The probation period is the time during which an employee is under a performance assessment to determine whether he is fit for the job or not. It can be considered as the “trial period” and if you don’t pass after the end of this time, you can get terminated by your employer. In Bahrain, there is an article in its Labor Law that specifically discussed everything an employee should know about the probation period.
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Expat employees experience being under the probation period once or twice in their lifetime. If you are an employee who shifts from one employee to another, you are likely to have more than one probationary period during your employment here in Bahrain. Good thing all private-sector employees in this country follow the same probation period provision, which means you won’t be dealing with different probation rules if you transfer from one Bahrain-registered company to another. To start understanding how employment works in Bahrain, here are the major things you should know about your probation period.
About Your Probation Period in Bahrain
- During the probation period, you will undergo a continuous assessment and it will depend upon your employer’s preference if you are fit for the job or not.
- Employers use certain criteria to tell if the employee will qualify to be a regular worker. The judgment differs from profession to profession.
- Article 21 of the Bahrain Labor Law discusses the following:
- The probation period for employees should not be more than 3 months and it should be clearly stated in the employment contract as well.
- On a case to case basis, the 3-month period can be extended up to 6 months depending on the occupation as determined by the Minister of Labor. The agreement of more than 3 months’ probation period is not valid if not expressly stated in the contract.
- The employer or employee can terminate the contract even if it’s under the provision period. But to become effective, the party who wants to terminate it should give at least 1-day notice.
- As an employee, you should not be put under a probation period for more than once by the same company or employer.
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The probation period is unique in each country. Since a lot of great job opportunities exist here in the Middle East, you should understand that there are still differences when it comes to labor law. Each country in the Gulf region has its own way of implementing the probation period. One thing you can observe when you already experience jumping from one Middle East country to another is the range of the probation. For instance, you can encounter rendering 1 month probation period only but here in Bahrain, expect a 3-month assessment time. Make sure to share this information with the people around you so they can get an idea of what to expect when they start working here in Bahrain.