Free probation review form template
This free probation review form template — printable PDF or editable Excel — scores a new starter against the things that actually matter on a hospitality floor, records agreed objectives, and captures a clear pass, extend or end decision with both signatures.
Free. No email address, no sign-up — the probation review form downloads straight away.
A probation review only helps if it happens before the probation period ends. Reviews held a fortnight late are, in practice, automatic passes — the decision has already been made by inaction. Set the review date on the induction sheet the day someone starts and hold it.
The criteria on this form are deliberately observable: reliability, timekeeping, pace under pressure, food safety and hygiene, standards on their section, how they behave with guests, and how they take feedback. Rating someone on "attitude" produces a conversation nobody can act on; rating them on "turns up on time and ready" produces one they can do something about.
Write the specific examples down. The gap between "needs to improve consistency" and "three late arrivals in four weeks, all Saturday openings" is the entire difference between a review that changes behaviour and one that gets ignored. It is also the difference that matters if the outcome is ending employment.
How probation works legally — permitted length, notice, and what process you must follow to extend or end it — depends on your jurisdiction and the contract. This form documents the review; it does not tell you what your local rules allow. Check them, and take advice before ending employment.
What's on the sheet
Form — one record per sheet · Portrait A4 · PDF, Excel and CSV
Header fields
Employee name · Role / section · Start date · Review date
Review details
- ·Probation period length agreed
- ·Probation end date
- ·Reviewing manager
- ·Is this a first, interim or final review?
Performance — rate 1 to 5 and give one example for each
- ·Reliability and attendance
- ·Timekeeping and being ready to start on time
- ·Pace and composure during service
- ·Food safety, hygiene and following procedure
- ·Quality and consistency of work on their section
- ·Guest interaction and manner (where applicable)
- ·Teamwork and communication with other sections
- ·Response to feedback and rate of improvement
- ·Care of equipment, stock and waste awareness
Discussion
- ·What is going well — specific examples
- ·What needs to improve — specific examples
- ·Training or support the employee has asked for
- ·Employee's own view of how it is going
- ·Anything preventing them doing the job well (equipment, rota, information)
Objectives to the next review
- ·Objective 1 and how it will be measured
- ·Objective 2 and how it will be measured
- ·Objective 3 and how it will be measured
- ·Training booked and by what date
Decision
- ·Outcome: passed / extended / employment ending
- ·If extended, new end date and the specific reason
- ·If ending, notice given per contract and date
- ·Manager name and signature
- ·Employee signature — signing means the review took place, not necessarily agreement
- ·Date
- ·Copy given to employee (Y/N)
What you get
- ✓Printable PDF, portrait A4, one review per sheet
- ✓Excel (.xlsx) version if you prefer to keep reviews digitally
- ✓CSV version for import
- ✓Nine hospitality-specific rating criteria with space for examples
- ✓Objectives block with measures and dates
- ✓Pass, extend or end decision with dual signatures and copy-given confirmation
How to use it
- 1
Set the review date when the person starts, and diary it with a week's notice for both of you.
- 2
Ask the employee to think about the same criteria beforehand so it is a conversation, not an announcement.
- 3
Complete the ratings before the meeting, with a written example against each one.
- 4
Hold the meeting somewhere private and off the floor, not on the pass between services.
- 5
Agree no more than three measurable objectives, with dates and any training booked.
- 6
Record the outcome, both sign, give the employee a copy and file the original.
Questions
How long should a probation period be in hospitality?
Three to six months is typical, and what is permitted is set by your jurisdiction and the employment contract. Whatever you choose, put the end date in writing at the start and hold the review before it arrives.
What should you assess in a probation review?
Observable things: attendance, timekeeping, pace under pressure, hygiene and procedure, quality on their section, guest manner, teamwork and how they take feedback. Score each one and write a real example beside it.
Can a probation period be extended?
Often yes, if the contract allows it and you give a specific reason and a new end date in writing. Extending without stating what has to change by when is the version that helps nobody.
Does the employee have to sign the form?
Their signature confirms the review took place and they received a copy — not that they agree with it. Note any disagreement in the discussion section rather than leaving the form unsigned.
Or stop printing it altogether
Rotahr does this check on a phone — timestamped, with the person who did it attached, reminders when one is due, and a PDF export when somebody asks for a month of records. Same job, no folder to search through.
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Free to print, copy and use in your venue — no attribution required. Written for an international audience: where a threshold is a widely used figure it is printed as one, but food safety and employment rules differ by country and change. Check yours before relying on this sheet.
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