For foreign employers, the probation period is often the most familiar part of Peruvian employment law. Most jurisdictions have one, and most group contracts include one. The familiarity can be misleading. In Peru, probation carries more weight than in systems where employment can be ended on notice at any time, because it is the only phase of an indefinite relationship in which the employer does not need a legal cause to terminate. Once it ends, the employee is protected against unfair dismissal. Getting the duration, the extension and the decision timing right is therefore a real risk-control exercise, not an administrative detail.
This article explains the Peruvian rules, the limits on extending probation, what employers can and cannot do during it and the mistakes international companies commonly make. It forms part of our guide to employment contracts in Peru.
Legal framework
Article 10 of the Labor Productivity and Competitiveness Law (LPCL) sets the rules, with further detail in its regulations (Supreme Decree 001-96-TR):
- Standard period. Probation lasts three months. Once completed, the employee acquires protection against despido arbitrario (unfair dismissal).
- Extension. The parties may agree in writing to extend probation when the role requires a longer assessment, up to a total of six months for qualified or trust employees and up to one year for management staff.
- Excess. An extension that is not justified by the role does not take effect.
The categories come from the LPCL. Personal de dirección (management staff) represent the employer or stand in for it, with decision-making power. Personal de confianza (trust staff) work in direct and personal contact with the employer or management, have access to confidential information or contribute opinions that inform decisions. “Qualified” refers to roles requiring specialized skills or preparation whose assessment genuinely needs more time.
| Role category | Maximum total probation | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Standard roles | 3 months | Applies by law |
| Qualified or trust roles | 6 months | Written extension justified by the role |
| Management roles | 1 year | Written extension justified by the role |
Key point
In Peru, probation is the only stage of an indefinite contract in which the employer can end the relationship without a just cause. Every week of it matters, and so does the evidence that any extension was lawful.
Extending probation properly
An extension is not a formality to be added to every contract. It is defensible when three conditions are present:
- The role qualifies. The position is genuinely qualified, trust or management, and that is consistent with the job description, the reporting line and, for trust and management staff, the classification procedure the regulations require (identifying the position, informing the employee in writing and recording the status in payroll and payslips).
- It is in writing. The extension is agreed in the employment contract or in a separate written document.
- It is justified. The contract explains briefly why a longer assessment is needed, for example the complexity of the role or the time needed to evaluate performance in a full business cycle.
Labeling every position as “trust” to obtain a six-month probation is a recognized practice that inspectors and courts view with skepticism. Under the primacy-of-reality principle, the classification must match what the employee actually does.
What employers can and cannot do during probation
What probation allows
During probation, the employer may end the employment relationship without having to prove a just cause and without following the pre-dismissal procedure required afterwards. Statutory compensation for unfair dismissal does not apply, and the probation period is not counted when that compensation is calculated for later dismissals.
What probation does not allow
Probation does not suspend the rest of the legal framework:
- Prohibited motives. Terminations motivated by discrimination or other grounds that make a dismissal null remain unlawful. Law 32431 of 2025 expressly provides that a dismissal motivated by a cancer diagnosis, its treatment or its effects is null even during probation, and Supreme Decree 008-2026-TR adds a presumption linking the dismissal to the diagnosis where the employee had disclosed it and the employer cannot show an unrelated cause.
- Benefits. The employee accrues pay and statutory benefits from the first day and is entitled to a final settlement of accrued amounts where the legal minimums are met.
- Registration. The employee must be registered in the T-Registro electronic payroll no later than the first day, and the employer-funded Seguro Vida Ley life insurance applies from the start.
Watch out
Ending a probationary employee shortly after they disclose a pregnancy, an illness or trade union activity is high risk, whatever the stated reason. Document performance concerns as they arise, not after the decision is made.
Special situations in international groups
Internal transfers and secondees
When a group moves an existing employee from another country to the Peruvian entity under a new local contract, it is tempting to include the standard probation clause. The Peruvian contract creates a new employment relationship, but the purpose of probation is to assess an unknown employee. If the individual has worked for the group for years in a comparable role, a probation clause may be difficult to justify and can create friction with an expatriate who expects continuity. As a practical matter, we recommend deciding expressly whether probation will apply to transferred employees and recording the reason. For foreign nationals, the contract must also meet the separate requirements on foreign-worker contracts and immigration status before work begins.
Part-time employees
Employees who work, on average, less than four hours a day do not acquire protection against unfair dismissal even after three months, because that protection requires a daily schedule of four hours or more. Probation therefore has limited practical significance for genuine part-time roles, which must in any case be written and registered with the labor authority.
Promotions within the company
In our view, promoting an employee who has already completed probation into a management role does not reopen probation: the period is designed for the start of the relationship, not for each change of position. The employee’s protection against unfair dismissal continues, and any concern about performance in the new role has to be managed through ordinary performance and, if necessary, disciplinary processes.
Illustrative scenario
Illustrative scenario
Illustrative scenario: a German industrial group’s regional headquarters in Lima hires a finance analyst and a finance director using the group’s standard contract, which provides a six-month probation period for all employees. In month five, the headquarters decides that neither hire is working out and ends both relationships. The finance director’s role is a management position, and the extension to six months was in writing, so the termination falls within probation. The analyst’s role, however, is not a qualified, trust or management role; the six-month clause therefore does not take effect beyond three months. Because the analyst had passed the three-month mark, the termination without cause is exposed as an unfair dismissal. Adjusting the template role by role at the hiring stage would have avoided the problem.
Common mistakes
- Applying a group-wide probation period without checking whether each role qualifies for an extension.
- Relying on an extension that was never agreed in writing.
- Classifying roles as “trust” solely to lengthen probation.
- Missing the end date because nobody is tracking it, and deciding to terminate a few days too late.
- Imposing a new probation period on an employee rehired for the same role after a previous contract; in our view, that is hard to justify because the employer has already had the chance to assess them.
- Communicating the termination orally, leaving no record of the date on which it occurred.
Preventive recommendations
- Define the probation period role by role when adapting group templates, and document the justification for any extension.
- Diarize the end date of probation for every hire and schedule a formal review a few weeks earlier.
- Keep contemporaneous records of performance feedback during probation.
- Communicate any termination in writing, with the date, and process the final settlement promptly.
- Check the reason for any termination against prohibited grounds before it is communicated.
- For fixed-term hires, remember that the term and probation are separate questions; see fixed-term employment contracts in Peru.
When the decision comes after probation, the options change: a just cause and procedure, or a negotiated exit. Our articles on unfair dismissal and on resignation, mutual termination and dismissal explain those routes. For the broader framework of contract forms, see employment contracts in Peru: elements, forms and risk.
Bottom line
Probation in Peru is short, rule-bound and decisive. Three months is the standard; longer periods require a qualifying role and a written, justified extension. Used well, it gives the employer a genuine opportunity to assess new hires before the full protection against dismissal applies. Used carelessly, with templates copied from other jurisdictions and dates nobody tracks, it expires unnoticed. Our employment contract drafting work includes setting probation terms by role and building the controls that make them effective.