Termination During Probation in Serbia: Grounds and Procedure

Legal content reviewed: 4 November 2026.

Probation in Serbia is a contractual period for assessing an employee’s work and professional ability, not a general right to dismiss without reasons. Article 36 of the Labour Law governs its duration and the two different ways employment may end because the employee does not satisfy probation.

Probation Must Be Validly Agreed

The employment contract may provide probation for one or more related jobs specified in that contract, for a maximum of six months. Probation is not automatically created by an employer’s internal policy and is not limited to indefinite-term employment.

Check the agreed job, start and expiry dates, assessment method and applicable internal acts. A previous relationship with the employer does not answer whether a new probation clause is justified for the work concerned. Repeated probation for work whose requirements and performance are already known requires careful review.

The end of probation is not the same as expiry of a fixed-term employment contract. An indefinite-term contract does not automatically expire after six months merely because it contains probation.

Termination Before Probation Expires

Before expiry of the agreed probation period, either party may terminate with a notice period of at least five working days. The employer must give reasons for its decision.

Identify concrete shortcomings in the employee’s work or professional ability, the relevant assessment period and the evidence supporting the conclusion. A bare statement that the employee “did not meet expectations” gives little basis for assessing lawfulness.

Plan the assessment, issuance, delivery and notice period while the probation arrangements remain applicable. Do not backdate a decision or assume an internal management decision ends employment without proper communication and the required notice.

Employment Ending at the Agreed Expiry Date

Article 36 also provides that an employee who has not demonstrated the appropriate work and professional abilities during probation ceases employment on expiry of the period agreed in the contract. This requires an actual supported assessment of those abilities; the date alone is not evidence of failure.

Document the outcome and use the appropriate written, reasoned act and delivery procedure. Do not confuse this route with an earlier dismissal under Article 36 paragraph 3 or with termination of an independently agreed fixed term.

Are an Article 180 Warning or an Improvement Period Required?

They are not statutory prerequisites for an Article 36 probation dismissal merely because performance is being assessed. The Article 180 disciplinary warning and the Article 180a improvement procedure govern different dismissal routes. Check any additional procedure promised in the contract or the employer’s applicable acts.

In Rev2 3772/2023, the Supreme Court expressly rejected the argument that a probation dismissal required either the Article 180 warning with an eight-day response period or the Article 180a written improvement notice. The court assessed the documented shortcomings and the actual Article 36 basis.

That does not make evidence, reasons or fair assessment optional. Feedback and an opportunity to clarify problems remain useful management practice, and any applicable internal assessment rules must be considered. If the employer relies instead on misconduct or an ordinary poor-performance ground, the corresponding statutory procedure must be followed.

How to Document the Assessment

• Communicate the duties, expected standards and relevant work instructions.
• Record representative work, errors, missed requirements and the circumstances in which work was performed.
• Keep dated supervisor feedback and the employee’s explanations.
• Assess whether equipment, access, induction and actual work opportunities allowed a meaningful evaluation.
• Explain how the identified facts support the conclusion about work and professional ability.

A supervisor’s report or committee assessment can help. Article 36 does not make a committee compulsory for every employer; check whether a contract, collective agreement or internal act requires one. Avoid substituting personality preferences or discrimination for a work-related assessment.

The Decision, Delivery and Protected Rights

The employer’s act must be issued by the competent or properly authorised person, contain reasons and legal-remedy information, and be properly delivered. Retain proof of delivery and the notice calculation where the contract is ended before probation expires.

Probation does not remove the prohibitions on discrimination and retaliation or the special protection applicable to pregnancy and specified family-related leave. Ordinary sick leave and other absences require an individual analysis; illness itself is not a valid dismissal ground, and a probation period should not be extended beyond the statutory maximum by assumption.

Challenging the Dismissal and Final Payments

Article 195 generally allows 60 days from delivery of the decision or knowledge of the infringement to start a dispute. The court may examine the validity of the probation clause, reasons, timing, procedure and evidence. Article 191 remedies depend on whether a basis existed and on the claims and findings.

Check outstanding salary, compensation for unused annual leave where due and other final entitlements separately. Probation is not a basis for withholding earned pay. Article 186 prescribes payment of outstanding employment entitlements no later than 30 days after employment ends.

Related Guidance and Legal Sources

For other dismissal routes, see written warnings before dismissal and poor-performance documentation and Article 180a. Petrović Mojsić & Partners assists with employment law and employment disputes.

Primary source: Labour Law, particularly Articles 36, 185–188, 191–195, and the Supreme Court decision linked above. Special employment regimes and more favourable contractual terms require separate review.

Author: Damir Petrović, Attorney-at-Law