HR-Glossar
Probezeit (probationary period)
What a German probationary period actually does, why it is not the same as the qualifying period for dismissal protection and what applies to fixed terms.
1. What is Probezeit (probationary period)?
The Probezeit is an agreed period at the start of an employment relationship in which a shortened notice period applies. Section 622(3) BGB provides for two weeks, with a probationary period of at most six months.
That is everything it does legally. It is not a separate type of contract, not a preliminary fixed-term arrangement and not a state of reduced rights. Every other rule applies unchanged: continued pay in case of illness, holiday entitlement, maternity protection, special protection from dismissal.
It is frequently confused with the qualifying period in Section 1 KSchG. Those six months decide from when a dismissal must be socially justified. The two periods often run in parallel but are different: without an agreed probationary period the qualifying period runs anyway – and a probationary period shortened to three months does not shorten the qualifying period.
For anyone bringing the idea of "probationary employment" from another jurisdiction, the second paragraph above is the one that matters. Nothing here is reduced except the notice period.
2. Origin and development
Hiring is a decision under uncertainty for both sides. Neither can a selection process reliably establish whether someone fits the role, nor does the person know beforehand whether the business delivers what it promised.
The probationary period gives both an easier exit – through a short notice period, not through reduced protection. The employer's actual freedom arises elsewhere: from the qualifying period in the Dismissal Protection Act, during which a dismissal needs no social justification.
This division explains a practice that looks contradictory at first sight: businesses like to agree a short probationary period in order to appear accommodating, but keep the full six-month qualifying period – because that cannot be shortened at all. Conversely, what ends with the probationary period is not the absence of dismissal protection but only the short notice period.
3. Core principles and how it works
A shortened notice period, nothing else
Section 622(3) BGB provides for a period of two weeks, with a probationary period of at most six months. It has no wider effects.
The notice must reach the employee within the period
What counts is receipt of the notice, not the end of the employment relationship. Notice received on the last day still takes effect with the short period, even if it expires afterwards.
The qualifying period is independent
The six months in Section 1 KSchG run from the start of the employment relationship, irrespective of the agreed probationary period. They cannot be shortened.
No reduced protection otherwise
Continued pay, holiday, maternity protection, protection from dismissal for severely disabled people and pregnant employees — all of that applies from day one.
With a fixed term it must be proportionate
Section 15(3) TzBfG requires the probationary period to be proportionate to the length of the fixed term and the nature of the work. A six-month probation in a nine-month contract is open to challenge.
The duty to record it
The length of the probationary period is among the working conditions to be recorded under the Evidence Act.
Extension only within limits
The shortened notice period cannot be agreed beyond six months. Where the trial is extended, it happens without the short notice period.
4. Who is Probezeit (probationary period) relevant for?
- Newly hired employees – for them the distinction from the qualifying period is the most important information. - HR departments – they draft the clause and monitor the deadlines. - Managers – the decision whether the trial has succeeded sits with them, and it comes too late more often than not. - Businesses using fixed-term contracts – the proportionality of the probation period has to be checked there. - Employees during probation – they can give notice on the same short period.
5. How it differs from related terms
- Probationary period and qualifying period – one shortens the notice period, the other decides on dismissal protection. They often run in parallel but are independent. - Probationary period and a fixed-term trial contract – a contract fixed-term specifically for a trial ends automatically. That is something different from a probationary period inside an open-ended contract and needs an objective reason or a permissible fixed term without one. - Probationary period and induction – induction is an organisational process with no legal significance. - Probationary period and a trial day – unpaid work-shadowing before hiring is not an employment relationship, but has to be considered for accident insurance. - Probationary period and training – a vocational training relationship has its own probationary period with its own rules under the Vocational Training Act.
6. Variants and adaptations
Arrangements and their consequences:
- Six months' probation – the standard case; probation and qualifying period end at the same time. - Shortened probation – reads as accommodating, changes nothing about the qualifying period. - No probation – the qualifying period runs anyway; the contractual or statutory notice period applies from the outset. - Probation in a fixed-term contract – must be proportionate to the length of the contract. - Collective variations – collective agreements can provide for different periods, including shorter than two weeks.
7. Advantages and challenges
Advantages
- Both sides can part at short notice where the cooperation does not fit
- The rule is simple and implemented in one sentence in the contract
- It lowers the threshold for hiring someone without a perfectly matching CV
- Employees benefit too — they are not bound by the long notice period
- The short period gives planning certainty in an inherently uncertain phase
Challenges
- Regularly confused with the qualifying period, on both sides
- A shortened probation creates the wrong expectation that dismissal protection starts earlier
- Managers often decide too late and let the deadline pass
- With fixed terms the proportionality of the length is open to challenge
- Special protection from dismissal applies regardless — which is underestimated
- For employees it means a longer phase of economic uncertainty
8. Best practices for implementation
Set a decision deadline before it expires
A reminder some weeks before the end of the qualifying period – not the probationary period. Realising on the last day that it does not fit means missing the simpler route.
Track probation and qualifying period separately
Both dates belong in the system. They often coincide but not always, and the commercially more important one is the qualifying period.
Give feedback before deciding
A conversation after a few weeks clarifies whether an expectation is not being met or was simply never stated. Most failed probations fail on expectations nobody ever voiced.
With fixed terms, check the length
Section 15(3) TzBfG requires proportionality. A blanket six-month clause does not fit short contracts.
9. Tips for employers and employees
For employers
- **Receipt of the notice is what counts** – not the end of the employment relationship
- **The qualifying period cannot be shortened** – not even by a short probation
- **Special protection from dismissal applies from day one** – pregnancy, severe disability, parental leave
- **With a fixed term, keep the length proportionate** – Section 15(3) TzBfG
For employees
- **You have the same short period** – probation works in both directions
- **Your protection is not reduced** – continued pay, holiday and maternity protection apply from day one
- **Dismissal protection begins after six months** – regardless of how long your probation is
- **Ask for feedback** – an assessment after a few weeks helps you more than one at the end
10. Conclusion
The probationary period does exactly one thing: it shortens the notice period to two weeks under Section 622(3) BGB. It is not a state of reduced rights – continued pay, holiday, maternity protection and special protection from dismissal apply from day one.
The employer's actual freedom comes from the qualifying period in Section 1 KSchG, and that is something else: it runs for six months from the start of the employment relationship and cannot be shortened. A probation shortened to three months reads as accommodating but changes nothing about dismissal protection – and creates false expectations on both sides.
For an international group the false expectation usually runs the other way. A "probationary employee" here is not an at-will employee: a pregnant new joiner, or one who is severely disabled, enjoys full special protection in week one, and dismissing them needs official approval regardless of probation.
In practice most probationary periods fail not through unsuitability but through two omissions: the decision was taken too late, and nobody said beforehand what was actually expected.
A note on sources: there is no official English version of the Dismissal Protection Act, the TzBfG or the Evidence Act (checked on 2026-09-27); their German texts govern. The Civil Code has one, cited below.
Sources
- Section 622 BGB – Notice periods in employment relationships (official English version) (opens in a new tab)
- Section 1 KSchG – Socially unjustified dismissals (German original; no official English version) (opens in a new tab)
- Section 15 TzBfG – End of a fixed-term contract, probationary period (German original) (opens in a new tab)
- Section 2 NachwG – Duty to record working conditions (German original) (opens in a new tab)
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