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[chocky]

It sounds like the OP threw in the towel right away on the possibility of negotiating the starting point. I would think that might be a bit hasty.  I know plenty of people who negotiated up a couple points, or even managed to push themselves over the boundary between Lecturer scales (although not into SL, of course).  They used prior experience and achievements, such as X years teaching or postdoctoral experience (more concrete than simply number of years out of PhD), number of publications, evidence of esteem and international standing, and so on.

It depends a bit on where they are proposing to start you. If you are right down at the bottom and you really don't think you are that junior (with good reason), then I think it is fine to try to make a case for a slightly higher starting point.  They might say no, but then again they might say yes, and I have never heard of anyone losing the job offer over a reasonable request to consider such a thing (obviously, don't come across as a jerk and sound entitled, but you don't sound like you would).

I kicked myself for about 3 years that I didn't ask for a higher starting point.  Just one extra point would have pushed me from the top of Grade 7 into the lower end of Grade 8 (as defined by my uni).  As it was, I became stuck at that point, the top of the "junior" lecturer scale, due to an unforeseen promotions freeze that kicked in soon after and prevented me from applying to be promoted over the boundary.  Yet I probably had sufficient prior teaching experience, postdoc years, and publications to actually be at the bottom of the more experienced lecturer scale and could have continued moving up that scale if I had been.  So don't live with the regret that you didn't even ask (as long as you feel there is a good case for it).

[mingus]

There are only two ways to fail probation in the UK:

(1) Incompetence at the level where it is doubtful that the person is even still alive.

(2) Sexually molesting the dean's dog.

Propagating this myth as a universal truth does a great disservice to those starting a lecturing career in many UK universities. I know of a number of cases where people have failed probation/been warned that they were likely to fail probation because of a poor research record. The requirements will vary from institution to institution (I have always been at research intensive universities) and are, in my experience, becoming more rigorous. As is the case in the US, it is important that people starting as probationers understand what the requirements are now.

I stand by the comments.

[mleok]

Experience is pretty much the only thing that you can use to negotiate a bump up the spine over here. But it is always possible to make the attempt, particularly if they've put you on the lowest point.

A competing offer would be more likely to get people asking where you want to go for your leaving drinks. We're really not into the "this is your one job ever" stuff over here.

I'm assuming from the OP's post that he's talking about negotiating an initial offer, whereas your discussion of a competing offer is presumably for a current faculty member who's already on the job.

[drspouse]

We have a colleague who has had their probation extended about twice, but the first time was due to our previous HoD's disorganisation in not setting it up properly in the first place, hence giving the colleague too little time to achieve the (already inflated over previous probationary agreements) criteria.

There does seem to be a general trend for these agreements to be longer and more onerous, but the length may creep up when one department, and then another and another, have someone they want to keep but who hasn't quite passed it in two years, so needs another year.

[totoro]

I see LSE is referring now to "tenure track". Here in Aus probation mostly seems to be 3 years and the hurdle seems to be a bit like the mid-tenure review in the US. Very hard to fail it. We might apply probation at the full professor level even for an outside hire apparently. I had mine waived just now because I've worked a total of 7 years for this university before and got tenure in the US too.