Trial Period
The purpose of the trial period is to reserve a possibility to both parties to evaluate whether the employment agreement, work, employee or employer meet the expectations. Trial period condition can be taken both into fixed term employment contracts and into employment contracts valid until further notice.
The employer and employee may agree upon a trial period, which will start at the commencement of the employment relationship and last up to six months. In a fixed term employment relationship the trial period may at most constitute half of the duration of the employment contract and be no more than six months. If the employee is hired to the user enterprise after the leasing period to work with the same or similar tasks, time that the employee worked as a leased employee is reduced from the maximum length of the trial period.
If the collective agreement applicable to the employer sets out provisions in respect of trial periods, the employer must inform the employee of such and how they are to be applied when concluding the employment contract. if information has not been given, the employer cannot cancel the employment contract referring to the trial period.
The employer and the employee must specifically agree upon the probation period. The probation period condition need not be in writing but the party relying on the condition must be able to prove its existence. That is why it is reasonable to agree upon the trial period in writing. If the length of the probation period has not been agreed upon, it is four months.
A trial period must take place at the beginning of the employment relationship and starts on the day the employee starts working. Prior to that, the employment contract may only be cancelled in accordance with the Employment Contracts Act. Cancellation of the employment contract in accordance with the rules for cancellation during the trial period may only take place once the trial period has started as the party is in no position to assess the opposite party before this. If the employer (or employee) wishes to cancel the contract before the employment relationship has started, the normal termination procedure (notice period) must be complied with.
Trial periods may not be used in close to consecutive fixed term employment contracts which set out the same or similar work tasks, but if the employee’s work tasks change significantly, the use of a trial period may be justified.
The employer and employee may during the probation period cancel the employment contract with immediate effect, without the requirement to provide grounds for the termination or cancellation of employment contracts included in the Employment Contracts Act. [Termination of Employment Contract during Trial Period]