When do I become a regular employee (probationary vs regular)?
Last updated: 2026-07-12 · Educational content; not legal advice.
Short answer
Under Article 296 (formerly Article 281) of the Labor Code, probationary employment cannot exceed six (6) months from the day you started working, unless a longer period is covered by an apprenticeship agreement. If you are allowed to keep working after the six months, you become a regular employee by operation of law. A probationary employee can only be let go for a just cause or for failing to meet the reasonable standards for regularization — but those standards must have been made known to you at the time you were hired; if they were not, you are deemed regular.
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Frequently asked
Can my employer extend probation beyond 6 months?
Generally no. The six-month cap in Art. 296 is the rule; extensions are the narrow exception (for example, a mutually agreed extension to give the employee a further chance to qualify, which jurisprudence has allowed only in limited circumstances). Being kept on past six months without a valid extension makes you regular.
The employer never told me the standards for passing — what happens?
If the reasonable standards for regularization were not made known to you at the start of your engagement, the law treats you as a regular employee from day one. You then cannot be dismissed except for a just or authorized cause with due process.
Do probationary employees get the same benefits?
Yes for statutory labor standards — minimum wage, 13th-month pay, service incentive leave accrual, holiday pay, SSS/PhilHealth/Pag-IBIG. Probationary status affects security of tenure, not your entitlement to mandatory benefits.
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Boses ng kumakayod — your everyday rights as a Filipino worker on pay and dismissal: when your final/back pay must be released (DOLE Labor Advisory 06-20 — within 30 days of separation), 13th-month pay (PD 851 — 1/12 of your basic salary, on or before December 24), legal vs illegal salary deductions, unpaid wages and overtime, the twin-notice due-process rule before you can be dismissed, just causes vs authorized causes, separation pay, your Certificate of Employment (within 3 days of request), resignation notice, the regional minimum wage set by your RTWPB, and how to file with DOLE (SEnA conciliation first) or the NLRC.