also called probationary period · trial period
An initial stretch of a new job during which either side can end it with little notice, and some benefits may not yet apply.
The opening stretch of a new job, when either side can walk away with very little notice and some benefits have not switched on yet. Its length is set by local law and can run longer than you would guess. Being let go during it usually means little or no payout, unlike a notice period, which is the run-up time before an established job ends.
Someone relocates to another country for a new role and is let go a few weeks in, still inside probation. There is almost no severance and the notice is short, and now they are in a foreign city having given up their old life for a job that barely lasted.
The length and rules are set by local law and can be longer than you expect, and being dismissed during it usually means little or no severance. Relocating for a job and then being let go inside probation is a real risk that the contract's fine print spells out.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
A new term lands on this site every day, and the email is how you get it the day it lands. No digest, no roundup, no pitch. One term, what it means, and what it costs you to get it wrong.
Unsubscribe in one click, any time. We do not sell or share your address.