According to the Federal Labor Law (LFT), an employment relationship must contemplate the rendering of subordinate personal work to a person, through the payment of a salary, which is why, when seeking to hire a person under these requirements, an Individual Employment Contract must be drawn up.
The form of labor contracting can be a challenge for employers, and therefore, the fact of erroneously applying an Individual Employment Contract can generate conflicts with the worker, including the payment of constitutional indemnity and seniority premium.
Now then, how do we know which Individual Employment Contract to enter when we seek to know if an employee is suitable for the job offered?
First of all, it is important to take into consideration the differences between an Individual Employment Contract for a specific period of time, with a trial period, and with a training modality.
- • Individual Employment Agreement for a fixed term. – It is understood that this hiring will be exclusively because the nature of the work so requires, or when a worker must be temporarily replaced. The reason must be indicated, and it is understood that, once the period of time indicated is concluded, the work for which the employee was hired will be exhausted, since in case of subsisting, this must be considered as an Indeterminate Term Contract.
- Trial Period – The purpose of this modality is for the employee to demonstrate that he/she has the necessary skills and knowledge to correctly perform the functions related to his/her job position, establishing a trial period of 30 days in general, and which may be extended for up to 180 days for management or administrative positions or work requiring specialized professional knowledge. It is worth mentioning that this modality is only applicable for contracts for an indefinite period of time or longer than 180 days.
- Training Period. – The purpose of this modality is for the employer to teach and train the employee the skills and knowledge necessary to correctly perform the functions related to his job, establishing a trial period of 3 months in general, which may be extended for up to 6 months for management or administrative positions or tasks that require specialized professional knowledge.
In this sense, within the company, it must be analyzed why the hiring is being done, that is, if it will be for a specific project if it is for an indefinite period of time, but the purpose is to know if the employee is truly capable of performing his functions, or if the employee is being hired and has been considered to be taught to perform such functions.
Once the hiring purpose has been defined, it will be possible to choose the contract that best suits the employer’s needs, considering that these will not be applicable subsequently or simultaneously, and on the other hand, these will not be extendable.
In case you require support to identify the correct form of hiring, the team of the Labor Area of Vega, Guerrero & Asociados is at your entire disposal.
