Bolivia is a country of great diversity, both in its varied geography and its people, including modern city dwellers and Amerindians living traditionally. However, these 12.45 million people have collaborated to create a country that has become a modern success story. Bolivia’s economy has grown to almost six times its size 20 years ago, reaching $57.09 billion at the end of 2025. The country’s labor force of more than 6.859 million workers increasingly work in extraction industries like mining and oil production, though 55% are employed in services like banking, tourism, hospitality, and transportation. Increasing levels of education and relatively affordable wages attract local and foreign employers to Bolivian workers.

While the country’s formal labor force has been steadily growing for decades, employers still face challenges when hiring these workers. How can they be sure that the people they interview truly have the skills and aptitudes required to perform their roles effectively? Will they fit in well with the company’s way of doing things and be able to integrate into the corporate hierarchy? On the other hand, how can workers know if they’ll like their new jobs and employers? The answer to all of these questions can come in the form of probation periods, which allow both sides to test the waters before making full commitments to each other long term. We’re going to examine the rules that underpin probation periods in Bolivia and the benefits that using them can convey to both employers and employees alike.

Definition of a Probation Period in Bolivia

In Bolivia, a probation is normally called a período de prueba in the official language of Spanish, and it must be included in the details of any contract for which it will be used. During this probationary or trial time, employees have the chance to prove their worth to their employers, while the employers show that they will provide what they promised to their applicants. During probation, workers can be dismissed or resign more quickly and easily than at the end of this period, making it easier for both sides to move on from employment situations that don’t look like they’ll work out.

Employers tend to focus a lot of attention on new employees during their trial periods. In addition to training them and providing them with support to learn their roles quickly, many employers also engage in formal assessment procedures to help them ascertain whether or not their new hires truly have the necessary skills and knowledge to do their jobs effectively. They also look at how the employees interact with their supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates to ensure that these relationships will be positive and productive. Finally, employers use probationary periods to observe the fit of their new employees with their company cultures so that they can be sure only to hold onto people who align with their values and working styles.

Things are similar from the employee’s side. New employees use probation periods to measure their skills against the demands of their jobs to decide if they can perform them as well as they’d hoped when applying. They, too, look at their interactions with their coworkers and their alignment with the company culture and figure out whether they’ll be successful in their roles long-term. Finally, new employees assess whether or not they receive the benefits and working conditions that their employers offered.

If either party is unhappy with their employment relationship, they’re free to terminate their contract during or at the end of the probation period. If both are satisfied and think the relationship will work well, the worker will become a full employee at the end of the prescribed probation period.

Lengths of Probationary Periods in Bolivia

According to Bolivian law, probation periods can only be used for indefinite (permanent) contracts and not for contracts with fixed terms. The maximum duration of a single probation period in Bolivia is 90 days (three months), and most employers take advantage of the full extent of this duration.

However, it’s important to note that probation periods can be renewed without limit should the employer decide that they need more time to assess the worker’s suitability. For this reason, there is effectively no maximum duration for which an employee can be on probation. Still, employers need to provide fair reasons for extending their probation periods, and probationary workers gain increased legal protections over time.

Legal Considerations for Probation Periods in Bolivia

Bolivia has a legal system based on a civil law tradition and influences from indigenous traditions. The rights of workers are enshrined in the Bolivian Constitution and the General Labor Law of 1939. Some of the most important regulations regarding workers’ entitlements include the following:

Pay and Working Conditions

Bolivia updated its national minimum wage on 2 January 2026. All workers are now entitled to be paid at least 3,300 BOB (Bolivian Bolivianos) per month, or roughly 480 USD. This minimum wage protects probationary workers as well, so that employers are unable to pay them less than their fully-employed counterparts.

This minimum wage is based on a standard workweek of 48 hours. Most Bolivian employees work eight hours a day and six days a week, though women and workers under 18 are required to work only 40 hours per week. Employees can work up to two hours of overtime per day, as long as these hours are approved by the local labor inspectorate. Workers must be paid 200% of their normal wages for overtime, so most employers keep these extra hours to a minimum. All of these rules apply equally to probationary workers.

Termination and Notice

If workers engage in gross misconduct, they can be terminated immediately, without notice or compensation. If the employer wishes to terminate an employee for other reasons, however, they must provide notice, and the same is true for employees who wish to resign. Bolivia recognizes a distinction between blue- and white-collar workers and enforces different notice periods for them.

For blue-collar workers, employers must give notice of termination of seven days if they’ve worked for one month, 15 days after six months, and 30 days after one year. White-collar employees must give 30 days’ notice if they resign, and the employer must provide 90 days’ notice after the employee has worked for three months. Before one month of work for blue-collar employees and 90 days of work for white-collar workers, employers don’t need to give notice of termination.

Vacation / Holidays

Bolivian workers are entitled to 11 public holidays each year, which are paid days off work for both full and probationary employees alike. If they must work on these days, workers are paid 200% of their normal wages.

Employees are entitled to 15 days of paid annual leave after working for one full year, 20 days after five years of service, and 30 days after 10 years of service. While the probation period counts toward the accrual of the first year’s leave, workers cannot take leave while currently on probation.

Benefits of Probation Periods in Bolivia

While it’s common for people to view probation periods as benefiting only employers, they can actually produce advantages for both sides of employment relationships.

  • For Employees

Employees are able to leave their new employers quickly and easily if they don’t like their work tasks or feel that they don’t fit in well in their new companies.

They can also use this time to ensure that the promises made by their employers are kept, especially in terms of benefits, compensation, and working conditions.

  • For Employers

Employers are able to terminate workers during their initial employment periods more quickly and easily than when they’ve passed probation and become full employees.

These periods allow employers to carefully assess new staff and weed out those people who they feel won’t become successful and productive team members.

Conclusion​

While most employers place new employees on probation for three months, they can extend these periods if required. Probationary employees in Bolivia can’t be paid less than full employees, nor can they be made to work longer hours or miss public holidays. Still, probation is a highly useful tool for determining fit and long-term success, and is used in most employment relationships in the country.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, probation isn’t legally required for all workers. Employers can choose whether to apply these periods, but if they do, they must include them in their employment contracts.

Blue-collar workers must be notified at least seven days in advance if they’ve completed a month of work. White-collar employees, however, can be terminated without notice if they haven’t completed the full 90 days of their probationary periods.

No, severance pay is only available to employees who’ve worked for at least five years, counting from the end of their probationary periods.