Probation period in Bulgaria: the rules of six months

Working life · Last reviewed: 2026-08-24

Probation is not a separate type of contract

A common misconception is that probation means a „temporary contract“. It does not. Probation is a CLAUSE placed inside an open-ended or fixed-term employment contract. The contract exists, work has begun, pay is running, social insurance has been declared. The only thing that differs is that for a defined period ending the contract is far easier than usual — and that ease may work in favour of either side.

The practical consequence is this: a worker on probation is not „not yet properly hired“. Pay, working time, rest entitlements, health-and-safety obligations, insurance declaration and the accrual of annual leave all run from day one. An employer who describes probation as an internship before hiring is describing something the law does not recognise.

Duration: the six-month ceiling and the one-month exception

The parties agree a concrete duration of up to six months when the contract is concluded. Six months is a ceiling; two, three or four may be agreed, but nothing above six is valid. The second rule is less widely known: where the work is set for a period shorter than one year, the probation period may run up to one month. In seasonal work, short project contracts and tourism, this exception applies directly.

The third and most frequently missed rule is how the period is COUNTED: only time actually worked is included. Days on a sick note, days on paid annual leave and days when the work was not performed for other valid reasons do not move the period forward. On a three-month probation, someone with two weeks of sick leave sees the end date shift two weeks later in the calendar. This is not the employer's indulgence but the law's own arithmetic, and it binds both sides.

In whose favour: the weight of one sentence

Under Art. 70(2) of the Labour Code, the contract must state in whose favour the probation period is agreed; if that is not agreed, it is presumed to be agreed in favour of both parties. That single sentence is among the most important in the contract, and most people skip over it while signing.

• •In the employer's favour only — only the employer may terminate without notice before the period expires. If the worker wants to leave, the general rules apply to them.
• •In the worker's favour only — rare but possible; then the right to leave without notice belongs to the worker.
• •In favour of both parties — this is what applies when the contract says nothing; either side may terminate without notice.
• •What is written governs — later claiming „it was really in favour of both of us“ does not help; the law looks at the wording of the contract.

The value of that line to the worker is this: where probation is agreed in the employer's favour only, they may part with you whenever they choose while you must serve notice. Asking about it in an interview is not odd but natural; if anything, it is the first sign to the employer that you have read the contract.

Termination during probation: what is different

The party in whose favour probation was agreed has the right to terminate the contract WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE until the agreed period expires. There is no notice period, no obligation to state a reason and, as a rule, no payment in lieu of notice. Termination is effected by a written statement and takes effect when it reaches the other party — which is why the date and the manner of delivery matter.

The second and heavier difference is the one the Labour Inspectorate highlights in a dedicated publication: during probation, workers do not enjoy SPECIAL PROTECTION against dismissal. The additional protection the law grants certain groups does not engage during this period. Probation is therefore a window in which the protections are not open; knowing how many months that window lasts is a question of security, not of paperwork.

What happens when the period expires

If the probation period expires without either party using it, the employment contract is considered FINALLY CONCLUDED. No separate „confirmation of appointment“, new contract or letter of approval is needed. The employer cannot say „we have not decided yet“; the decision was made by letting the period lapse. From that moment termination falls under the general regime: grounds, notice, compensation and protection are all back in force.

That produces an important discipline of dates: write down the day the probation ends and account for the shift caused by sick leave and holidays. A „termination during probation“ notice arriving after expiry is not a probation termination at all and is assessed under the general rules; to notice that, however, you have to know the date.

Probation or fixed-term contract?

The two concepts are constantly confused and the confusion is expensive. A fixed-term contract is one where the contract itself has an end date: when it arrives the relationship ends of its own accord and nobody needs to declare anything. Probation is not an end date but a window of easy termination; when the window closes the contract continues. A one-year fixed-term contract may contain a three-month probation — the two exist at the same time and operate separately.

The vaguest sentence you will hear at interview is: „three months' trial first, then we will see“. It can mean two different things. Either the contract will be fixed-term for three months — in which case the relationship ends by itself at the end of the third month, and the probation may be no more than one month, because the work is set for a period under a year. Or the contract will be open-ended with a three-month probation clause inside it. The two produce entirely different outcomes, and the question belongs before the signature.

The distinction also matters at the moment of leaving. Under a fixed-term contract, leaving early has its own rules and its own cost; during probation the party in whose favour it was agreed simply walks away without notice. The same person may be simultaneously inside a fixed term and inside probation — and which regime applies is decided by which window the departure falls into.

Seen from the employer's side: probation as a management tool

Reading probation only as „easy dismissal“ is an incomplete reading. For the employer it is a recognised interval in which to test whether the hiring decision was right, and in well-run companies that interval is planned: onboarding in week one, goal-setting in month one, an interim review in month two, a decision in month three. An employer who offers such a plan is also more predictable for the worker.

There are, however, employers who use the window as a source of cheap labour: a new person every three months, released before the period ends. Contract by contract that behaviour may not be unlawful, but as a pattern it reveals the workplace's real character. The single most useful question to ask before starting is: how many people have held this position in the last twelve months?

Feedback and record-keeping during probation

The law does not oblige an employer to give regular feedback during probation; because termination may be unreasoned, no formal performance file is required either. That gap works against the worker, because the answer to „why“ is written nowhere. The practical advice is therefore one-directional: keep your own record.

The method is simple. Once a month, send your manager a short email: what you did this month, what you completed, what goals you understood for the next one. If a reply comes, you have a record with an assessment; if none comes, your own message is still dated. The habit does two jobs: if probation ends well your reference is ready, and if it ends badly your account is documented.

Your rights run unchanged during probation

• •Pay — probation is not a ground for lower pay. If a lower rate is to apply for the same work, it must be written down explicitly and cannot fall below the minimum wage.
• •Annual leave — entitlement accrues from day one; if you leave before completing four months of service, the accrued days are paid as compensation.
• •Insurance — declaration of the contract and social insurance start on day one. „Work without insurance during probation“ is unlawful and harms the worker most of all.
• •Working time and rest — the 40-hour week, the 12-hour daily rest and the overtime rules apply during probation exactly as they do afterwards.
• •Health and safety — induction, protective equipment and, where required, a medical examination are the employer's obligation and cannot be postponed.

Five lines to check before signing

1. 1

   Is the length of the probation written down?

   „A probationary period applies“ is not enough; the number of months must be concrete and cannot exceed six.
2. 2

   Is it stated in whose favour it is agreed?

   If not, the law presumes it is in favour of both parties. If it is stated, the wording governs — do not sign before reading it.
3. 3

   Is the work set for less than one year?

   If so, probation cannot exceed one month. In seasonal and project contracts this line is very often written contrary to the law.
4. 4

   Have you done the same work for this employer before?

   If so, a second probation period for the same work cannot be agreed. Keep a copy of your earlier contract.
5. 5

   Were you given a copy of the contract?

   This is the point the Labour Inspectorate repeats constantly: conditions agreed in writing safeguard the rights of both worker and employer most fully. A worker without a copy cannot evidence their claim.

Seasonal work: the most abused area

In short-term employment — the Black Sea tourist season, the harvest, the ski season — the probation rule is frequently stretched. The classic scenario: a three-month probation is written into a three-month seasonal job and the entire season passes as probation. This contradicts the rule that where work is set for less than a year, probation may not exceed one month.

The Labour Inspectorate addresses seasonal workers specifically and reminds them to assert their rights IN TIME. The reason is simple: once the season ends, the worker returns to another country or city, the business closes and collecting documents becomes impossible. Three things obtained during the season — a signed copy of the contract, the schedule and the payslip — replace months of later effort.

Illness, leave and maternity during probation

A worker who falls ill during probation may present a sick note and the temporary incapacity regime runs normally; being on probation does not remove the payment. The one special effect is that the period does not advance: sick days are not counted and the end date shifts. That looks unfavourable to the worker, but it is in fact balancing — the employer does not consume its trial right for days in which it did not see the person at work.

A request for paid annual leave is also possible, but because the right to take leave arises at four months of service, on short probations it does not in practice arise. Accrual, however, runs from day one, and someone leaving during probation is paid compensation for it. Pregnancy and childbirth make the picture more complex; that is a zone where the general protective rules intersect with the probation regime, and before making decisions it is wise to ask for written information and consult the Labour Inspectorate.

An extra layer for foreign workers

For people whose right to work in Bulgaria depends on a residence or work permit, probation carries an additional risk: the permit is often grounded in the employment relationship with one specific employer. A termination during probation can affect not just the job but the basis of that permit. Non-EU nationals should therefore clarify before signing whether the permit type is tied to the employer.

In practice the interview question is this: is this permit tied to this employer, or does it give free access to the labour market? Someone who knows the answer sizes the risk window correctly and, where necessary, postpones hard-to-reverse steps — relocating, signing a lease, enrolling children in school — until the probation ends.

For EU citizens the picture is calmer — free movement does not depend on a work permit — but even there a termination during probation calls for a review of the address registration and the continuity of health insurance. For both groups the advice is the same: know the expiry date and do not close your fallback plan before it.

Can a probation termination be challenged?

If termination happened INSIDE the period and by the party in whose favour it was agreed, no argument about reasons opens up — the law grants that right without reasons. The ground for challenge is therefore narrow, but it exists and reduces to three questions: was the termination really within the period, was the probation clause valid, and was it agreed in favour of the terminating party?

For example, where a probation longer than six months was agreed, a termination in the excess portion does not stand as a probation termination. The same applies to a second probation clause for the same work, or to a period that had in fact already expired once sick days were counted correctly. The only fuel for that argument is documentation: the copy of the contract, the date of the termination notice and the record of sick days.

The first 48 hours after the notice arrives

Speed matters in a probation termination, because every arguable point turns on dates. On the day you receive the notice, record three things: the date on the notice, the date it actually reached you, and the method of delivery (signed for by hand, courier, email). All three can differ, and it is precisely in that difference that whether you were inside or outside the period becomes visible.

The second step is the arithmetic: the start date in the contract, the agreed probation length, and the days spent on sick leave and holiday. Those four figures give you the expiry date. If it turns out to precede the notice, what you hold is no longer a probation termination but a termination under the general regime — and there, grounds, notice and compensation all apply.

The third step is closing the accounts. A probation termination does not extinguish accrued pay or compensation for unused annual leave. Ask for both to appear as separate lines in the departure paperwork; if they do not, ask in writing before signing. The written question is the key to every door you may later need to open.

How to verify this page today

The probation provisions sit in Articles 70 and 71 of the Labour Code and can be amended by statute. The information here is tied to official sources as at 24 August 2026; before signing a contract or challenging a termination, confirm the current value on the official page: the МТСП page on the establishment of the employment relationship, and the Labour Inspectorate's materials on the application of the probation period and on protection against dismissal.

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