Employment lawyer in Georgia - when it is the employer who has to prove the case, not you
Since the 2020 reform the Georgian Labour Code has moved close to the European standard and shifted the balance of power: in a dismissal dispute the burden of proof lies on the employer. If an employee challenges the dismissal order, it is the company that must show the ground was real, the procedure was followed and the decision was proportionate. Many employers still do not know this and write the order in one sentence - which is exactly where the employee's lawyer begins.
An employment lawyer is needed on both sides: by the employee, to turn a breached right into money or a job; by the employer, to formalise a dismissal, a disciplinary measure or a restructuring so that it does not come back through the court. This page covers both perspectives: the types of dispute and the evidence that decides them, the Code provisions you should know before signing a contract, and the three routes - inspection, court, mediation - with their deadlines and outcomes. For foreign employees and remote workers there is a separate section on which law applies at all.
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Call: 568 330 3186 employment disputes in Georgia and what decides each of them
An employment dispute is rarely about "who is right" - it is almost always about "who has the document". Here is the document or fact that becomes decisive in each category.
Lawfulness of dismissal
Decisive: the employer's written reasoning. Within 30 calendar days of receiving the order the employee may demand a written statement of the grounds, and the employer must reply within 7 calendar days. In that letter the employer either shores up or demolishes its own position - the lawyer drafts the request so that the reply cannot be avoided.
Wages and overtime
Decisive: working-time records, which the employer is obliged to keep. If none exist, the employee's own log, entry systems and the timestamps on work correspondence become sufficient. For every day of delayed pay the Code sets a penalty of 0.07% - it accrues automatically, without a demand.
Employment or service contract
Decisive: substance, not the title. Fixed working hours, following the employer's instructions, using its equipment and having a single client are the marks of an employment relationship, even if the document is called a "service agreement". Reclassification brings leave, severance and dismissal protection retroactively.
Discrimination and harassment
Decisive: the shifted burden of proof. If the employee presents facts that give rise to a presumption of discrimination, the employer must prove that the different treatment had an objective reason. Pregnancy, age, union membership and unequal pay cases fall here.
Workplace accidents
Decisive: compliance with occupational safety rules and the accident report. For high-risk work the employer must hold insurance; refusing to draw up a report or writing in "employee's fault" before signature is the moment to involve a lawyer. Damages cover treatment, lost income and a moral component.
Non-compete and confidentiality
Decisive: whether the clause complies with the law. A post-employment non-compete is valid only for a reasonable period and territory and, in practice, with compensation. A "do not work anywhere for two years" clause is often void - but disclosing trade secrets is a separate liability that does not disappear with the clause.
8 Labour Code rules to know before signing an employment contract in Georgia
Most employment disputes are born on the day the contract is signed - in a clause nobody read. These rules are mandatory: a contract cannot set anything worse, even if both parties sign it.
- Written form
- An employment relationship lasting more than one month must be in writing. A verbal agreement is not void - it simply means the employer bears the burden of proving the terms, which works in the employee's favour.
- Probation
- A maximum of 6 months, only once and only in writing. Termination during probation is simplified, but pay is owed in full - "unpaid probation" does not exist under the Code.
- Fixed-term contracts
- Allowed only on specific grounds - seasonal work, a project, covering for an absent employee. If a fixed-term contract or a chain of them exceeds 30 months, it is deemed indefinite with all the protection that brings.
- Working time
- 40 hours a week, 48 in enterprises with a specific regime. At least 12 hours' rest between shifts. Anything above is overtime and is paid at an increased rate - the rate must be in the contract; if it is not, the court sets it.
- Leave
- 24 working days of paid leave and 15 calendar days of unpaid leave per year. Unused paid leave is compensated in money on termination - a line that is often "forgotten" in the final settlement.
- Pregnancy and childcare
- Leave for pregnancy, childbirth and childcare is 730 calendar days, of which 183 are paid (200 in case of complications or twins). Dismissing a pregnant employee or one on parental leave on economic or qualification grounds is prohibited.
- Internal regulations
- The employer may adopt internal regulations, but must present them to the employee in writing, and they cannot override the Code. A disciplinary sanction not described in the regulations, or never shown to the employee, can be challenged.
- Resignation by the employee
- The employee terminates with 30 calendar days' written notice, without giving reasons. Being pressured into signing a "voluntary" resignation is a common scheme; its nullity can be proved in court if the facts of pressure were recorded in time.
Labour Inspection, court or mediation - three routes compared
The three channels for protecting employment rights do not exclude one another and are often used in parallel. The employment lawyer's task is to sequence them so that one does not undermine the other.
An employment lawyer for the employer - a dismissal that does not come back through the court
The most expensive mistake for an employer is formalising the right decision the wrong way. An employee who objectively cannot do the job will be reinstated by the court and paid for forced idleness for the entire duration of the proceedings if the company does not have: written performance evaluations, a warning with a period to improve, a disciplinary record consistent with the internal regulations, and a reasoned order that names a specific ground.
Restructuring and redundancies are a discipline of their own: the redundancy must be genuine (hiring a new person for the same position turns it into a sham), the selection criteria objective, and protected categories excluded. The lawyer starts the process not by drafting the order but a month earlier - by documenting the structure.
Prevention is always cheaper: internal regulations that were actually read and signed, a contract template on the latest version of the Code, working-time records that survive an inspection. One audit a year usually costs less than one dispute. For international companies hiring in Georgia, aligning a group-wide HR policy with the mandatory local rules is the single most common gap.
Foreign employees and remote work - which law applies
Employing a foreign national in Georgia requires no work permit - one of the country's distinguishing features. A stay of more than one year requires a work-based residence permit, for which the employer's contract and proof of remuneration are the basis. A foreign employee is protected by the Labour Code exactly like a citizen - every rule on dismissal, leave and pay applies unchanged, and so does the 0.07% daily penalty on late wages.
The reverse situation is harder: a person living in Georgia who is employed by a foreign company. The contract usually names foreign law and a foreign court, and that choice is largely effective - but the mandatory rules of the country where the work is actually performed may still apply. Here the employment lawyer answers two questions: where a claim can be filed, and which country's minimum guarantees apply - and the answer is often unexpectedly favourable to the client. Remote workers paid through a Georgian entity or an employer-of-record are a third case, where the local contract is what counts.
Questions about employment lawyers in Georgia
My employer says it does not have to tell me the reason for dismissal - is that right?
No. Within 30 calendar days of receiving the order, demand the reasoning in writing; the employer has 7 calendar days to reply. No reply works against the employer in court, and a reply that names a reason different from the order becomes evidence of unlawfulness in itself. Send the request in a way that proves delivery.
Can I be dismissed while on sick leave?
Dismissal during temporary incapacity is, as a rule, not permitted - except where the incapacity continues for a long consecutive period exceeding the limit set by the Code. The medical certificate, submitted to the employer in time, is the document that activates this protection.
What is "forced idleness" compensation and how much does it cover?
Pay for the period during which you could not work because of the unlawful dismissal - from the date of dismissal until the court's decision is enforced. If the case lasted a year, that is a year's salary, regardless of whether you are reinstated or compensated. This is what makes a long dispute costly for the employer and a settlement attractive.
I am being pressured to write a "voluntary" resignation. What should I do?
Do not sign on the same day. Ask for time, record the verbal pressure in writing - an e-mail to a colleague or HR the same day, with the date - and contact a lawyer. If you have already signed, the nullity of the resignation can be proved in court with evidence of pressure, but this becomes harder as time passes.
Is an unpaid internship legal?
An internship is a separate relationship under the Code and may be unpaid, but under strict conditions: the intern must not replace an employee or perform work the company would otherwise need a paid employee for. If the "intern" works on a shift schedule and is accountable for results, that is an employment relationship and wages are owed.
The company is being liquidated - what am I owed?
Liquidation is a lawful ground for dismissal, but it does not remove the compensation: the notice period or pay in lieu, arrears, unused leave. In liquidation employees' claims have priority among creditors - the lawyer lodges the claim with the liquidator in writing so that you are not left out of the queue.
I work without a contract and am paid in cash. Do I have any rights?
The same rights as a formally employed person - an employment relationship exists by fact, not by paper. The difficulty is proof: correspondence, transfers, work equipment, colleagues' testimony, social media posts on the company's behalf. An unformalised relationship is a risk for the employer itself - the inspection fines it separately.
An accident at work - who pays for treatment?
The employer, if safety rules were breached, and its insurer, if the work is in the high-risk category and insurance was taken out. The first step is an accident report drawn up with the employer and notification of the Labour Inspection - without the report, proving the "connection with work" later is difficult. Foreign workers on construction sites and in hospitality are the most frequent cases we see.
Employment lawyer by city
An employment dispute is, as a rule, heard by the court of the place where the work was performed. Disputes at regional plants, ports and seasonal workplaces call for local knowledge.
Adjacent practice areas
Accident damages are claimed through a civil action, an inspection fine is challenged in administrative proceedings, and the corporate structure determines whether a redundancy is lawful.
Received a dismissal order? The 30 days are already running
Within 15 minutes the coordinator will contact you and match you with an employment lawyer who drafts the request for written reasoning on the very first day - before the deadline passes.