is later challenged.
A human rights complaint does not disappear simply because notice was waived. If a former employee alleges discrimination, your strongest defence is a clear, contemporaneous record showing the decision was based on legitimate performance concerns. Without that documentation, the discussion often becomes one person’s memory against another’s.
What still applies from day one
Human rights obligations are only part of the picture. Your employment contract also matters from the employee’s first day. If your offer letter promises a 30-day review, notice during probation, or benefits beyond the Employment Standards Code minimums, those commitments may be enforceable even though Alberta employment standards require less.
Common law reasonable notice can also create additional exposure. The province’s guidance explains that severance pay is determined under common law rather than the Employment Standards Code, and courts have awarded notice to short-service employees where the contract did not contain an enforceable termination clause. That exposure comes from common law rather than statute, and the level of risk depends on your contract wording. We recommend having termination clauses reviewed before relying on the 90-day rule. Our guide to employment standards in Alberta provides additional context on the statutory framework those clauses operate within.
Run probation as a structured 30/60/90 evaluation
Everything we’ve discussed so far focuses on reducing risk. In practice, we believe the most effective probationary periods are designed to develop employees, not simply evaluate whether to terminate them. The employers we work with get the best results by treating the first 90 days as a structured series of conversations rather than a countdown to a decision.
Around day 30, we recommend confirming the fundamentals. Meet with the employee, acknowledge what is going well, identify any areas for improvement, and document the discussion so expectations are clear.
By day 60, revisit the same topics and measure progress against the earlier conversation. If concerns remain, put them in writing and explain what still needs to improve. This checkpoint often makes it clear whether the employee is responding to feedback or whether the role is unlikely to be a good fit.
Between day 85 and day 90, make the decision deliberately before the statutory window closes. Confirm employment, continue supporting the employee with a documented improvement plan, or end the employment relationship knowing the file already contains clear notes from the earlier conversations.
This approach gives new hires meaningful feedback while they still have time to improve. If the employment relationship does end, the decision is supported by documented performance discussions rather than instinct. When the same position repeatedly struggles by day 60, the problem often starts with recruitment rather than performance, which is one of the reasons Daeco Connect, our recruitment division, exists. The least expensive probation issue is the one you prevent before the offer letter is signed.
Get the first 90 days working before you need them
Daeco HR Consulting has provided outsourced HR support for small business owners from our Edmonton base for more than 26 years, working with employers across Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan. If a probationary termination is on your horizon, or you want contracts and 30/60/90 check-ins built before you hire again, talk to us before day 85 rather than after. Our team can review your termination clauses, set up your check-in templates and provide termination support through the conversation itself.