Being placed on a Performance Improvement Plan can feel destabilising. You may be wondering whether this is a genuine attempt to help you improve, or the start of a process designed to end your employment. The truth is sometimes one and sometimes the other, and the difference matters enormously for the choices you make next. This guide sets out what a PIP is, what your rights are, and what you should do — and document — from the moment you receive one.

You can ask Caira by Unwildered to help you read your PIP document, compare it against your job description and contract, and draft a calm, clear written response. Caira is backed by more than 10,000 legal documents for England and Wales.

What Is a Performance Improvement Plan in the UK?

A Performance Improvement Plan — often called a PIP, capability plan, or development plan — is a formal document your employer uses to set out specific concerns about your work, establish targets for improvement, and impose a timeline for review. It sits within what employment law calls a capability procedure.

There is no single law that requires employers to use a PIP. However, if a PIP process leads to dismissal, Employment Tribunals will look closely at whether the employer followed the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. Employers who fail to follow the Code risk having any compensation award increased by up to 25 per cent.

ACAS guidance says a PIP should only be used after informal attempts to resolve performance concerns — coaching, feedback conversations, or additional training — have not worked. Being placed directly onto a formal PIP without any prior informal discussion is itself a potential procedural failing.

How Serious Is Being Put on a Performance Improvement Plan?

A PIP is serious. It is a formal step with documented targets and explicit consequences for not meeting them. It is not the same as a quiet word from a manager or an informal chat about areas to improve.

You should treat it as a clear signal that your employer has concerns about your performance and has decided to manage those concerns through a formal procedure. In many cases, a PIP is the last structured step before a capability hearing at which dismissal is a possible outcome.

That said, some employees do complete a PIP successfully and continue in their role. The key is to take it seriously, engage with it constructively, and simultaneously protect yourself by understanding your rights.

Does a Performance Improvement Plan Lead to Termination?

A PIP does not automatically lead to dismissal, but the risk is real. Under section 98(2)(a) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, capability — meaning an employee's skill, aptitude, health, or other mental or physical quality — is a potentially fair reason for dismissal. A properly documented PIP is often the evidence an employer relies on to show the dismissal was fair.

For a capability dismissal to be found fair at tribunal, the employer must show genuine belief that performance was below standard, reasonable grounds for that belief based on a fair process, clear targets, adequate support, a reasonable timeline, and an opportunity to respond and appeal. A PIP that ticks all of those boxes makes the employer's case at tribunal significantly stronger.

Conversely, a PIP that lacks specific targets, provides no real support, or sets an unrealistic timeframe may be challenged — and the dismissal that follows may be found unfair.

Is a Performance Improvement Plan Quiet Firing?

Quiet firing is not a legal term. It describes a pattern where an employer uses management tactics to make a job so difficult or demoralising that the employee chooses to resign, saving the employer the costs and procedural steps of a formal dismissal.

A PIP can be a legitimate tool or it can function as quiet firing. Warning signs that a PIP may not be genuine:

• Targets that are significantly higher than the standards previously applied to you or your colleagues.

• The PIP includes duties that were never part of your job description or contract.

• Little or no substantive support, training, or mentoring is offered despite being listed in the plan.

• You were placed on the PIP shortly after raising a grievance, disclosing a health condition, or taking protected leave.

• Review meetings are cancelled or held irregularly.

• Your responsibilities are quietly removed at the same time, making it harder to demonstrate improvement.

If the employer's conduct amounts to a fundamental breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence — which is implied into every employment contract — you may have grounds to resign and claim constructive unfair dismissal. That is a complex claim and you should take legal advice before resigning.

Can You Refuse to Sign a Performance Improvement Plan?

There is no legal obligation to sign a PIP in England and Wales. However, refusing to sign at all can be read as non-cooperation, which the employer may use as a separate point against you.

The better approach is to sign with a written caveat. Add a short statement — either on the document itself or in a letter sent the same day — making clear that:

• Your signature acknowledges receipt of the document only.

• It does not indicate agreement with the concerns raised.

• You dispute specific points (identify each one clearly).

• You reserve all your rights.

This creates a formal record of your objection without giving your employer grounds to escalate for non-cooperation. If the PIP includes duties outside your job description, address that specifically in the same written response.

How Long Does a Performance Improvement Plan Last?

There is no statutory minimum or maximum duration. ACAS guidance says the timeframe must be reasonable given the nature and complexity of the performance concerns.

An unreasonably short PIP — for example, a two-week plan for a senior management role — may support an argument that the process was not genuinely designed to give you a fair chance to improve. An Employment Tribunal would consider whether the duration was reasonable in all the circumstances.

What Happens If You Fail a Performance Improvement Plan?

When the PIP period ends, your employer should hold a formal review meeting. Possible outcomes:

• The plan is closed because you have met the targets. You continue in your role.

• The PIP is extended to give you more time, usually because progress is partial.

• A formal warning is issued if your employer uses a combined capability and disciplinary procedure.

• You are invited to a capability hearing. Dismissal is a possible — sometimes the stated — outcome of that hearing.

• A settlement agreement is offered. Some employers prefer to agree a negotiated exit rather than proceed to dismissal.

At any capability hearing, you have the right under section 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999 to be accompanied by a trade union representative or a fellow worker. You also have the right to appeal any formal decision under the ACAS Code.

Is It Better to Resign or Go on a Performance Improvement Plan?

This is one of the most common questions people ask. The answer from employment lawyers is almost always the same: do not resign without legal advice.

Resigning immediately means you lose the ability to claim unfair dismissal — which requires that you were dismissed, not that you chose to leave. You also lose your bargaining leverage and may affect your eligibility for some state benefits.

Staying on the PIP preserves your rights. You can raise a grievance if the process is unfair. You can document failures of support. And if the relationship has genuinely broken down, you are better placed to negotiate a settlement agreement from within employment than after you have already left.

A settlement agreement under section 111A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 allows both sides to agree a departure on mutually acceptable terms. Any pre-termination negotiation connected with ending employment is generally inadmissible in unfair dismissal proceedings, which means both sides can have a frank without-prejudice conversation.

The one exception is constructive dismissal. If the employer has fundamentally breached your contract — for example by imposing impossible targets, removing your role, or retaliating against a protected disclosure — you may be able to resign and claim constructive dismissal. The bar is high and the timing matters. Take legal advice before resigning in any of these circumstances.

Performance Improvement Plan and Mental Health

If your performance has been affected by anxiety, depression, burnout, or another mental health condition, your situation may be significantly different from a straightforward capability case.

Under section 6 of the Equality Act 2010, a mental health condition qualifies as a disability if it has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Long-term means lasting or expected to last at least 12 months.

If your condition qualifies, your employer has a legal duty under sections 20 and 21 of the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments. That duty applies to the PIP process itself. Adjustments may include:

• Extending the PIP timeline.

• Modifying specific targets to reflect what is reasonably achievable given your condition.

• Adjusting how and where review meetings are held — for example, remotely rather than in a pressured office environment.

• Providing additional mentoring or check-in support.

• Discounting any deterioration in performance clearly linked to your condition.

Failure to make reasonable adjustments can give rise to a discrimination claim under the Equality Act 2010, which can be brought from the first day of employment. Unlike unfair dismissal claims — which currently require two years of continuous service — discrimination claims have no qualifying period. The Employment Rights Act 2025 will reduce the unfair dismissal qualifying period to six months from 1 January 2027, but disability discrimination claims carry no such threshold at all and compensation is uncapped.

Even if your condition does not formally meet the legal definition of a disability, ACAS guidance says employers should investigate the reasons behind a performance drop before starting formal proceedings. A PIP that ignores a disclosed health problem may be challenged on fairness grounds even without a discrimination claim.

If you are struggling, support is available: ACAS (0300 123 1100), Mind (0300 123 3393), Samaritans (116 123).

Performance Improvement Plan and Disability: Reasonable Adjustments

The duty to make reasonable adjustments is triggered by knowledge. If you have disclosed a disability to your employer, they must consider what adjustments are needed. If they knew or ought reasonably to have known about your disability — from a sick note, an occupational health referral, or observable symptoms — they cannot claim ignorance.

An employer who proceeds with a standard PIP without considering adjustments for a disabled employee risks a finding that the process itself was discriminatory. Compensation for disability discrimination is uncapped, in contrast to unfair dismissal compensation, which is subject to a statutory cap currently set at £115,115 or one year's gross pay, whichever is lower.

If you believe reasonable adjustments have not been made, raise it in writing as soon as possible. Ask specifically what adjustments are being considered, when occupational health will be consulted, and how the targets in the PIP will be modified to reflect your situation.

What to Do If Your PIP Includes Duties Not in Your Job Description

This is a pitfall that receives less attention than it deserves. An employer may include performance targets in a PIP relating to tasks that were never part of your original job description or written contract.

Most employment contracts include a "flexibility clause" — a phrase such as "any other reasonable duties as required." Courts have interpreted these clauses narrowly. A clause of this kind cannot be used to impose duties that fundamentally change the nature of the role.

If your PIP includes targets for out-of-scope tasks:

• Do not simply accept those targets by signing without comment.

• In your written response to the PIP, identify each out-of-scope task by name and cross-reference it to your job description and contract.

• State clearly that you dispute those targets and will not be assessed against duties that fall outside your contractual role.

• If the employer refuses to remove the out-of-scope targets, consider raising a formal grievance.

• Keep copies of your job description, contract, and any previous role outlines that confirm the scope of your role.

If you are later dismissed for failing to meet targets that included out-of-scope tasks, you may have a stronger unfair dismissal argument, because the targets were not reasonable by reference to your actual role. If the employer is effectively trying to force you into a different job, that may also support a constructive dismissal claim.

What to Document During a Performance Improvement Plan

From the moment you receive a PIP, treat every interaction as potentially evidential. A clear contemporaneous record can be decisive if the matter reaches an Employment Tribunal or a without-prejudice negotiation.

Store copies somewhere your employer cannot access — a personal email account, a personal device, or a secure cloud folder. Do not take confidential company data, but your own correspondence and documents relating to your own employment are generally yours to keep.

Can a Performance Improvement Plan Lead to Constructive Dismissal?

Yes, in the right circumstances. Constructive dismissal under section 95(1)(c) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 occurs when an employee resigns in response to a fundamental breach of their employment contract by the employer.

A PIP-related constructive dismissal claim might arise where:

• The employer imposes impossible targets with no genuine intention of supporting improvement.

• The employer removes duties or responsibilities during the PIP period, making it impossible to demonstrate improvement.

• The PIP is imposed as retaliation for raising a grievance, whistleblowing, or exercising a statutory right.

• The PIP includes duties not in the job description that the employer refuses to remove.

• The employer refuses to make reasonable adjustments for a disability despite being aware of it.

To succeed in a constructive dismissal claim, you generally need at least two years of continuous employment (reducing to six months from 1 January 2027 under the Employment Rights Act 2025). You must also show the breach was fundamental, not merely uncomfortable, and that you resigned promptly rather than continuing to work for a long period after the breach.

Constructive dismissal claims are difficult. Take legal advice — from a solicitor, ACAS, or your trade union — before resigning.

Should You Raise a Grievance During a Performance Improvement Plan?

A formal grievance is a written complaint submitted through your employer's grievance procedure. You have the right to raise one at any time, including during a PIP.

Raising a grievance during a PIP can be a useful step if:

• The PIP was introduced without prior informal discussion or warning.

• The targets are unachievable or include out-of-scope duties.

• You believe the PIP is discriminatory — for example, linked to a disability, age, pregnancy, or another protected characteristic.

• You believe the PIP was triggered by a protected activity such as raising a previous complaint.

• The employer has failed to provide the support promised in the plan.

A grievance creates a formal written record that you raised concerns before the situation deteriorated further. That record can be important if you later bring an unfair dismissal, discrimination, or constructive dismissal claim.

The ACAS Code does not require the PIP to be suspended while a grievance is heard, but in practice many employers will pause or coordinate the processes. If the employer ignores your grievance entirely or acts against you for raising it, that is itself a potential breach of the ACAS Code and may support a further claim.

Sources

• Employment Rights Act 1996, section 98 — capability as a potentially fair reason for dismissal.

• Employment Rights Act 1996, section 95 — constructive dismissal.

• Employment Rights Act 1996, section 111A — pre-termination negotiations.

• Employment Relations Act 1999, section 10 — right to be accompanied.

• Equality Act 2010, section 6 — definition of disability.

• Equality Act 2010, sections 20 and 21 — duty to make reasonable adjustments.

• ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures.

• ACAS, managing performance guidance.

• GOV.UK, dismissing staff — capability procedure.