Located at the strategically important crossroads of Europe and Asia, Georgia has a unique and ancient cultural heritage, and is famous for its traditions of hospitality and cuisine. A former Soviet Republic for most of the 20th century, Georgia is now an independent country, a member of the United Nations and the Council of Europe.
Georgia is mostly situated in the South Caucasus and most of the country is mountainous. Because of its high landscape diversity and low latitude, Georgia is home to about several species of animals such as brown bears, wolves, lynxes and Caucasian Leopards.
Ethnic Georgians form the majority of Georgia’s population of almost 4 million. Other ethnic groups include Abkhazians, Armenians, Assyrians, Azerbaijanis, Greeks, Jews, Kists, Ossetians, Russians, Ukrainians, Yezidis and others. The Georgian Jews are one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world.
Employment contracts made for indefinite terms are considered permanent in Georgia. If the duration of the employment relationship exceeds 1 month, it is necessary to conclude the employment contract in writing.
Employment contracts whose duration exceeds 1 month must be made in writing. A written employment contract is written in a language understandable to the parties. It can be concluded in several languages and must contain a reservation regarding which language employment contract shall take precedence in the event of a discrepancy between the provisions of the employment contracts.
The essential terms of the employment contract are information about both parties, commencement date, duration of employment, working time, workplace, designation, nature of work, remuneration, leave rules, provisions of termination, collective agreements, etc. Any contractual obligation, instruction, or employment agreement term that requires a party to abstain from using words expressing biological sex (such as 'man' or 'woman') is void.
The employment relationship is established when the employee starts performing the work unless otherwise determined by the employment contract.
Georgia doesn't have any regulations on post-termination non-compete agreements. It is prohibited for employees to work a part-time job with a competitor of their employer.
The labor laws in Georgia specify temporary jobs as a type of employment but provide no provisions regarding them. Jobs that are short-duration or irregular in nature can be considered to be temporary.
It is possible to conclude an employment contract for a trial period of no more than 6 months. An employment contract with a trial period is concluded only in written form. Employees can be subject to probation only once.
The work performed during probation is compensated. The parties' agreement determines the amount of this compensation and the payment method. Employers have the right to conclude a temporary or permanent employment contract with the employee at any time during the probationary period or terminate the probationary employment contract. In case of termination of the labor contract concluded during the trial period, the employee will be paid according to the time worked.
Standard working hours are 40 hours per week in Georgia. Working time does not include break time and rest time. In an enterprise with a specific work mode, where there is a continuous mode of production/work process lasting more than 8 hours, the duration of the normal working time must not exceed 48 hours per week. The duration of the employee's continuous rest between working days/shifts must not be less than 12 hours.
The length of working time of a minor from 16 to 18 years of age must not exceed 36 hours per week and 6 hours per working day. A minor's working time from 14 to 16 years of age must not exceed 24 hours per week and 4 hours per working day.
Employees in Georgia are entitled to 24 days paid and 15 days unpaid annual leave after working for 11 months with the same employer. Employees working in difficult, hazardous, or dangerous conditions are entitled to an additional 10 calendar days of paid leave per year. Employees participating in martial law and/or state of emergency, emergency situation events, once after their completion, are granted 15 calendar days of additional annual leave. Employees receive an additional 30 calendar days of annual leave after the expiration of the rotation period in the peacekeeping operation and return to Georgia. Employees are paid their average wage during annual leave. When taking an unpaid leave, the employee is obliged to notify the employer 2 weeks in advance about taking the said leave, except when, due to urgent medical needs or family circumstances, the notice is not possible.
Employees can use their leave in parts. If giving paid leave to an employee in the current year may harm the normal operation of the work process, it is allowed to transfer the leave to the next year with the employee's consent. It is prohibited to transfer the paid leave of a minor to the following year. Transferring paid leave to the following year for 2 consecutive years is prohibited.
Upon termination of the employment contract at the employer's initiative, they are obliged to compensate the employee for unused leave in proportion to the duration of the employment relationship.
In Georgia, employment contracts are suspended in case of temporary incapacity of the employee if its duration does not exceed 40 consecutive calendar days or the total duration within 6 months does not exceed 60 calendar days. These days are unpaid.
In Georgia, maternity leave is not mandatory and is granted at the employee's request. The Labor Code provides 126 days of paid maternity leave and 143 days in case of childbirth complications or multiple births. Employees can decide for themselves how to allocate the leave before and after childbirth. In addition, employees get 604 days of childcare leave that can be taken after maternity leave, out of which 57 days are paid. When taking leave for child care, the employee is obliged to notify the employer 2 weeks in advance about taking the said leave. The childcare leave can be used in whole or in part by the child's mother or father, per their agreement.
Based on their request, employees who adopt a child under 1 year of age are given an adoption leave for 550 calendar days after the child's birth. 90 calendar days of this leave are paid.
Leave due to pregnancy and childbirth, leave due to child care, and leave due to the adoption of a newborn are compensated by the state budget of Georgia. The employer and the employee may agree on additional compensation for said vacations. The benefit amount is GEL 2,000 (Georgian Lari) in 2023 for the total duration of leave, whether it is shared between parents or only the mother utilizes it.
There are no provisions for paternity leave or benefits in Georgia. Fathers may, however, use any days of the 604-day childcare leave component that the mother did not use. Additionally, fathers may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave until the child turns 5. There is no separate state-funded paid paternity leave benefit.
As per the Labor Code of Georgia, if the termination is due to economic circumstances, technological or organizational changes that make it necessary to reduce the workforce, incompatibility of the employee's qualification or professional skills, long-term incapacity, or other circumstances, the notice must be given at least 30 days in advance. In case of resignation, employees must also provide a notice of 30 days to their employer. Notice must be given in writing. No notice is required in case of termination during probation. Employees are also terminated without notice in case of gross violation, liquidation of the employer’s company, death, court order, etc.
Employers are entitled to notify the employee at least 3 calendar days in advance by sending a written notice. In this case, the employee will be compensated for at least 2 months' wages.
In Georgia, employees are entitled to severance pay if the employer terminates their contract due to economic circumstances, technological or organizational changes that make it necessary to reduce the workforce, incompatibility of the employee's qualification or professional skills, long-term incapacity, or other circumstances. The amount of severance pay is 1 month’s wages. If the employer does not follow the required notice period of 30 days and gives the employee only 3 days’ notice, they must give 2 months’ wages as severance pay.
