This IRM provides policy related to probationary periods for employees appointed to a career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service. The probationary period allows management to consider the employee’s performance and conduct for continued employment. During this period, a decision is made to retain or terminate the employee based on considerations contained in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 5 CFR 11, Probationary and Trial Periods (Rule XI). Considerations include the employee’s performance and conduct, the needs and interests of the agency, whether the employee’s continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency, and whether the employee’s continued employment would advance the efficiency of federal service.

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Regulations:

Other:

The Human Capital Officer is the executive responsible for this IRM and overall Servicewide performance policy.

HCO, Policy Office (PO) develops policies related to human resources (HR), ensures internal compliance with these policies and advises customers on HR policy.

HCO, TA, HOps must ensure that probationary period requirements contained in 5 CFR 11, Probationary and Trial Periods (Rule XI), are communicated to supervisors and managers and probationary employees, probationary periods are documented in vacancy announcements, and probationary periods are included in personnel action request (PAR) remarks.

Supervisors or managers of Non-Supervisory Employees Serving a Probationary Period Upon Initial Appointment to a Competitive Service Position must:

Supervisors or managers of Employees Serving a Probationary Period Upon an Initial Appointment to a Supervisory Position must:

HCO, LERN provides technical and procedural advice to supervisors and managers about termination and demotion actions including appeal rights, and ensures such actions conform to current laws and regulations.

This table lists commonly used acronyms in this IRM.

The following table defines terms contained in this IRM.

A probationary period is required for the first year of service of an employee who is given an initial career or career-conditional appointment under 5 CFR 11, Probationary and Trial Periods (Rule XI), to a competitive position. The first year of service (first three years of service for Criminal Investigator job series 1811 according to 5 USC 9510(d), General Workforce Staffing), of an employee who is given a career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service under the Civil Service Regulations is a probationary period when the employee:

A person who is appointed to the competitive service either by special appointing authority or by conversion under 5 CFR 315, Subpart F, Career and Career-Conditional Employment Under Special Authorities, and 5 CFR 315, Subpart G, Conversion to Career or Career-Conditional Employment from Other Types of Employment, serves a one-year probationary period unless specifically exempt from probation by the authority itself.

The IRS uses probationary and trial periods required upon initial appointment or subsequent reinstatement to evaluate employees' fitness for duty and whether their continuation of employment advances the public interest. If not terminated sooner, an employee's service terminates before the end of the tour of duty on the last day of their probationary or trial period unless the IRS certifies within the 30 days prior to that date that finalizing their appointment advances the public interest.

A probationary or trial period ends when the probationary employee completes his or her scheduled tour of duty on the day before the one year anniversary date of the probationary employee's appointment. For example, when the last workday is a Friday and the anniversary date is the following Monday, a probationer will be separated before the end of the tour of duty on Friday if the IRS does not make the requisite certification that their continued appointment advances the public interest.

A probationary employee on a probationary or trial period bears the burden of demonstrating why their continuation in employment through the finalization of their appointment to the federal service is in the public interest.

The Director of OPM has not yet, but may in the future, prescribe circumstances under and procedures by which probationary employees terminated from a probationary or trial period may appeal termination.

A trial period is required for the first two years of service of an employee who is given an initial appointment in the excepted service under 5 CFR 11, Probationary and Trial Periods (Rule XI) to a Competitive Position.

A person who is required to go through a trial period and is transferred, promoted, demoted, or reassigned before he or she completes the trial period is required to complete the remainder of the trial period in the new position.

A trial period ends when the employee on the trial period completes his or her scheduled tour of duty on the day before the two-year anniversary date of the trial period. For example, when the last workday is a Friday and the anniversary date is the following Monday, a probationer will be separated before the end of the tour of duty on Friday if their agency does not make the requisite certification that their continued appointment advances the public interest.

Employees who separate from the federal service for a period of more than 30 days after completing a trial period, and who subsequently are reappointed to an excepted service position, must complete a new trial period unless such individual is appointed to the same or a substantially similar position in the same agency as their most recently held position.

The probationary period required is one year (three years for Criminal Investigation, 1811 series) for career and career-conditional appointments and the trial period is two years.

Prior federal civilian service (including non-appropriated fund service) counts toward completion of the probationary period when the prior service:

Periods of absence while in a pay status count toward completion of the probationary period. The following addresses creditability in a non-pay status:

Service credited for other than full time:

In determining whether it is in the public interest to finalize the appointment to the federal service of an employee in a probationary or trial period, the agency head, or his or her designee, may consider, in his or her sole and exclusive discretion:

If, prior to the end of the probationary period, the IRS determines not to certify that the continued employment of a probationary employee advances the public interest, the IRS will provide the employee a written notice of such non-certification and the effective date of their termination. Probationary employees have no right to appeal their termination unless OPM at a future date prescribes one.

Per OPM’s Guide to Processing Personnel Actions (GPPA) Chapter 31, Separations by Other than Retirement, if a probationary employee chooses to resign before receiving a termination letter, their Standard Form (SF) SF-50B, Notification of Personnel Action, will not contain a statement referring to their performance/conduct issue.

An employee on a probationary or trial period bears the burden of demonstrating why their continuation in employment through the finalization of their appointment to the federal service is in the public interest.

Before an agency terminates the service of an employee serving a probationary or trial period, it will notify such employee in writing as to the effective date of the action.

If the IRS terminates an employee serving on a probationary or trial period for reasons based in whole or in part on conditions prior to their appointment, the IRS will notify such employee in writing as to the effective date of the action.

Probationary or trial period employees generally do not have appeal rights that employees have under 5 CFR 432, Performance Based Reduction in Grade and Removal Actions, or 5 CFR 752, Adverse Actions.

LERN or EMU, as applicable, must be consulted to determine whether an employee has due process and appeal rights, and what procedures may need to be followed. For assistance, contact LERN at IRS Service Central, access the chat bot, or call the LERN Support Gate at 866-743-5748, option 1, and option 6, Monday - Friday, 7 a.m.- 7 p.m., CT to speak to an HR specialist.

An employee is required to complete a one-year probationary period upon initial assignment to a supervisory or managerial position. An employee is only required to complete one probationary period, regardless of the number of supervisory or managerial positions the employee serves in the competitive service.

If an employee is required to concurrently serve a probationary period for a new supervisory or managerial position and an initial competitive position, the completion of the probationary period for the competitive position satisfies the requirement for the supervisory or managerial position.

For employees who occupied supervisory or managerial positions on or before August 11,1979, a probationary period is not required for future positions when:

If an employee fails to demonstrate satisfactory performance and/or conduct during the employee’s supervisory or managerial probationary period, management may terminate the employee if the employee is also serving an initial probationary period. If the employee previously held a non-management position with the IRS, management will return the employee to their former or a similar non-supervisory or managerial position unless the employee accepted a change to lower grade for the initial supervisory appointment. In accordance with 5 CFR 315.907(b), Failure to Complete the Probationary Period, a non-supervisory or non-managerial employee who is demoted into a position in which probation is required and who, for reasons of supervisory or managerial performance, does not satisfactorily complete the probationary period is entitled to be assigned to a position at the same grade and pay as the position in which the employee was serving the probationary period.

Before taking any action, supervisors or managers should consult with their assigned Labor Relations Specialist (LRS) or EMU specialist. For assistance, contact LERN at IRS Service Central, access the chat bot, or call the LERN Support Gate at 866-743-5748, option 1, and option 6, Monday - Friday, 7 a.m.- 7 p.m., CT to speak to an HR specialist.

The termination or reassignment letter is drafted by management’s servicing LRS or EMU specialist, as appropriate. It is reviewed, approved, signed, dated, and issued by the supervisor or manager with the delegated authority under SDO 6-29, Delegation of Authority to Address Employee Performance or Conduct Issues, and Criminal Investigation’s deviation from SDO 6-29.

An employee who is returned to a non-supervisory or non-managerial position during the employee’s supervisory or managerial probationary period has no appeal rights.