Probation period guide (art. 31 of the Labour Code): 90 days for non-management roles, 120 for management, 30 for people with disabilities, the employee's rights and how it ends.
Translated from Romanian. This article covers Romanian labour and tax law; the Romanian version is canonical and is updated first.
The probation period is the interval in which both parties check whether the match works — the employer, the employee’s skills; the employee, the reality of the job. It is also one of the most poorly understood institutions in the Labour Code (Codul Muncii): many employers believe that “nothing applies during probation”. Wrong. Here are the exact rules.
The probation period is set when the contract is concluded, through the CIM (the individual employment contract), and may not exceed:
| Situation | Maximum duration |
|---|---|
| Non-management positions | 90 calendar days |
| Management positions | 120 calendar days |
| People with disabilities | 30 calendar days |
Watch the unit of measurement: calendar days, not working days. A period of 90 calendar days means roughly three calendar months, not 90 days of work.
For people with disabilities, skills are verified exclusively through a probation period — no other form of verification (competition, examination) may be used as a substitute.
In the case of fixed-term contracts, the probation period is shorter and is correlated with the duration of the contract.
This is the main misunderstanding. During the probation period, the employee enjoys all the rights and has all the obligations provided by employment legislation, by the applicable collective agreement, by the internal regulations and by the individual contract.
In concrete terms, that means:
There is no such thing as “unpaid probation” or “probation without a contract”. Both are undeclared work.
This is the big difference from the ordinary regime. During or at the end of the probation period, the contract may end:
In practice: you do not need a disciplinary procedure, a prior investigation or objective reasons. You need a written document, communicated to the other party.
What you cannot do, even during probation: end the contract for a discriminatory reason (gender, age, ethnicity, pregnancy, trade union membership) or as retaliation. The fact that you do not have to give reasons does not mean that any actual reason is permitted.
How long can the probation period last? A maximum of 90 calendar days for non-management positions, 120 for management ones and 30 for people with disabilities.
Can someone be dismissed during the probation period? The contract ends through a simple written notification, without notice and without reasons, at the initiative of either party. It is not a classic dismissal and does not require a disciplinary procedure — but it cannot have a discriminatory reason.
Does an employee on probation have a full contract and full rights? Yes. A contract registered in REGES before the first day, full salary, declared contributions, length of service and pro-rata leave. “Probation without a contract” is undeclared work.
Does the probation period count towards length of service? Yes, it is taken into account for length of service.
Can the probation period be extended? Not beyond the legal maximum. It can, however, be suspended together with the contract (for example during sick leave), and resume afterwards.
See also the individual employment contract and the documents required when hiring.
The probation period is a deadline that “runs in the background” and is easy to miss — especially when you have several hires at the same time. The contracts module in Workly records the probation period as a key date and alerts you before it expires, so that the decision (confirmation or notice of termination) is taken on time, not afterwards.
The contract is generated with a probation period within the legal limits for the type of position, and the REGES registration is prepared before the first day of activity — including for employees on probation, who carry exactly the same reporting obligations. Time tracking, pro-rata leave and payroll work in exactly the same way as for the rest of the team, from the same source of data. If the relationship ends during probation, the offboarding document pack is generated from the platform.
Informational article, accurate at the date of publication. Not legal advice. The rules on the probation period may change — always check the framework in force (the Labour Code, art. 31) or consult a specialist.
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