Employer and employee may agree on a trial period at the beginning of the employment relationship. In agreeing this, it must be ensured that both employer and employee are clearly aware of the terms of the trial period and its length.

A trial period may be agreed upon regardless of the duration of the employment contract. It must be agreed upon before the work begins, because the trial period begins immediately when work begins. A trial period must also be specifically agreed on in the case of a fixed-term employment contract based on an apprenticeship.

If the employer is required to comply with a collective agreement, the employer must comply with any provisions regarding trial periods in that agreement. The employer must notify the employee of the application of this provision when the employment contract is signed.

Both the employer and the employee have the right to terminate the employment contract during the trial period. However, termination cannot be based on discriminatory grounds or on grounds that defeat the purpose of the trial period.

How long can the trial period be?

The maximum length of a trial period is six months. If an employee takes sick leave or family leave during their trial period, the employer can nevertheless extend the trial period by one month for every 30 calendar days that the employee had off due to sickness or child-care obligations. The employee must be told about the longer trial period before their original trial period ends.

In the case of fixed-term contracts, the length of the trial period, including any extensions, cannot exceed half the length of the contract, and the maximum length is always six months.

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