Trial Period

The first three months of your employment are a trial period. This period cannot be extended unless it is effectively shortened by illness, accident or the fulfillment of a compulsory legal obligation. Such extensions must be authorized by means of an employment order (“Verfügung”) from the Human Resources (HR) Department.

Before the end of your trial period, you will have a meeting with your line manager at which your performance during the trial period will be evaluated and the decision as to whether to continue your employment relationship will be placed on record.

You can find the current and the new form* here:

Current form Performance Appraisal for trial period up to 2024  
 Performance Appraisal for trial period (PDF, 274 KB)

New form Employee Appraisal for trial period as from 2025  
Employee Appraisal for trial period (PDF, 462 KB)

If it becomes apparent during the trial period that you do not meet the requirements of your role, your line manager or your HR representative must contact the HR Department at least four weeks before the end of the trial period to discuss what to do next. In such cases, the termination process (formal process with application for termination and granting of legal right to be heard) must be initiated in good time.

It’s important that you are both transparent in your feedback. Both new employees and line managers should be sure to make sufficient notes during the trial period and speak to each other about any problems at an early stage.

_{* Note: In order to edit a PDF form, please save it on your device (e.g. in your Downloads folder or on your Desktop). Right click and select “Open with” Adobe Acrobat Reader (or Adobe Acrobat DC, Pro). Please make sure you have version 10.0 or later of Adobe Acrobat installed. This will enable you to edit and save the form correctly.}