What to do if you've been placed on a PIP at work

No prior warnings. No informal conversations. No documented concerns. Just a PIP. Somehow you're expected to know what to do next.

Something I'm seeing more and more at the moment, and one of the reasons I started Klar.

People are being placed on Performance Improvement Plans with no prior warnings, no informal feedback, and no documented concerns. No conversation before it. Just straight to a PIP.

This seems to be happening with increasing frequency, and very often with employees who have under two years of service. I suspect this is not unrelated to the upcoming Employment Rights Act, which will reduce the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from two years to six months. Employers who want to move people on are doing it now, before that window closes so they can manage employees out to make it harder for them to claim unfair dismissal.

If that's the situation you're in, I want to say this clearly: being placed on a PIP out of nowhere is not a reflection of your worth or your ability. It can knock your confidence, especially when any feedback you've had up to that point has been minimal or unclear, and this is the first time anything formal has been raised.

There are different reasons a PIP gets misused. Sometimes a manager has avoided difficult conversations for too long and reaches for a formal process because they don't know how to handle it. Sometimes emotions get in the way of what should be a straightforward process. One I’m seeing a lot is a new manager who wants to show their authority. Whatever the reason, if a PIP lands without prior feedback and with targets that are unclear, that says more about the manager than it does about you.

A PIP, when used properly, can be a genuinely useful tool. I've seen people go through one, come out the other side, and go on to be promoted. Clear goals, regular feedback, and real support can turn things around. That's what a PIP is supposed to do. But arriving at one without any prior conversation or support is a different experience entirely, and it's okay and completely normal to feel cornered by it.

I worked with someone recently who was about to go into a PIP meeting having never experienced anything like it before. They didn't know what to expect, what they were entitled to ask, or how to approach it without feeling like the outcome had already been decided.

By the end of our session that had changed. They knew what questions to raise, what evidence and support to ask for, and how to walk in with a clear head. What had felt overwhelming became something they felt prepared for. They went into that meeting with confidence, asked for things they wouldn't have known to ask for, and left clear on where they stood. A few weeks on, with regular feedback and defined goals, things are moving in the right direction.

You don't have to walk into that room without knowing your options.

If you've been placed on a PIP and don't know where to start, feel free to get in touch. A free discovery call is a good place to begin.