I have to disagree with the above post which said that employment law is skewed in favour of the employee – it’s not – it’s totally employercentric and becoming more so every year – we have some of the most lax labour laws in the western world.
None the less – poor performance review doesn’t mean you will be sacked, and I’d expect that you would be given an opportunity to rectify any problems which are outlined at the review, I would also expect that any formal processes would outline the exact nature of the problem *before* the meeting took place, and that any outcomes had clear time basis and that the opportunity for assistance for you to ensure that you can meet them is given (a mentor to help as a minimum).
I’ve represented dozens of people in performance reviews and similar and very few of them were sacked at the first one, and those who were sacked often went because they failed to do what they said they would and could do in the meetings.