Probation in an Iraqi employment contract, and when the contract may end during it

The Law Office of Ali Barakat, in Baghdad, al-Yarmouk, explains how Labour Law No. 37 of 2015 deals with probation in an individual employment contract: when it is permitted at all, how long it can last, and what an employer must do before ending the contract while it is running. New hires at private companies across Iraq ask about this more than almost anything else.

Is probation always allowed?

Under Iraqi law probation is not an automatic feature of every contract. Article 37(2) allows it where both parties agree to it, and only for someone who lacks a formal trade certificate attesting competence in the assigned role. If the worker does hold such a certificate for that very job, putting a probation clause in the contract is open to question, because the text ties probation to the absence of that proof.

It helps to state the probation period expressly in the written contract, together with the start date from which it runs. A written contract is made in three copies: one for each side and one lodged with the labour department, under article 37(1). It records the kind of work, its start date, the pay and the working hours.

The ceiling, and no second probation

Probation can last three months at most, counted from the day the worker actually starts, under article 37(2). The employer gets a single probation with any one person. Signing a fresh contract with the same person and a new probation clause, or stretching probation past three months, has no footing in the text.

A collective labour agreement may include terms on probation, under article 154(2), but neither a collective agreement nor an individual contract may leave the worker with less than the statute gives, under articles 14 and 154.

Ending the contract during probation

The employer's wish to let the worker go is not enough. Article 37(3) requires two things: it must become clear that the worker is not suited to the work, and the worker must be told no less than a week ahead of the end date. Article 43(2)(g) also lists, among the grounds on which an employer may end a contract, the case of a probationer whose performance fell short of an acceptable level.

Article 44 then requires written notice of no less than thirty days, or pay in place of notice, for the grounds set out in article 43(2). Both article 37 and article 44 speak about notice, and how they fit together is a point that will be argued before whichever body hears the challenge if a dispute arises. In practice, a dated written notice that states the reason for unsuitability clearly is the safer course.

What is the worker owed when probation ends the contract?

Article 45 grants a departing worker an end-of-service award calculated per year worked, and it carves out certain cases from article 43. The probation case in paragraph (g) is not among them. A partial year also earns a matching slice of annual leave, under article 75(4), and leave left unused at the end is paid out in cash, under article 76(4). Wages due must be settled promptly once the contract ends, under article 60.

Challenging the termination, and who must prove what

There are two routes to contest a dismissal: the termination-of-service committee or the labour judiciary. The window is thirty days from notification, and taking one route closes the other, under article 46. The burden of proof is on the employer, not the worker. Where the dismissal has no basis among the article 43 grounds, the worker is reinstated with pay for the period, or compensated where going back to the job cannot happen, under article 47.

Is a worker on probation insured from day one?

The 2023 social security statute for workers (Law No. 18) defines a worker in its first article as a person who works under an employer's instructions and oversight, and it expressly includes training and trial work. Probation therefore does not postpone enrolment in social security or the deduction of contributions, and contributions run from the very first insured month.

The office follows these provisions from Baghdad, al-Yarmouk.

Legal basis and sources

1. Labour Law No. 37 of 2015, articles 14, 37, 43–47 and 154 (Iraqi Official Gazette, issue 4386 of 9/11/2015)
2. Workers' Pension and Social Security Law No. 18 of 2023, article 1

Frequently asked questions

Related topics and articles

• 01When a job ends in Iraq: who ends it, on what ground, and what followsA practical map of ending a private-sector employment contract in Iraq: what ends it automatically, when the employer or the worker may end it, barred grounds, and the challenge deadline.
• 02Fixed-term and open-ended employment contractsFixed-term and open-ended contracts under articles 37–42 of Labour Law 37/2015: the one-year limit, renewal more than once, and equal rights.
• 03End-of-service entitlements under Labour Law No. 37 of 2015The end-of-service gratuity under Labour Law 37/2015: the two-week formula, the statutory exceptions, and how it differs from benefits under Law 18/2023.
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• 05What is reviewed in the employment contract, a non-Iraqi's work permit, and social-security enrolment?What is reviewed in an employment file: the written contract, a non-Iraqi's work permit, and social-security enrolment,.

Always check the text in force and its amendments in the official source.

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