GitLab's Team Member contract templates are accessible (for reference) within GitLab only (here). The DRI for all GitLab Team Member contracts is the People Connect Team. Any changes to any contracts should be requested to the People Connect Team and will require approval from our Senior Director of Legal, Employment.
Contracts are audited and updated on a regular basis. All suggested changes should be added to the current Global Employment Contract Audit issue. If immediate changes are needed to any one of the contract templates, follow the process below:
No changes or edits should be made to the contracts without the required approval.
The Senior Manager, Global Enablement reviews if all Greenhouse tokens are correct
All Offices All Departments and All Employment Types are all selected > Upload contract template as .doc file only > Save TemplateIf a team member changes roles at GitLab and the approval goes through Greenhouse, the process for a Letter of Adjustment is laid out in the Letter of Adjustment section on the CES Contract Processes handbook page. If a team member changes roles at GitLab and the approval goes through Workday, the process for a Letter of Adjustment is laid out in the Letter of Adjustment section on the Promotions & Transfers handbook page. For other instances such as a Relocation, the People Connect Team member will create a Relocation letter according to the parameters as listed in the Relocation within the Same Country section on the Relocation handbook page.
Upon joining GitLab, some team members (location-dependent, see the below table for detail about each location) will have a probationary period between 1 and 9 months. Common practice is for contracts in each country to have the maximum allowable probationary period. In case of relocation to a different country or change of contract, if a team member has continued service with GitLab (tenure with GitLab has been uninterrupted) and they have already passed the probationary period of their original location or contract, they do not need to go through the probation period of their new location or contract. As per the onboarding process, the probation period status is added to Workday.
The People Connect Team is responsible for managing the probationary period process internally (communication with the team member, their manager, confirmation of probationary period completion, and updating Workday). In some instances, the People Connect Team may also be responsible for managing relationships with legal counsel externally on a global scale to ensure compliance and iteration.
If an exception request is made to end a probation period early, this should be escalated by the team member's manager to a skip-level and the People Business Partner/Team Member Relations Specialist via email. We will then evaluate the risk, performance and overall reason for the request. Further escalation to Legal might be necessary as well as decision making on how to proceed. There should be no expectation of approval.
For Managers
| Country | Probation Period | Notice during probation | Notice after probation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 6 months | 1 week | 1 month |
| Austria | 1 months | No notice | Less than 2 years is 6 weeks notice. 3-5 years is 2 months.6-15 years is 3 months. 16-25 years is 4 months. 25 years and above 5 months. |
| Brazil | 3 months | No notice, but there are termination costs. Employers must pay team members half of the the time remaining until the end of the probation period. (Example: Start date 2020-04-01, termination 2020-06-20, 10 days remaining until meeting 90-day probation period. Payment due for 5 days.) | 30 days for less than one year's tenure. This is increased by 3 days per additional year of service up to a maximum of 90 days. (Ex. A team member with 3 years + 2 months of service needs 36 days' notice.) |
| Canada | 3 months (For any team member with a contract issued after April 5th, 2021. For contracts issued prior to April 5th, 2021 a 3-month probation period is not applicable.) | N/A | 2 weeks |
| Denmark | 3 months | 1 month | 1 months’ notice until resignation within the first 6 months after commencement of the employment (probation period included), 3 months’ notice until resignation before the end of 3 years’ employment, 4 months’ notice until resignation before the end of 6 years’ employment, 5 months’ notice until resignation before the end of 9 years’ employment, 6 months’ notice until resignation after the end of 9 years’ employment. |
| France | 3 months | No notice | Except in case of gross misconduct (“faute grave”), wilful misconduct (“faute lourde”) or force majeure, the Party who wishes to terminate the contract must notify the other party by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, subject to prior notice as provided by the Collective Bargaining Agreement. |
| Germany | 6 months | 2 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Hungary | 3 months | No notice | 30 Days |
| India | 6 months | 1 week | 30 days |
| Ireland | 6 months | 1 week | 1 month |
| Italy | 6 months | No notice | Executives: 6 months (less than 4 years of service), 8 months (between 4-10 years of service). All other team members: 60 working days (<5 years of service), 90 working days (between 5-10 years of service), 120 working days (more than 10 years of service). |
| Italy | 6 months | No notice | Executives: 6 months (less than 4 years of service), 8 months (between 4-10 years of service). All other team members: 60 working days (<5 years of service), 90 working days (between 5-10 years of service), 120 working days (more than 10 years of service). |
| Japan | 6 months | One week | 30 days |
| Kenya | 6 months | 7 days | 1 month |
| Latvia | 3 months | 1 month | 1 month |
| Luxembourg | 6 months | 24 days | 2 months for less than 5 years service, 4 months for 5-10 years service, and 6 months thereafter |
| Mexico | 3 months | No notice | No notice |
| Netherlands | 1 months | 1 day | 1 month before contract end |
| New Zealand | 6 months | N/A | N/A |
| Philippines | 6 months | 30 days | 30 days |
| Singapore | 3 months | 1 week | 1 month |
| South Africa | 6 months | 1 week | 1 week if the employee has been employed for six months or less. 2 weeks if the employee has been employed for more than six months but less than one year. 4 weeks if an employee has been employed for one year or more. |
| Spain | 3 months | No notice | 15 days |
| Sweden | 6 months | 1 month | The statutory minimum notice is 1 month. If the total period of employment with GitLab is at least 2 and <4 years, 2 months. If the total period of employment with GitLab is at least 4 years and <6 years, 3 months. If the total period of employment with GitLab is at least 6 and <8 years, 4 months. If the total period of employment with GitLab is at least 8 years and <10 years, 5 months. If the total period of employment with GitLab is 10+ years, 6 months. |
| Switzerland | 3 months | 2 days (or no notice if there are grounds) | 7 days if during months 4-6. 30 days after 6 months of employment. There can be no notice if there are grounds for an immediate offboarding. From the second to the ninth year of employment, two months, from the last day of the month. From the tenth year of employment onwards, three months, from the last day of the month. |
| United Arab Emirates | 6 months | During the probation period only 14 days' notice must be given by the employer; if a worker resigns during probation to move to a new company in the UAE they must give 30 days’ notice. However, if a worker is leaving the UAE then they just need to give 14 days’ notice. | A minimum of 30 days' notice (up to 5 years' service) and a maximum of 90 days' notice (over 10 years' service) can be used. 60 days' notice for between 5 and 10 years' service. |
| United Kingdom | 6 months (For any team member with a contract issued after April 22, 2020. For contracts issued prior to April 22, 2020 a 3-month probation period is applicable.) | 1 week | 1 month |
Locations without Probation Periods:
| Country | Notice |
|---|---|
| Israel | 30 days |
| South Korea | 1 month |
| Turkey | 2 weeks |
| USA - Federal | 2 weeks |
| USA - Inc | 2 weeks |
GitLab strives to help its team members maintain the ability to work on projects that are unrelated to GitLab’s business, including other open-source projects. Our PIAA does not grant GitLab any rights to any creations that you may make that are not related to GitLab's business or the work you do for GitLab. That is, you are free to develop those creations without requesting approval in advance from GitLab.
If your employment contract was created prior to November 2017, we have created an amendment to the PIAA agreement which can be viewed here. It amends the 2A section of the PIAA. Please email people-connect@ who will complete and stage the document for signatures. The Amendment will first be signed by the team member and then by the requisite Company signatory.
GitLab recognizes that Rest and Time Off are Productive and encourages our team members to take time to relax and avoid burnout. However, GitLab also understands that, unless an individual employment contract provides otherwise, some team members may want to engage in outside employment (paid or unpaid), projects, and/or potentially-conflicting activities during their non-working hours (collectively referred to here as "outside activities").
GitLab reminds these team members that their position with GitLab is their primary employment responsibility, and that GitLab positions are considered full-time employment and they require a team member's full effort and concentration, despite any outside activities.
In order to honor the commitment team members make when they join GitLab, including protecting GitLab's confidential information, trade secrets, and other business interests while team members are engaged in outside activities, GitLab has adopted the following policies: Outside activities must not interfere with the team member’s work performance or duties; or create an actual or apparent conflict of interest with GitLab. If outside activities lead to a team member’s poor performance, abuse of leave policies, or other negative outcomes relating to their position, GitLab may discipline the team member, up to and including termination. In line with our core value of Transparency, prior to starting outside activities that could potentially interfere with their commitments to GitLab, team members must disclose it to their manager, as noted below. GitLab will not approve outside activities that compromise a team member's ability to perform their job effectively. Team members engaging in outside activities must comply with GitLab's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, as well as all policies related to Conflicts of Interest, Confidentiality, Non-Competition during Employment, and the Protection of Confidential and Proprietary Information, where enforceable by applicable state or local law. Outside activities cannot involve or compete with products or services provided or under development by GitLab. Outside activities also cannot make use of any of GitLab's proprietary or confidential information, and team members cannot work in any capacity for any of GitLab's suppliers, customers, or competitors. GitLab's Internal Acceptable Use Policy permits limited personal use of GitLab-managed assets, subject to any conflicting statements contained in individual employment contracts. Subject to such limited personal use, team members may not use GitLab's facilities, equipment, supplies, IT systems (such as computers, networks, or email), time, trademarks, brand, or reputation in connection with any outside activities. This policy is not intended to restrict communications or actions protected or required by state, federal or other applicable law.
Before beginning outside employment, side projects, or other activities, whether paid or unpaid, that could potentially impair your ability to perform your obligations to GitLab or could be deemed a conflict of interest (collectively referred to as "outside activities"), you must disclose the activity in writing to your Manager, and further escalate as needed. Approval will not be granted if GitLab determines that the proposed outside activity would be a conflict of interest under the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. Candidates at a certain stage in the recruiting process will also be asked to disclose outside employment, side projects, or other activities in order for GitLab to determine whether a conflict exists with their ability to perform their obligations to GitLab.
teammemberrelations@gitlab.com for visibility and review to ensure consistency in application.teammemberrelations@gitlab.com in copy for visibility and to ensure consistency in application.Information needed in the email:
For any approved outside activity in which the GitLab team member will use their GitLab account, this activity must be stored in a separate, personal project. All other work completed as part of the work they perform on behalf of GitLab should be stored in a GitLab namespace.
Employees are required to review and acknowledge GitLab's Code of Business Conduct & Ethics (aka "CoBCE") upon starting employment at GitLab, and annually thereafter, regardless if there are any changes to the code.
The People Connect Team tracks the Code of Business Conduct & Ethics signature completion by new hires during onboarding. The People Compliance team oversees and administers the annual signature process, which is tracked and distributed through Workday. The annual signature process usually launches in April if every year. Process steps include:
People Compliance will then follow the additional escalation process as described in the internal People Operations handbook. All communications templates are also found on this same page.
The below process can be used for the following:
When creating a new contract, if it is to be for 12 months, that timeframe is always to be written as (for example):
When renewing a contract, if it is to be for 12 months, the timeframes are at be seen as (for example):
Stock Options line in the Key Terms section, unless additional shares are being given.nonuspayroll@ gitlab.com to notify.Stock Options line in the Key Terms section, unless additional shares are being given.Note: A team member cannot have more than three fixed term contracts with the same employer in a row. If a fourth contract is offered by GitLab then it must be a permanent one.
Best practice for team members in the Netherlands is to issue one 1-year Fixed term Contract prior to moving to an indefinite contract. After the completion of the 1-year Fixed term Contracts, we move to the indefinite contract.
GitLab is to take into consideration the entire tenure of the team member at time of relocation to determine the type of contract to create. Due to the usual 1-year tenure at GitLab prior to a team member requesting to relocate and immigrate to the Netherlands, if the team member has been at GitLab more than one year, the best practice procedure would be to give the team member an indefinite contract, with approval from their manager.
CXC contracts are issued on a yearly basis, with contracts expiring after one year. CXC remains the responsible PEO for ensuring the contract renewal is completed for each team member.
Standard practice is to automatically renew CXC contracts. The offboarding process will apply should a team member be terminated voluntarily or involuntarily.
These are the steps to send contracts to team members in Germany.