According to the Organic Law of Georgia, all Georgian citizens are equal before the law “regardless of race, color of skin, language, sex, religion, political or other opinions, national, ethnic and social affiliation, origin, property or social status, place of residence or any other characteristics.” The labor code of The Republic of Georgia is a comprehensive, legally binding document that clearly states the scope of the law, what constitutes labor relations, and the framework under which terms and agreements of employment are stated.
The Organic Law of Georgia has 5 sections with 13 chapters in total, that clearly outline and describe the attributes and conditions of paid labor working in Georgia. Chapter IV looks into work, break, and rest time allotted to employees working in Georgia. By law, employers that have set up their business operations in Georgia shall determine the work time duration. However, working hours for an employee must not exceed 40 hours a week. In case the production processes require more than 8 hours of uninterrupted working time, the total hours of work must not exceed 48 hours with the inclusion of breaks and rest time. The Georgian Labor Law provides additional breaks for nursing mothers with infants under 12 months. Nursing employees are entitled to an extra hour during their working shift that shall be paid and deemed as working time.
Duration of Leave
Chapter V of The Organic Law of Georgia looks into Leave, including the duration, the procedure of granting leaves of absence, and the determining factors for paid leave. According to Georgian law, an employee has the right to enjoy paid leave of absence of at least 24 annual working days. As for unpaid leave, an employee has the right to enjoy at least 15 calendar days annually.
This section of the Organic Law also mentions that in the case labor agreement varies from the terms and conditions provided by this article, employers are obligated by law to not worsen the working conditions for an employee. In case the labor agreement is terminated, an employer shall compensate the employee for unused leave of absence proportionate to the duration of labor relations.
The Procedure of Granting Leave
An employee is permitted by law to request a leave of absence after having been employed for 11 months. Effective from the second year of employment, an employee is granted a request for a leave of absence at any given time of the working year. Such leaves of absence are not counted when there is a period of temporary disability, maternity, and child care leave, and leave granted in the event of adoption of a newborn child. Such categories of leave are paid and are a part of an employee’s comp and benefits package.
Leave Pay
Article 26 of chapter V looks into leave pay. The employee’s paid leave shall be determined by the average pay of the previous three months. In the case of a fixed monthly payment, the paid leave is determined by the previous month’s pay. Read more about doing business in Georgia here.
