> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hr-easy.nlead.ch/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Probation (OR Art. 335b)

> The three-month statutory cap, how the end date is derived, and notice during probation.

## The statutory rule

Under OR Art. 335b:

* The first month of an open-ended employment relationship is a probation period unless
  the parties agree otherwise.
* The parties may agree a **different** probation period, extend it, or waive it — but
  it may **never exceed three months**.
* During probation, either side may terminate with **seven days'** notice, unless the
  contract agrees otherwise.
* Where probation is effectively shortened by illness, accident or the performance of a
  statutory obligation, it is **extended by the corresponding period** — still within
  the three-month cap.

## How the platform enforces it

The probation end date is **derived, not typed**. Once a contract is signed the start
date and the configured probation duration are known, so the end date is computed:

* Probation runs whole months from the start date. Its last day is the day before the
  same day-of-month that many months later — start 01.01 with three months means
  probation ends 31.03 and employment is confirmed from 01.04.
* Day-of-month overflow clamps to the end of the target month: 31.01 plus one month is
  28 or 29.02, never 02 or 03.03.
* The configured duration is **capped at three months regardless of what a position or
  template asks for**. A template requesting six months yields three.
* No probation configured means no end date at all.

<Note>
  Because the date is derived, correcting a start date corrects the probation end date too. A
  hand-typed date is the classic source of a missed probation deadline.
</Note>

## Extension after absence

Where illness, accident or military service shortens the probation period, the law
allows a corresponding extension. This is a deliberate HR action rather than an
automatic recalculation — the extension has to be agreed and communicated, and the
statutory cap still applies.

## Notice during probation

Seven days unless the contract says otherwise. The applicable notice period sits on the
[employment period](/guides/lifecycle/employee-records#employment-periods), so when
probation ends the notice period switches to the contractual one automatically and
[offboarding](/guides/lifecycle/offboarding) uses whichever is in force on the day.

## Protection against termination

The ordinary protection periods under OR Art. 336c — illness, accident, pregnancy,
military service — do **not** apply during probation. That makes the probation end
date a materially significant date, which is another reason it is derived rather than
maintained by hand.

## The platform's framing

The Probezeit is treated as a **mutual decision about fit and support**, not as a
window for building a termination file. The
[probation companion](/guides/lifecycle/probation) is a shared meeting template used by
HR, the employee and the manager together, and the questionnaires are reflective — no
scores, no ratings.

<Warning>
  Requests to add a pass/fail rating, a scored evaluation, or a performance-improvement-plan default
  to probation are declined on [ADR-006](/concepts/design-philosophy) grounds.
</Warning>