Probation period in the workplace: what does the employee often not know? | Business

In order to check whether the employee is suitable for the agreed work, as well as whether the agreed work is suitable for the employee, the parties to the employment contract – the employer and the employee – can agree on a test when concluding an employment contract.

The head of the labor law department-chief labor inspector Ieva Piličiauskaitė-Dulkė emphasizes that the probationary period cannot be longer than three months, excluding the time the employee was not at work due to temporary incapacity, vacation or other important reasons.

Personal archive photo/Ieva Piličiauskaitė-Dulkė

It is prohibited to extend the trial period by agreement of the parties to the employment contract. If a fixed-term employment contract is concluded for a period shorter than six months, the trial period must be proportional to the term of this contract, i.e. shorter than three months.

“Having recognized that the results of the trial are not satisfactory, the employer can make a decision to terminate the employment contract before the end of the trial period, following notifying the employee in writing 3 working days before the end of the employment contract, and not to pay severance pay”, – probably the most important “rule” of the trial period is reminded by I .Piličiauskaitė-Dulkė.

However, not everything is in the hands of employers. The employee also has the right to terminate the employment contract during this period. According to the head of the Labor Law Department, the employee can terminate the employment contract during the probationary period by notifying the employer in writing 3 working days in advance.

“True, this warning can be canceled no later than the next working day following its submission”, emphasizes I. Piličiauskaitė-Dulkė and reminds that a given and unrevoked warning terminates the employment contract and the employer must formalize the termination of the employment contract no later than the last working day .

The Chief Labor Inspector notes that due to the probationary period, the benefits of both parties are equalized, therefore, the calculation of the deadlines for terminating the employment contract during the probationary period should be applied equally to both the employer and the employee, that is, both of them – the employee and the employer – have the right to submit before the end of the probationary period written statement regarding the termination of the employment contract.

It is true that the employer can make a decision and give a warning, and in general, such an employee’s request or the employer’s decision can be served on the last day of the probationary period.

What does the employee often not know? That the trial period can be provided only for newly hired employees. This means that the employee’s employment relationship continues from the date of conclusion of the employment contract, and not from the changes to the employment contract, which means that if the type of employment contract changes, for example, a fixed-term contract becomes open-ended, by agreeing on additional work or transferring the employee to another position, the Labor Code cannot be applied Article 36 of the Code provides for a probationary period.