A qualifying period is the time an employee must work before certain legal protections or benefits activate. It’s your evaluation window. Before it expires, ending an employment relationship is comparatively simple and inexpensive. After it closes, termination gets significantly harder, slower, and more costly.
The UK requires two years of continuous employment before an employee can claim ordinary unfair dismissal. During those two years, you can terminate with notice (one week after the first month) and no requirement to justify the decision. After two years, you need a fair reason — capability, conduct, redundancy, or statutory restriction — and must follow a disciplinary or redundancy process. Getting this wrong means an employment tribunal claim with potential awards of up to £115,115 (2024 cap) plus basic award.
Germany’s Kündigungsschutzgesetz (termination protection) activates after six months. Before that threshold, the employer can terminate with two weeks’ notice and no justification. After six months, every termination requires social justification — personal conduct, capability, or operational reasons — and must account for social selection criteria if it’s a redundancy. Wrongful termination claims in Germany commonly result in settlements of 3–6 months’ salary.
France’s trial period (période d’essai) is shorter: 2 months for non-cadre employees, 4 months for cadre, renewable once with employee consent. During the trial period, either party can end the relationship with minimal notice (24–48 hours in the first month, up to one month for longer trials). After the trial period, France’s offboarding process kicks in — including the mandatory pre-termination meeting and formal notification procedures.
Australia sets the minimum employment period at 6 months for companies with 15+ employees and 12 months for small businesses. Brazil has no general qualifying period for most protections — mandatory benefits and termination costs apply from day one, which is why even short-tenure terminations in Brazil carry significant expense. The ILO’s Termination of Employment Convention (C158) provides the international framework that many of these national qualifying periods are built on.
Why It Matters for EOR
For EOR-managed employees, the qualifying period creates a concrete decision point. If a hire isn’t performing, ending the relationship during this window costs a fraction of what it costs afterward. Your EOR should proactively flag when qualifying periods are approaching — ideally 30 days before expiry — so you can make an informed decision about whether to continue the employment.
After the qualifying period expires, you’re typically looking at mandatory notice (1–7 months depending on jurisdiction and tenure), statutory severance calculations, performance documentation requirements, and potential tribunal or court exposure if the employee disputes the termination. The cost difference is dramatic: terminating a German employee at month five costs two weeks’ salary in notice. Terminating at month seven, after the qualifying period expires, could cost 3–6 months’ salary in settlement plus months of notice.
When choosing an EOR, ask how they handle qualifying period tracking. Good providers — like Multiplier or Remote — build this into their platform with automated alerts. Others rely on manual tracking, which means the notification depends on an account manager remembering. Given what’s at stake financially, automated tracking is the minimum standard you should accept.
One nuance: qualifying periods and probation periods overlap but aren’t identical. A probation period is a contractual term that defines easier termination within a set timeframe. A qualifying period is a statutory threshold that triggers legal protections. In some countries they align; in others, the probation period in the local employment contract expires before the statutory qualifying period does. Your EOR should track both independently.
For practical use of this concept, see EOR vs PEO explained and remote jobs by country.
Further Reading
- Hiring in the United Kingdom: two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal — The UK’s qualifying period gives employers a meaningful evaluation window before full termination protections kick in.
- Hiring in Australia: probation periods and Fair Work Act protections — Australia’s minimum employment period is 6 months (12 months for small businesses) before unfair dismissal claims apply.
- Contractor vs. employee: how qualifying periods affect termination flexibility — Understanding qualifying periods is critical when deciding between contractor and employee engagements in restrictive jurisdictions.
- EOR comparisons
- Read Deel review
- EOR vs PEO explained
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