I'm not sure this applies over all of the EU – certainly in the UK it's not true. (I learned this the hard way. Note to anyone working in the UK: in practice th

I'm not sure this applies over all of the EU – certainly in the UK it's not true. (I learned this the hard way. Note to anyone working in the UK: in practice there's a minimum probationary period of two full years, regardless of what your contract says.) Anyway I'm not sure this scenario is any better than the US scenario of little to no employee protection. Sure, it means you're not flat and your back from day one, but the cost firing anyone is substantial, making it very difficult particularly for small business to hire simply because the risk is too great. I'd be keen to learn if there are other ways to reduce that risk than simply making it easier to fire people indiscriminately.