Where the work requires testing of the ability of the worker or employee to perform it, the final appointment may be preceded by a contract providing for a probationary period of up to six months or, where the work is fixed for a period of less than one year, the probationary period is up to one month. Such a contract may also be concluded where the worker or employee wishes to verify whether the work is suitable for him or her.
The party in whose favour the probationary period has been agreed may terminate the employment contract without prior notice under Article 71(1) of the KT until its expiry. The other party has the right to terminate the contract by giving one month’s notice unless agreed otherwise in the contract.
The fact in whose favour the probationary period is agreed is essential for the right to terminate that contract before the expiry of the probationary period without prior notice. If an employment contract with a probationary period does not expressly state in whose favour the probationary period is agreed, the probationary period is deemed to be agreed in favour of both parties.
Pregnant workers and employees are provided with legal protection upon termination of employment. The grounds on which preliminary protection upon dismissal applies are expressly laid down in Article 333(5) of the KT. A pregnant worker or employee and a worker or an employee at an advanced stage of in-vitro treatment may be dismissed with notice only on the basis of Article 328(1), item 1 (upon closure of the undertaking), item 7 (upon refusal of the worker or employee to follow the undertaking or its division in which he or she works, when it relocates to another settlement or locality), item 8 (where the position occupied by the worker or employee must be vacated for reinstatement of a wrongfully dismissed worker or employee who previously occupied the same position) and item 12 (when performance of the employment contract is objectively impossible), and without notice on the basis of Article 330(1) (when the worker or employee has been detained for execution of a sentence) and (2)(6) (the worker or employee is dismissed on disciplinary grounds). In the cases referred to in Article 330(2)(6), dismissal may take place only with the advance authorisation of the labour inspectorate.
The protection against dismissal under Article 333 of the Labour Code is provided only in cases where the dismissal takes place on the initiative of the employer and does not apply to termination of the contract during a probationary period, including in the case of a pregnant worker. The ground for termination under Article 71(1) of the KT does not exhaustively cover the cases, listed in Article 333(5) of the KT, in which a pregnant worker or employee enjoys special protection in the event of dismissal.
Reference: Articles 70, 71, 333(5) of the Labour Code.