The probationary period for a State employee

The probation rules are in Civil Service Law No. 24 of 1960 as amended, and they are distinct from the penalties of dismissal and removal. The different descriptions of ending service are on ending a State employee’s service.

The wider framework is on State employee discipline in Iraq.

Probation on first appointment under Article 14

Article 14(1): on first appointment the employee is on probation for one year of actual service. An order confirming the employee in the grade must be issued at the end of that year if competence is established; otherwise the probation is extended by a further six months. Article 14(3): the period of probation is counted as part of the employee’s service after confirmation. Article 14(4): school holidays are treated as actual service for the purposes of paragraph (1) in respect of those who enjoy them.

If the department is satisfied that the employee is not fit for the post during the probationary period in paragraph (1), the employee is discharged under Article 14(2). That discharge is a separate description from dismissal and removal under the Discipline Law.

An employee discharged under this article may object within thirty days of notification of the order. The original text names the “General Discipline Board” and describes its decision as final. Jurisdiction over these claims has passed to the Court of Employees’ Judiciary under Article 9 of Law No. 17 of 2013, and its judgment may be challenged in cassation before the Supreme Administrative Court within thirty days of notification or deemed notification, under Article 7(9)(c) of State Shura Council Law No. 65 of 1979 as amended. The word “final” in the 1960 text should not therefore be read as closing cassation today.

If an unconfirmed employee is re-employed after resignation, after abolition of the post, or after discharge, he or she is placed on probation again, under Article 15, and may not be granted pay higher than the previous pay unless that is allowed under the Law.

Probation on promotion under Article 20

Article 20(1): an employee promoted to a post whose duties differ from those of the previous post is on probation for six months from the date of starting work in the new post. An order confirming the employee in the grade must be issued at the end of that period if ability for the new post is established; otherwise probation is extended for a further period of no more than six months. If inability is established during that probation, the employee is returned to the previous grade, and may object within thirty days of notification of the order, under Article 20(2). Here too the objection is read as lying before the Court of Employees’ Judiciary, with cassation of its judgment before the Supreme Administrative Court, and not as a “final” decision in the sense of the 1960 wording.

This probation is tied to promotion to different duties, and is not a return to the one-year probation on first appointment.

Starting work after appointment, and absence during probation

Before the year of actual service begins, the employee must start work under Article 16(1): if the employee does not start within ten days of notification of the appointment, not counting the usual travel days, the appointment order is treated as cancelled, with a possible extension of no more than thirty days if a lawful excuse is put forward. The conditions of appointment itself are on conditions for appointing a State employee.

If the employee is absent during probation, or is late in taking up the post after a transfer or after leave ends, Article 37 of the same law is read: five days after notification of a transfer, not counting travel days; ten days after leave ends; and deemed resignation if an absence exceeds ten days without a lawful excuse. The detail is on the page on ending service, and on absence, leaving the post and resignation. Deemed resignation is a different description from discharge for unfitness.

The office follows the length of probation from the appointment order and from the dates of starting work, confirmation, extension or discharge.

Legal basis and sources

1. Civil Service Law No. 24 of 1960 as amended
2. State Shura Council Law No. 65 of 1979 as amended by Law No. 17 of 2013

Frequently asked questions

Related topics and articles

• 01Ending a State employee’s serviceHow a State employee’s service ends in Iraq: resignation, deemed resignation under Article 37, discharge during probation, dismissal and removal
• 02Conditions for appointing a State employeeConditions for a first appointment to a government post under Article 7 of the Civil Service Law: nationality, age, a medical examination, good conduct
• 03Absence, abandonment of the post, and resignationAbsence from duty, abandonment of the post, and resignation of a State employee: how the three paths differ, and when an investigation may open.
• 04Grievance against a disciplinary penalty and appeal to the Court of Employees’ JudiciaryA disciplinary penalty is first challenged by grievance, then appealed to the Court of Employees’ Judiciary under Article 15 of Law No. 14 of 1991.
• 05Disciplinary penalties under the State employee discipline lawDisciplinary penalties in Law No. 14 of 1991, from a written reminder to removal (azl), and how each penalty affects promotion.

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

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