The island nation of Madagascar is an increasingly popular place to hire workers. Its economy has been growing slowly but steadily for decades, and in 2025, Madagascar’s GDP is up to $18.71 billion, with 3.9% growth expected this year. This healthy economy is powered by a labor force of over 16.519 million workers.

Roughly three-quarters of Malagasy workers are involved in farming, fishing, and forestry, especially producing cloves and vanilla for the export market. However, industrial production of products like nickel, gold, and clothing is also on the rise, as are tourism, telecommunications, and financial services.

More and more employers are looking into hiring workers in Madagascar, but they can find it challenging to make sure they find the right talent for their needs. Likewise, employees can find it difficult to choose jobs and employers they can trust and work well with.

Probation periods can be an answer to the challenges faced by both sides. In this guide, we’ll describe how a probation period in Madagascar works and suggest reasons why it can be beneficial to use them for both employees and employers.

Definition of a Probation Period in Madagascar

In Madagascar’s Malagasy language, a probation period is known as a fe-potoana fizahan-toetra. This is a trial period within which workers can test out new jobs and employers can test out new employees. There are also reduced protections for both sides that make it easier for either to terminate their employment agreements if they determine that it’s best to do so.

Employees generally use their probation periods to judge how well they fit into the organizations that have hired them. They assess their skills and the obligations of their new positions to see if they can do their jobs well and enjoy them. They also meet and start working with their supervisors and coworkers, and they also evaluate how well they’ll do on these teams.

Because their employers also promised certain working conditions and benefits during the recruiting process, new employees also check to see if these promises are fulfilled. At the same time, employers assess their new workers’ abilities and aptitudes. They want to make sure that the claims that they made during their interviews are legitimate and that they actually have the capacity to perform their roles successfully.

Employers also want to see how well the new workers can fit into their teams and the larger company culture. Many take the opportunity to work closely with their new employees to help them quickly get up to full productivity. Probation periods start when workers first begin working and end when they come to their pre-defined conclusions.

That is, however, if they aren’t interrupted by terminations. Both the employer and the employee have the right to terminate their agreements during probation periods, though they still need to provide each other with notice. If no one terminates an agreement, the probation period will be considered successful, and the worker will become a full employee.

Lengths of Probationary Periods in Madagascar

While they are common across most industries, probation periods are used at the discretion of employers and are not required by law. If they are used, they must be written into individual or collective employment agreements, including the details of their durations, the possibility of renewals, and any other details that define them.

If not included in their contracts, workers are automatically considered to have passed probation and become full employees. A probation period in Madagascar can last as long as 12 months.

This is the maximum length possible and includes a basic period and a one-time renewal. The maximum allowable length of a probation period depends on a worker’s role:

Employee TypeMaximum Probation Period
Blue-collar workers or white-collar workers without supervisory responsibilitiesUp to 3 months (6 months with renewal)
Engineers, supervisors, and managersUp to 4 months (8 months with renewal)
High-ranking executivesUp to 6 months (12 months with renewal)

Legal Considerations for the Probation Period in Madagascar

The laws relating to probation periods in Madagascar can mostly be found in Decree 2007-008 of 9 January 2007 and the Labor Code 2003. Various rules protect the interests of both employers and workers, including the following:

Pay and Working Conditions

The minimum wage that workers can be paid in Madagascar is tightly controlled. Different categories of workers are protected by different minimum wage levels that also depend on their years of service.

They range from 262,680 MGA (Malagasy ariary) per month (around 60 USD) for unskilled non-agricultural workers with less than three years’ seniority to 440,200 MGA per month (around 100 USD) for skilled workers with over three years’ seniority.

Unskilled agricultural workers with little seniority must be paid at least 266,500 MGA per month (around 60 USD), while skilled workers with over three years’ seniority must be paid 446,500 MGA per month (around 101 USD). Probationary workers must be paid at least the minimum wage for their types of positions.

Employees in Madagascar work a 40-hour workweek on average, and can’t work more than 173.33 hours in a month. Agricultural workers are limited to 2,200 hours a year. Workers must be paid 130% of their normal wages for their first eight hours of overtime per week, and 150% for any subsequent hours. Overtime hours aren’t limited by law, but may be limited by collective agreements.

Termination and Notice

During probation periods, both workers and their employers must still abide by the normal notice periods required for terminations in Madagascar. These vary according to both the worker’s length of service and their type of position. The notice periods for both sides are as follows:

Length of ServiceNotice Period Range
Less than 8 days1 – 5 days
Less than 3 months3 – 30 days
Less than 1 year8 – 90 days
1 to 3 years10 – 120 days
3 to 5 years12 – 122 days
Over 5 years1 – 6 months

Either side can choose to end their employment relationship for any reason, but they must respect these notice periods. Severance pay is not normally provided to workers unless they’re dismissed for economic reasons.

In that case, they are entitled to 10 days’ wages for each year of service to the employer. Therefore, probationary workers who haven’t completed a year of service are not entitled to severance pay.

Vacation / Holidays

Madagascar normally celebrates 13 public holidays of national or religious (Christian) significance each year. These are paid days off, and all workers, including those on probation, are entitled to them. If they are made to work, however, they must be paid at least 150% of their normal wages.

After working for a full year, employees in Madagascar are entitled to 30 working days of paid leave annually. This means that probationary workers are not entitled to leave, though their working days contribute to their leave allowances. Leave can be carried over for up to three years.

Benefits of Probation Periods in Madagascar

In Madagascar, probation periods are not mandatory, but they are commonly used because of the advantages they can produce for both employers and employees. These advantages include:

  • For Employees

The chance to try out new roles and test their suitability for them.

Time to find out how well they’ll get along with their coworkers and be able to work effectively on their teams.

The choice to resign quickly and easily, and leave the employer to search for new opportunities.

  • For Employers

The chance to assess workers’ skills and abilities to see if they can perform their work tasks adequately.

The chance to assess how well new employees fit into their teams and the workplace culture.

The opportunity to learn from probation success rates and use them to refine interview and candidate selection processes.

Conclusion

Employers in Madagascar use probation periods to assess their new workers on the job so they can decide whether or not to keep them long-term. Employees also evaluate their employers and their workplaces to decide if they’ll be happy and effective working in their new positions.

For these reasons, probation periods are widely used in Madagascar to help determine and promote the success of new employment relationships.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, probation is not mandatory. It is normally used at the discretion of the employer, though it is already embedded in collective agreements for different industries.

Most workers can only be on probation for four months at first, but these periods can be renewed to last a total of eight months. For high-level executives, though, probation can last six months and be renewed once for a total of 12 months.

Yes, they can dismiss workers without needing justifications as long as they follow mandated probation periods.