Probationary employment generally may not exceed 6 months from the date the employee started working. There are limited exceptions, including where an apprenticeship agreement stipulates a longer period, or where the nature of the work reasonably requires it.
An employee allowed to work after the probationary period is considered a regular employee. This happens by operation of law. No document is required and no confirmation letter needs to be signed.
Employment & Compliance
Probationary employment in the Philippines, what you can and cannot do
In short
Probationary employment in the Philippines generally cannot exceed 6 months. The employer must communicate the standards for regularisation to the employee at the time of engagement. If that is not done, or if the employee is allowed to work beyond the period, the employee becomes a regular employee with full security of tenure.
Probation is the mechanism most foreign employers rely on as their safety net for a new hire. It is a real protection, but a narrow and time-bound one, and it is forfeited by omissions that feel administrative at the time.
The 6 month rule
The standards must be communicated at the start
This is the requirement most often missed. To dismiss someone for failing to qualify as a regular employee, the employer must have made the standards known to the employee at the time of engagement.
Communicated at the start means at the start. Standards produced in month 5 do not satisfy it. In practice this means the offer or the contract should set out what the person must demonstrate to be regularised, in terms specific enough to be assessed against.
Where standards were not communicated, the employee is treated as a regular employee from day 1, and only just or authorised causes can end the employment.
Communicated at the start means at the start. Standards produced in month 5 do not satisfy it. In practice this means the offer or the contract should set out what the person must demonstrate to be regularised, in terms specific enough to be assessed against.
Where standards were not communicated, the employee is treated as a regular employee from day 1, and only just or authorised causes can end the employment.
Ending a probationary contract properly
There are 3 grounds for terminating during probation:
1. Failure to meet the communicated standards for regularisation.
2. A just cause under Article 297.
3. An authorised cause under Articles 298 and 299.
The first is specific to probation and is why the mechanism exists. It still requires written notice to the employee stating the failure, served before the probationary period ends. Letting the date pass and then acting removes the option entirely.
1. Failure to meet the communicated standards for regularisation.
2. A just cause under Article 297.
3. An authorised cause under Articles 298 and 299.
The first is specific to probation and is why the mechanism exists. It still requires written notice to the employee stating the failure, served before the probationary period ends. Letting the date pass and then acting removes the option entirely.
What probation does not do
It does not remove statutory benefits. A probationary employee is entitled to SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG coverage, 13th month pay, holiday pay, and the rest of the statutory package from the start.
It does not permit dismissal without reason. Probation lowers the threshold to a documented failure against communicated standards. It does not create at-will employment for 6 months.
It does not reset. Re-hiring the same person into the same role for a second probationary period does not restart the clock.
It does not permit dismissal without reason. Probation lowers the threshold to a documented failure against communicated standards. It does not create at-will employment for 6 months.
It does not reset. Re-hiring the same person into the same role for a second probationary period does not restart the clock.
How to use it well
Write the standards into the offer, in the same document that states the salary. Make them observable rather than attitudinal. Review formally at month 2 and month 4 in writing, so that a month 5 decision has a record behind it rather than a conclusion.
Set an internal reminder 2 weeks before the period ends. The most expensive probation mistake is not a difficult conversation, it is a missed date.
This is general information rather than legal advice. For a specific case, take advice from a Philippine employment lawyer.
Set an internal reminder 2 weeks before the period ends. The most expensive probation mistake is not a difficult conversation, it is a missed date.
This is general information rather than legal advice. For a specific case, take advice from a Philippine employment lawyer.
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