In what cases is the probationary period extended? End of trial period

  • 21.09.2019

In some situations, HR specialists have a question about whether it is possible to extend the employee’s probationary period if it is already coming to an end and the employer has not yet made a decision on whether to apply or not. Sometimes an employee needs to prove himself a little more. Then it is necessary to legally extend this period. However, it is important that this action is legal, since the slightest non-compliance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation may be subject to penalties.

In Russian legislation this issue dedicated to Art. 70 and 71 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. All norms and requirements are clearly stated in this legislative document. Also, IP issues can be dealt with by bodies that can refer to the Federal Law of the Russian Federation. This applies to civil servants.

According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, probationary time at an enterprise represents a portion of the labor process of an optional nature. The only thing is that its staging must be strictly observed by both parties in accordance with all required rules.

The essence of this period is to clearly see the employee’s abilities. It is important for the manager to understand whether he performed well during the interview, and whether he was truthful in his resume. By the way, this time can be set in the case of initial hiring, and not for transfer to another position or division.

However, for every rule there is an exception. So is the case probationary period. In case of transfer, promotion or other actions, civil servants may be required to undergo it.

Provisions of the employment contract

Any labor interactions between an employee and an employer must be documented. So, the probationary period is reflected in the contract in the form of its start and end dates.

Information about setting the deadline is exactly duplicated in the employment order.

Labor legislation does not stipulate the exact start and end dates of this period, i.e. The head of the organization has the right to set them himself. However, this should be done with an emphasis on the requirements of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. General cases require rulings of this period lasting from 2 to 3 months. For employees state enterprises it usually ranges from 3 to 12 months.

If a labor document is signed with an employee for a period of 1 to 3 months, then the probationary period itself is inappropriate here and cannot be established by the manager. Moreover, the period of validity of the employment contract does not matter. If an employee has signed an employment document for 6 months, then his probationary period at the place of employment should not exceed 2 weeks.

Summing up

When the probationary period comes to an end, the head of the organization must either accept the employee for permanent job, or dismiss him due to non-compliance with the established requirements of the general charter and company policies.

If a decision is made to dismiss an employee from the staff, the manager or immediate superior must notify him no later than three working days before the date by order. In addition, the employer must clearly state the reasons for dismissal.

If, after the end of the probationary period, the employee has shown himself to be excellent and fully complies with the requirements of the organization, then his professional activity continues in the same direction. That is, signing or execution of any additional document or application is not required.

What measures are needed to increase the trial period?

However, in practice, there are often cases when an employee goes through a probationary period, and at the end of it the employer cannot decide whether to keep him on a permanent basis or say goodbye. However, many employers are confused and want to legally extend the above period.

According to Articles 70 and 71 of the Labor Code, a probationary period is assigned at the time of employment. Moreover, its period cannot be exceeded even by one day. That is, the transit time is strictly established, and its extension is in no way limited by legislation.

Some employers have the opportunity to obtain consent from the employee to dismiss, and then rehire him for the position and establish a probationary period. Not every employee will agree to accept such conditions.

It is possible to increase the total period on completely legal grounds. The point is to exclude from the total period those days on which the employee did not actually work. There may be serious reasons for this: a certificate of incapacity for work, time off or public holidays established by the law of the Russian Federation. The total number of days not worked is counted, which gives the actual length of time spent at work and performing one’s duties.

However, the dates for the beginning and end of the probationary period will not coincide in the employment contract and the employment order. Therefore, the document is being drawn up again to increase this time for the employee.

Order to continue

To increase the probationary period by the required number of days (for those when the employee could not perform his duties), an order must be issued. This document must be executed in accordance with the requirements and rules of the company.

The document must contain the following data:

  1. Name of the organization or full information about the individual entrepreneur.
  2. The actual name of the document and its serial number.
  3. The name of the reason why the trial period is extended: being on sick leave; absence of an employee from his/her workplace; time off or public holidays; the period for establishing the extended trial period (must be completely identical to the number of days that the employee missed).
  4. Full details of the employee from full name and the position held to the personnel number.
  5. Documents confirming the facts of the employee’s absence.
  6. Personal signature of the employee’s immediate supervisor.
  7. Seal of the organization.

The execution of this order is entrusted to the HR department. It indicates the dates and periods of the employee’s absence from work and links to certificates of incapacity for work and other certified reasons for time off.

The employee himself is obliged to carefully read the order and sign it after reading it.

An increase in the trial period is possible only in case of obvious absence of the employee on site for the specified reasons. Manager's hesitation - to hire an employee permanent basis or dismissal is not a reason agreed with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. This is considered an illegal act and may result in a fine being imposed on the employer.

The probationary period should show the manager professionalism and the need to hire the employee for permanent service. At the end of the period, the manager is obliged to make a decision for the employee, which must be clearly justified. If for some reason the employee could not be at the workplace, then he must provide documents at his place of service indicating real reasons absence.

03.10.2017, 18:33

The personnel officer was interested in extending the probationary period. The fact is that the probationary period of one of the new employees is coming to an end. However, it is still unclear whether this employee will cope with all the responsibilities assigned to him. Due to the current situation, the new employee’s immediate supervisor asked to find out whether the probationary period could be extended. Moreover, the employee agrees to enter into an appropriate additional agreement.

Test – an opportunity to test an employee

A probationary period is a period established by an employment contract, during which the employer looks closely at the employee and, conversely, the employee in practice evaluates the work offered to him and the working conditions in the organization (individual entrepreneur).

The trial (probationary period) is established by agreement of the parties to the employment contract: the employee and the employer and is reflected in the contract and in the order for employment (part 1 of article 68, part 1, 2 of article 70 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The duration of the test is established by agreement of the parties and cannot, in general case, be more than three months (“”).

No extension possible

So, is it possible to extend the employee’s probationary period? Let's say right away that it is impossible. Extension of the established test is not provided for by current legislation.

An exception to the rule is the employment of management employees. For them, the maximum probationary period is 6 months. Thus, for this category of personnel, the probationary period can be extended by more than 3 months. Such an increased test can be established (Part 5 of Article 70 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):

  • the head of the organization, as well as the deputy head;
  • chief accountant and deputy chief accountant;
  • to the head of a branch, representative office or other separate division organizations.

Therefore, the answer to the question whether the employer can extend the probationary period, in general, will be negative. It is important to understand that increasing the probationary period is prohibited, even when the employee himself agrees to extend the probationary period, and is ready to extend the probationary period under an additional agreement.

A probationary period for an employee can be established only once when concluding an employment contract with him (Article 70 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Rostrud officials come to the same conclusions (letter dated March 2, 2011 No. 520-6-1). Therefore, it is impossible to extend the employee’s probationary period from 1 month to 2.

Exception from of this rule is an interruption of the probationary period due to the employee’s absence from work. For example, vacation or sick leave do not count towards the probationary period. If such a situation arises, the trial is interrupted, and then the probationary period is resumed (Part 7, Article 70 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Thus, it is possible to extend the probationary period due to sick leave or vacation.

When registering a new employee, the administration actually does not know anything about him except what is indicated in the resume. To test his knowledge and qualifications, a probationary period is usually assigned when hiring. This mechanism is strictly specified in the Labor Code, including its maximum duration. In fact, many people want to either reduce the duration of the test, or, on the contrary, extend it for the best test of skills.

Give more time to concpet

Information that the employee will be assigned with a strictly defined period of validity is entered with him, and is also additionally transferred to. The Labor Code stipulates that work with a probationary period should not exceed 3 months.

The minimum duration is not specified anywhere, so the employer can assign a short test, but upon completion it will not be possible to determine whether the newcomer has the necessary skills or not. Therefore, the question may arise - is it possible to change the time spent on testing, previously recorded in the documents.

What should cautious employers do?

Initially certain time the test, no matter how long it may be, cannot be changed under any circumstances. The following are given as arguments in this regard.

The law establishes that the need to schedule a test, as well as the duration, is determined when drawing up an employment contract.

Attention! This requirement can be assigned to an employee only during his initial employment, and only within the limits of the position for which he is being hired. The Labor Code does not indicate permission to increase the period of probation by drawing up additional agreement with changes.

Who wants and can defend their position

If, when registering a new employee with an organization, he is assigned a test, then the period can be increased. But such an action can only be performed in a situation if it was initially assigned a period less than the limit.

The following can be said to substantiate this position. In the employment contract, the paragraph about being on probation is written as an additional condition.

The Labor Code says that the terms of an employment contract can be changed by drawing up an additional agreement, unless they relate to certain situations specified in the code.

In addition, the specified normative act does not contain a direct prohibition on changes to an already accepted condition of being on probation. It follows from this that it is possible to change it, but using an additional agreement.

Attention! It follows that if the employee was initially awarded a probationary period shorter than the longest permitted duration, it is allowed to increase it to a full one, but with the obligatory execution of an additional agreement.

Is it permissible to reduce the test period?

The Labor Code stipulates that an employment contract may contain a condition that the employee must undergo a probationary period. This feature screens the new employee against the requirements of the position. The law stipulates that longest period cannot be more than 3 months.

It can no longer be extended. But whether it is possible to shorten the period of the established test is not indicated anywhere. Thus, it is not prohibited to do this, but it is necessary to have the consent of both the company and the employee himself. It is advisable to carry out documentation operations as follows.

Registration procedure

Draw up an additional agreement to the employment contract

The clause in the employment contract regarding the employee passing the test is essential. Therefore, if it changes in any direction, it is necessary to document this step using an additional agreement to the employment contract.

Order to reduce probation period

To shorten the probationary period, the administration needs to prepare an appropriate order about this.

To do this, you can use the company’s letterhead and freely record the decision to terminate the test.

If the order is not drawn up on letterhead, you need to write down the name of the company, its registration data, and the address of the company at the top of the sheet.

Below, in the middle of the line, the name of the administrative document “Order” is written.

The order number is also recorded here according to the order registration book. Under it, this document will be reflected in the company’s records in the future.

Personnel department may reflect in the water part the reason for drawing up this order. This block is indicated before the word “I ORDER”.

Then the narrative part of the order is drawn up. Here the responsible person indicates the position and personal data of the person working at the enterprise whose trial is being terminated. In this case, the date from which the probation period is canceled must be reflected.

This part must also contain the basis for termination of the test. It is necessary in this part to reflect the details of the additional agreement signed between the parties to the employment contract.

The order is endorsed by the director of the company with his full name deciphered.

Below in the document there must be a familiarization visa for the employee, which confirms that he knows about the contents of the order.

Today, both future employees and employers are interested in the question: is it possible to extend the probationary period of an employee? This, of course, is understandable, because ignoring the requirements of the law in the field of labor relations will entail appropriate punishment, for example a fine.

When applying for a job in any organization, a probationary period is a common occurrence. Employers take this opportunity to find out how well a new employee fits into the position assigned to him. At the same time, it very often happens that after the preliminary test, management cannot make a final decision regarding a new subordinate. This brings up the question: how to extend the probationary period for an employee?

Probationary period: purpose and duration

First of all, it should be emphasized that the probationary period according to the Labor Code is not mandatory, but when it is established by the employer for a subordinate, it must be included in labor process and carry out in compliance with the required rules.

The main purpose of the probationary period is to determine the veracity of the information that was presented by the applicant in the resume and told during the interview, that is, how good the employee is. Therefore, it is during hiring, and not during transfer to another position or promotion, that it is allowed to introduce a test. An exception to this rule may be civil servants.

You should know that all features of labor relations must be recorded in writing in the documentation established by law. The fact of assigning a test must be attached to the employment contract, displaying the start and end dates of this period.

As for the period, management has the right to set its duration at its own discretion. However, all managers must in this case be guided by the requirements and norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. In general, the probationary period should not exceed three months, but for civil servants it can be extended to up to a year.

If the probationary period is agreed upon with the employee for no more than two months, it is not officially established at all, and therefore there can be no talk of extending the probationary period. If the trial period under an employment contract does not exceed six months, then it can be extended by a maximum of 2 weeks.

At the end of this time, the employee may be fired if it is determined during this period that he is not suitable because he does not meet the requirements and policies of the organization, or, after passing the test, he may be placed on staff.

When dismissing an employee, they must be notified 3 days before the end of the temporary working period, explaining the reason. If the employee has proven his professionalism and compliance with the requirements of the enterprise, at the end of the probationary period he will not have to draw up documents, he will simply continue to perform his duties.

Why do you need an extension?

As mentioned several times above, a probationary period is necessary to determine the suitability of the new employee for the allocated position. And it often happens that the allotted time was not enough for the manager to draw a specific conclusion regarding a given subordinate. It is in such cases that an extension of the probationary period is relevant. However, this is not always possible, even if the employee himself is not against the extension.

Often, a manager, in order not to order an extension, fires a subordinate, and then hires him again on probationary conditions, which thereby gives them time to think and make the right decision.

Not all managers are aware that there is still a legal basis according to which they have the right to increase the probationary period. So, guided by the current legislation, exactly Art. 70 of the Labor Code of Russia, the fact that a subordinate was absent from the enterprise when for some reason he could not perform his own official tasks cannot be attributed to this period. Modern practice identifies the following periods included in the inspection period:

  • the period when the employee was absent due to illness;
  • the period when the institution, due to the fault of the management itself, is idle;
  • allotted time off used by the employee;
  • the period when the subordinate is engaged in passing the session;
  • time for absenteeism.

The legislation has not adopted a specific list of cases, so employers can extend the probationary period if circumstances arise when a subordinate is absent from work.

Extension procedure

If the manager has a legal basis for extending the probationary period for more than three months, and desires to use this right this must be recorded in writing. The need for this action is determined by confirmation that the date of the actual end of the probationary period coincides with the date specified in the contract. Therefore, it is important to issue a written order regarding the extension of the subordinate's review period due to illness or other reason.

The order is formed in compliance with a special form and process that is adopted specifically in this institution. The order must include the following items:

  1. Full name of the institution.
  2. Serial number of the order and topic corresponding to the previous extension deadline, for example simple.
  3. Increase period. In this position, it is important to take into account that the period coincides with the period of days the employee missed from work for a valid reason. Many employers increase the probationary period by a period including total number holidays and weekends. This is wrong, because the increase should be carried out only at the expense of working hours, and not calendar days.
  4. Data of the subordinate, which means full name, position and personnel number.
  5. A list of documentation confirming the temporary absence of the employee on site, which allows you to increase the trial period.

The draft order is formed by personnel officers, who are responsible for its correct preparation. Each enterprise, as a rule, has its own sample order. After this, the order to extend the test must be signed and sealed by the boss. The order must be accompanied by documents confirming the basis for its issuance.

Then the employee should be given an order to review and sign.

The probationary period is additional part employment contract. Most citizens who want to get a job face it. new job. And this is not surprising - during the probationary period, a new employee will be able not only to learn the necessary skills, but also to demonstrate the ones he already has.

Most citizens are not too keen on the idea of ​​a probationary period. And this is not surprising - often they pay a slightly lower salary, and you have to work especially hard. And the feeling of not being part of the team can also cause inconvenience. Therefore, no one will want to take the test longer than usual. So What should you do if your probation period has been extended? And is this even legal? You will find the answers in this article.

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides for such an addition to as “employee probation,” which is often called the more familiar phrase “Probationary period.” This is an additional part of the contract in which the employer and employee establish work standards for the first time of cooperation.

An employee on probation typically demonstrates his skills and either studies or does not fully perform his basic duties. Moreover, during the probationary period, the employee has all the rights that are guaranteed to him by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Moreover, if he cannot learn his duties, he violates labor standards and safety precautions either simply do not work, then the employer can.

As a rule, the probationary period is set for either two weeks or a month, for which the employee receives fixed salary.

Is it legal?

Defines the probationary period as additional item agreement between employee and management. In this regard, it is considered as a full-fledged element of an employment contract and simply cannot be extended. If the employer decides to extend the employee’s probationary period without his knowledge, then he will grossly violate both the current legislation and the contract itself.

It will also be considered illegal to voluntarily increase the probationary period, which in any way infringes on the interests or rights of the employee. Such renewal agreements are signed either by deception or under threats, and can subsequently be canceled at the request of the employee.

The last condition under which even a voluntarily drawn up and extended probationary period will be considered illegal is if the total limit of the probationary period is exceeded. It is three months, and the probationary period cannot last longer than three months from the start of work..

Please note that in some cases the probationary period can be extended to six months without the employee’s desire. This is always related to the specifics of the activity and the operating standards of the organization itself. Such standards are most often applied either when working in hazardous enterprises or in government services.(as, for example, in the prosecutor's office).

When is an extension possible?

As stated earlier, Russian legislation has an extremely negative attitude towards extending the probationary period by any means. However, there are two ways that can extend the probationary period without violating the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. This:

  • Increasing the probationary period due to the absence of an employee;
  • Increasing the probationary period due to the employee’s wishes.

They are legal only because they act in accordance Employment contract And do not violate general principles and rules for assigning a probationary period. So, let's look at both options in detail.

Due to the absence of an employee

If during the test the employee legally did not perform his functions (was ill, had a valid reason for absence, etc.), then the employer has every right extend the scheduled test period. In this case, the employer will have to try, since it is quite difficult to draw up an order to extend the probationary period in this case - you will need to not only correctly identify the reason, but also provide justification for the extension. In addition, it will be necessary to adjust the employee’s training (if it is part of the probationary period) and indicate the full number of days that he is required to work. In this case, it is very likely that disputes will arise about shifting the payment deadline wagesthis issue is the most controversial, and it is better to solve it together with the employee himself.

Please note that determining all the nuances of extending the trial in this case falls on the HR department. So if you notice an error or inaccuracy, do not rush to contact the director or the labor inspectorate - first contact the personnel officers. This will save you time and help avoid unnecessary conflicts, since errors in such orders most often arise due to simple misunderstandings.

At the request of the employee

A very rare reason to extend the period is the desire of the employee himself. However, such cases are not unique. It also happens that as the end of the test approaches the employee himself asks for an increase due to his unwillingness to begin his duties in full. This desire is fair and reasonable, especially if the employer provides training and the employee feels underqualified or wants to gain skills to perform more difficult tasks.

This extension procedure does not entirely comply with test standards, but at the same time it fulfills one most important condition - detailed extension takes place by mutual agreement without violating the rights of the employee. So if both the employer and the employee see the benefit of extending the trial, then its duration can be increased by signing an additional agreement.

Remember that if the extension of the term is carried out under pressure, and the employer demands to sign a voluntary extension agreement under the threat of dismissal, then his actions will be illegal. You can even sue him.

The probationary period was illegally extended. What to do?

Of course, you can resign immediately and take your paycheck. But this will be ineffective - you will not get a full-time job, will not receive compensation and will leave the unscrupulous employer unpunished. But you can fight injustice on your own. At the same time, this is easy to do. And the Labor Inspectorate will help you with this.

- one of the state supervisory authorities operating throughout Russia. Its goal is very simple - compliance supervision Labor Code in all its manifestations and forms. In this regard, in case of illegal extension of the probationary period, it is necessary to contact him first. Your main tools will be the order to extend the probationary period and the probation agreement itself.

You have three options:

  • Fill out the complaint form on the official website of the Labor Inspectorate (it is recommended that you carefully read its rules);
  • Send your complaint against your employer by mail (use certified letters with securities, otherwise they will take too long);
  • personally.

Any of the three filing methods will result in the complaint being considered. If in your situation there really is a violation of the law, then an investigation will be carried out general check, based on the results of which you will be informed about what compensation you are entitled to count on.

Remember that application deadlines are limited - you only have a month to submit your application. In this regard, you should contact almost immediately after you receive the order.