How does a ‘permanent employee’ differ from a ‘probationary employee’ in Latvia

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Are the rights of a permanent employee equal to those of a probationary employee with the prospect of further permanent employment? What are the legal differences between them? In particular, is it legal to pay less during the probationary period for the same work performed by a permanent employee?

Alevtina Grigorenko, lawyer:

According to the Labor Law (Article 40, Part 1), an employment contract must be concluded in writing before the hired employee begins work.

This legal requirement conceptually stems from Article 39. (quote) “An employment contract is considered concluded at the moment when the employer and the employee reach an agreement on the work to be performed and the remuneration, as well as on the employee's further compliance with the established work schedule and the employer's instructions.” This means that by signing the contract, the employee agrees to certain conditions and remuneration.

In practice, the employer can indeed offer a different remuneration to a probationary employee, but this is usually discussed and determined in the employment contract before it is signed, which does not contradict the aforementioned legal norm. In such cases, the employment contract typically includes a provision for a pay increase after the probationary period.

It is important to understand that, according to Article 59 of the Labor Law, remuneration is the regularly paid reward to the employee for work, which includes salary and allowances established by regulations, collective labor agreements, or employment contracts, as well as bonuses and any other work-related rewards.

In turn, Part 1 of Article 60 stipulates that for equal work or equivalent work, the employer is obliged to establish equal remuneration for men and women.

If a specific employee has no grounds to complain about discrimination, then in assessing the aforementioned norms, it is the employment contract that determines the amount of remuneration. However, if there are grounds to believe that the employer, whether intentionally or unintentionally, applied a lower pay rate only to one employee, while other employees in the same position performing similar duties receive higher pay, or if during the probationary period the lower rate applies only to one specific employee, then there may be grounds to initially contact the State Labor Inspectorate to request a review of this issue for possible violation of the principle of equality (Article 7, Part 1 of the Labor Law).