A contract for a trial period may precede the conclusion of other contracts of employment. In principle, it may only be concluded once. It aims to verify the qualifications of the employee and their ability to carry out a specific job.

As a general rule, it may not exceed three months. However, the parties may agree in the contract of employment that the contract shall be extended for the duration of leave and also for the duration of the employee’s other excused absence from work.

The contract for a trial period shall be concluded for a period not exceeding:

• 1 month – in the case of an intention to conclude a fixed-term contract of employment of less than 6 months;
• 2 months – in the case of intention to enter into a fixed-term contract of employment of at least 6 months and less than 12 months.

In the employment contract the parties may extend these periods one time, but not more than 1 month, if justified by the nature of the work. It is possible to re-employ the same employee for a trial period if the employee is to be employed to perform a different type of work.