The probationary period: a useful tool, but often underestimated

The probationary period is a tool that companies are generally familiar with, but in practice it is often taken for granted or used imprecisely. When properly structured, however, it represents a key step in assessing whether the employment relationship truly works—for both the company and the employee.

It is not a mere formality: the probationary period is a real agreement that allows both parties to evaluate, during an initial phase, their mutual suitability for the role and the organizational context.

Il patto di prova è uno strumento che le aziende conoscono bene, ma che nella pratica viene spesso dato per scontato o utilizzato in modo impreciso. Eppure, se impostato correttamente, è un passaggio chiave per verificare se il rapporto di lavoro funziona davvero, per entrambe le parti.

Non è una semplice formalità: il patto di prova è un vero e proprio accordo che consente sia all’azienda sia al lavoratore di valutare, in un periodo iniziale, l’adeguatezza reciproca rispetto al ruolo e al contesto organizzativo.

Ascolta il podcast a cura degli Avvocati Stefano Trifirò, Mariapaola Rovetta Arici e Jacopo Moretti – Trifirò & Partners Avvocati

In today’s episode, we address a topic that is both highly topical and particularly sensitive for professionals involved in HR management and employment law advisory work: the genuineness of outsourcing arrangements, the use of so-called “sham cooperatives,” secondments, and the related risk of insubordination.

The central question is deceptively simple: when does an outsourcing arrangement cease to be genuine?

The issue arises whenever the contractor lacks a truly autonomous structure—in terms of assets, resources and organisational capacity—or when the client company exercises, even de facto, managerial or supervisory powers over the contractor’s workforce. It is within this grey area that a presumption of hetero-direction emerges, with the consequent risk that the arrangement may be reclassified as unlawful labour supply.