{"id":30794,"date":"2026-04-30T11:13:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T09:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allavellilegal.com\/blog\/?p=30794"},"modified":"2026-04-30T11:13:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T09:13:40","slug":"the-probationary-period-in-employment-relationships-common-pitfalls-and-associated-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allavellilegal.com\/blog\/en\/the-probationary-period-in-employment-relationships-common-pitfalls-and-associated-risks\/","title":{"rendered":"The Probationary Period in Employment Relationships: Common Pitfalls (and Associated Risks)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The regulation of the probationary period has become <strong>more clearly defined<\/strong>, particularly with regard to fixed-term contracts following Law No. 203\/2024.<\/p>\n<p>However, these legislative measures do not fully address the critical aspects of the institution, which continue to emerge, especially during its practical application.<\/p>\n<p>It remains established that the probationary period constitutes an ancillary clause of the employment contract, aimed at assessing the mutual suitability of the employment relationship.<\/p>\n<p>Within this framework, the new legislative provisions build upon an already well-established system, without altering its fundamental validity requirements.<\/p>\n<p>In this respect, the following elements continue to play a central role:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the written form of the probationary agreement, required under penalty of nullity;<\/li>\n<li>its execution prior to or at the commencement of employment;<\/li>\n<li>the clear identification of the duties subject to the probationary assessment, including by reference to collective bargaining agreements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With regard to the latter point, case law has consistently held that duties must be described in as much detail as possible, so as to ensure that the employee is fully informed of the activities they are expected to perform.<\/p>\n<p>However, it is worth noting a recent ruling of the <strong>Brescia Court of Appeal (Labour Section, No. 244\/2026)<\/strong>, which appears to take a different approach.<\/p>\n<p>The Court held that, also in light of the employee\u2019s previous work experience, it may be sufficient to refer more generally to the job title, such as \u201cPlant Manager,\u201d \u201cMarketing Manager,\u201d or similar.<\/p>\n<p>The new provisions have primarily affected <strong>the duration of the probationary period<\/strong> in fixed-term contracts, introducing more precise and proportionate criteria.<\/p>\n<p>This increased regulatory clarity reduces uncertainty but does not eliminate the risks associated with improper use of the probationary period.<\/p>\n<p>In particular, from a practical standpoint, the issue of <strong>consistency between the agreed duties and the activities actually performed remains central<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Case law continues to emphasize the substance of the employment relationship, assessing whether the employee has effectively been placed in a position to be evaluated in accordance with the contractual terms.<\/p>\n<p>In light of the new regulatory framework, certain recurring issues take on even greater significance:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>use of the probationary period for purely organizational or temporary needs;<\/li>\n<li>assignment of duties that are inconsistent with the contractual role;<\/li>\n<li>improper repetition of probationary periods in contract renewals, now expressly limited.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In such cases, the risk concerns not only the management of the employment relationship but may also affect the <strong>lawfulness of termination<\/strong>, with potential compensation implications.<\/p>\n<p>It follows that, despite legislative efforts to strengthen legal certainty, the probationary period still requires careful and consistent management.<\/p>\n<p>The proper structuring of the probationary agreement and its practical implementation remain essential tools for preventing disputes and protecting both parties.<\/p>\n<p>The Law Firm remains at your disposal.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The regulation of the probationary period has become more clearly defined, particularly with regard to fixed-term contracts following Law No. 203\/2024. However, these legislative measures do not fully address the critical aspects of the institution, which continue to emerge, especially during its practical application. It remains established that the probationary period constitutes an ancillary clause [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":30792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"lang":"en","translations":{"en":30794,"it":30791},"pll_sync_post":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allavellilegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30794"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allavellilegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allavellilegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allavellilegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allavellilegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30794"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/allavellilegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30795,"href":"https:\/\/allavellilegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30794\/revisions\/30795"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allavellilegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allavellilegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allavellilegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allavellilegal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}