Performance improvement plans: your rights on a PIP

A performance improvement plan (PIP) is a written plan setting out where your employer says you are falling short, what you need to achieve, and by when. There is no law requiring one, but ACAS guidance expects employers to support you to improve before considering dismissal, and a PIP is the usual way of showing they did.

A PIP can be a genuine attempt to help. It can also be the first step of an exit already decided. Knowing which you are dealing with shapes how you respond.

What a fair PIP should contain

• Specific concerns, with examples, not "needs to be more proactive"
• Measurable targets you can realistically hit in the time given
• A sensible timescale, commonly 4 to 12 weeks depending on the role
• Support, such as training, coaching, regular one-to-ones or adjusted workload
• Review dates and who will assess progress
• Consequences, stated clearly, including whether a formal capability process may follow

Red flags that a PIP is set up to fail

• Targets that nobody else in your team is meeting
• A timescale too short to show change, like two weeks for a sales pipeline target
• No support offered, or support promised but never delivered
• The PIP appeared just after you raised a grievance, asked for flexible working, disclosed a health condition or announced a pregnancy
• Goalposts move at each review
• Reviews are cancelled, then you are told you "failed"

If the timing links to something you did or a protected characteristic, the PIP may be evidence of victimisation or discrimination, not just unfairness. See disability discrimination and pregnancy and maternity discrimination.

How to respond

• Do not just sign. You can sign to confirm receipt while noting that you do not agree with the content.
• Respond in writing. Set out which concerns you accept, which you dispute and why, and what support you need.
• Raise causes. If workload, a health condition, caring duties or a manager's behaviour is affecting your work, say so now. If it is a disability, ask for reasonable adjustments.
• Keep a log. Note every target met, every piece of support promised and whether it arrived.
• Raise a grievance if the PIP is unfair or retaliatory. Our grievance at work guide explains how.

Is a PIP formal or informal?

Check what your employer calls it. Many policies have an informal stage, where a manager sets targets in a one-to-one, and a formal stage, where the PIP sits inside a capability procedure and can lead to warnings. If the letter says it is formal, you should usually have had a meeting first, with a chance to respond, and in many policies the right to bring a companion. If it is labelled informal but threatens dismissal, ask your employer to confirm in writing which stage you are at and which policy applies.

Ask for a copy of the capability or performance policy. Employers who do not follow their own procedure make a later dismissal much easier to challenge.

What happens if you "fail" the PIP

Failing a PIP does not automatically mean dismissal. Usually it leads into a formal capability process, with hearings and warnings such as a final written warning. ACAS suggests that where you improve but not fully, a further warning is often more appropriate than dismissal. Our pillar guide to capability dismissal covers the full process and what makes it unfair.

Example: Priya, an account manager with four years' service, was given a three-week PIP to double her client retention rate, two weeks after asking for adjustments for migraines. No adjustments were made. She logged everything and raised a grievance. Her solicitor used that record to negotiate a settlement agreement worth six months' salary.

PIPs and short service

Ordinary unfair dismissal currently needs two years' service, falling to six months for dismissals with an effective date of termination on or after 1 January 2027. If you are new, see dismissed during probation. Discrimination protection applies from day one.

Should you negotiate an exit instead?

Sometimes the relationship has gone. If you would rather leave on good terms, a PIP is often the point where an employer is open to a settlement agreement. Your bargaining position is strongest when your records are good.

If you are on a PIP and worried where it is heading, speak to a specialist early. Match My Solicitor can match you with an employment solicitor for a free initial conversation. Tell us about your situation.