I should have been more specific - I meant a year from the time at which the employee starts performing badly, not from the time a manager decides they want to

I should have been more specific - I meant a year from the time at which the employee starts performing badly, not from the time a manager decides they want to fire someone. A typical timeline in the US would be something like, someone is performing badly for a 6-12 month period, then the employee's direct manager decides that firing is a possibility, then the employee does a PIP for 1-2 months, then either it is decided that the employee is doing better and should be retained, or the employee is fired.