How to Stop Fixing Underperformers!

Stop Fixing Underperformers: Manage Performance from Day One

For years, UK employers have quietly relied on one thing when dealing with poor performers: the two-year rule. That buffer gave managers and HR a window of flexibility, time to see if someone would 'settle in' before formal protections kicked in.

But that safety net is about to go. Under the government’s new Employment Rights Bill, employees will have unfair dismissal protection from day one. And that changes everything.

The new reality? You can’t hide behind time anymore. You need to manage performance, and people, properly from the start.

Goodbye two-year grace period, hello accountability

For many organisations, the two-year threshold created complacency. Managers delayed hard conversations. HR held off on formal documentation. “Let’s see how they do” became an excuse to avoid addressing underperformance early.

Now that buffer is gone. Employers won’t have the luxury of waiting 18 months to discover that someone’s not right for the role. From day one (or a defined probation period), every decision, feedback, documentation, support, or dismissal, will need to be fair, consistent, and justifiable.

That’s not bad news. It’s just overdue accountability.

Underperformance is a hiring failure, not a coaching project

The truth is, underperformance rarely appears out of nowhere. It’s usually the result of a recruiting mis-step - unclear expectations, poor assessment, or cultural mismatch.

Instead of spending months managing people out, organisations need to get better at hiring. That means:

Building role clarity before recruitment, not after.
Testing for values and behaviours, not just technical skills or a review of the CV.
Forensically interviewing rather than relying on 'GPT' answers!
Ensuring hiring managers know what “great” looks like before they start interviewing.

In a world of day-one rights, hiring the wrong person isn’t just costly - it’s risky.

Why the new law should change how you manage performance

With day-one protection, the focus can’t just be on compliance - it has to be on capability.

Managers will need to:

Set clear expectations immediately: no vague job descriptions or “we’ll figure it out together.”
Give regular, real-time feedback rather than waiting for annual reviews. Lightbulb's 'Chinwag' approach directly aligns to this.
Document performance discussions consistently, even informal ones, to evidence fairness.
Act early when someone’s not delivering: not to necessarily dismiss them, but to clarify, support, and decide quickly whether the fit is right.

In other words, the new law demands grown-up management. You can’t rely on HR paperwork to catch up later.

Dragging it out isn’t compassion - it’s confusion

Too often, organisations mistake delay for kindness. They think giving someone more time is being fair. In reality, prolonged uncertainty is cruel to everyone involved.

Under the new rules, managers who avoid difficult conversations aren’t just risking productivity, they’re risking legal exposure. If you’re going to address performance, do it early, do it clearly, and do it with evidence. That’s how you protect both people and the business.

Swift, honest dialogue isn’t harsh, it’s humane. It gives employees clarity, dignity, and the opportunity to improve or move on before things turn toxic.

HR must lead the mindset shift

For HR, this change is a wake-up call. Performance management can no longer be treated as a reactive process triggered after months or years of frustration.

HR’s new strategic role is to:

Embed performance conversations into onboarding. Feedback should start in week one, not after a problem emerges.
Coach managers to act confidently and consistently when standards slip.
Balance empathy with accountability - protecting fairness, but not enabling avoidance.

The old mindset was “we’ll intervene if things go wrong.” The new one must be: “we’ll build clarity so things rarely do.”

Recruit smarter. Manage sooner. Lead better.

The removal of the two-year rule will make UK employment law feel tighter, but it should actually make leadership stronger.

Stop 'fixing' underperformers months down the line. Start managing performance from the moment you make an offer. Use probation objectives in a results-focused way that also observes, measures and reviews behaviour and habits. Don't wait for the annual appraisal!

Paul Marsh