Employment Laws in Georgia

Contractual Agreements

You must conclude a written agreement within one month of employment. While doing so, you may include the following elements prescribed under the contract employment laws in Georgia: 

• Information about both the employer and the employee
• Specify when the employment starts and how long it lasts
• The employee's working hours and allocated rest periods
• Details about primary and additional work locations, if applicable
• The employee's position (including title, grade, or category), including the specific tasks and duties involved
• The employee's salary, potential raises, overtime work, and the payment process
• The types of paid and unpaid leave available and the process for requesting them
• The procedures for both employer-initiated and employee-initiated termination of the agreement

Additionally, you may draft Data Processing Agreements to stay protected from privacy laws concerning employee personal data. 

Types of employment contracts in Georgia

• Open-ended contracts: These have no predefined end date and continue until terminated by either party with proper notice. 

• Fixed-term contracts: These automatically terminate upon reaching the end date unless renewed with mutual agreement.

• Part-time contracts: These can be either open-ended or fixed-term but specify reduced working hours than the standard for a full-time employee. 

• Trial contracts: You can assess suitability before transitioning to a permanent contract for up to six months. 

Obligations and rights for both parties

You must negotiate employment agreements in good faith and respect employee rights in Georgia. These include a safe and healthy workplace, social benefits, leave entitlements, and termination safeguards.

Working Hours and Overtime

The employment laws in Georgia regulate working hours, breaks, and rest periods as follows: 

Regular working hours

• You may follow a standard working time in Georgia at 40 hours a week or eight hours a day.
• You may extend weekly working limits to 48 hours in industries with specific operating conditions.
• Moreover, you must maintain records of hours worked for up to one year.
• The labor law in Georgia recommends uninterrupted rest periods of at least 12 hours between working days and a minimum of 24 hours once every week. 

Overtime regulations and compensation

• You may negotiate overtime work in the employment agreements for longer than the standard working time. 
• You may compensate for overtime work at an increased hourly rate of remuneration or a proportional rest period within four weeks. 
• In the absence of a statutory minimum rate of overtime compensation, you may manage international compensation and benefits with the help of an Employer-of-Record (EOR) solution. 

Minimum Wage and Compensation

Here’s what you may consider while paying your full-time and remote employees in Georgia: 

The minimum wage rate in 2024

• The labor law in Georgia follows an obsolete minimum wage policy of Georgian Lari (GEL) 20 (about €7.40) per month, which has not been adjusted for inflation since 1999. 

Factors affecting wage determination

• The outdated minimum wage policy requires more reliance on market forces and individual characteristics to determine suitable wages. 
• For reference, you may follow the Georgia Fair Labor Platform to consider a monthly living wage of GEL 1,770 (around €655). You may also refer to our guide on the most effective ways to pay your remote employees. 

Further, the employment laws in Georgia require you to pay remuneration at least once a month. Moreover, you must pay 0.07% of the delayed sum for each day of any delayed payment.

Employee Benefits and Social Security

Georgia does not have a unified national system for employee benefits and social security. However, depending on company policies and individual agreements, you may extend various benefits.

Statutory benefits

• You must consider mandatory leave entitlements for annual vacation and special occasions like maternity leave, parental and adoption leave (more on this later). 
• You must enroll all employees under a pension scheme. 

Additional perks and benefits

• You may grant additional breaks during working hours for pregnant and nursing employees.
• The laws encourage you to negotiate more time off for other reasons in the employment agreement. 

Social Security contributions and requirements

• The mandatory pension system operates on a contributory basis, with 2% of salary each from employers and employees and 1-2% of salary from the government. 
• There may be other social security deductions based on individual employment contracts. However, you cannot have more than 50% of the employee salary in total lump-sum deductions.

Vacations and Paid Time Off

The labor laws of Georgia insist on extending the following paid time off and unpaid leave entitlements: 

Annual leave entitlement

• You must offer at least 24 days of paid leave each year.
• You must also extend at least 15 unpaid days of leave annually.
• Employees performing difficult, dangerous, or harmful work must be given an additional 10 paid days of leave per year.

Public holidays and special leaves

• In addition to annual leave entitlements, you must consider the following public holidays as rest days:

• The employment laws in Georgia call for special leaves, including: 
  • Maternity leave: You must grant paid maternity leave of 126 calendar days, extendable up to 143 calendar days in the case of twin birth or complications. 
  • Parental leave: You may extend up to 607 calendar days of leave for childcare, including 57 days of paid leave. 
    Additionally, you may offer two weeks of unpaid parental leave every year until the child turns five.  
  • Newborn adoption leave: You may offer 550 calendar days of leave for bonding with adopted children of less than 12 months, including 90 days of paid leave.

Termination and Severance

The employment laws in Georgia lay out the following termination requirements:  

Grounds for termination

• You may initiate termination for repeated poor performance or if an employee's skills or qualifications no longer match the job requirements.
• You may end the contract during economic difficulties, technological advancements, or organizational restructuring.
• You can terminate the contract after an employee's prolonged absence exceeds 40 consecutive days or 60 total days within six months.
• You may call for termination when an employee severely violates the individual or collective agreement or internal company rules.

There can be other objective reasons for terminating an employee legally. Adopting a suitable EOR solution in Georgia can simplify the process.  

Notice period and severance pay

• You must offer a written notice period of 30 days along with one month's severance pay for termination due to workforce reduction, skill mismatch, long-term illness, or other objective reasons. 
• However, you can offer a higher severance pay (two months) in exchange for a shorter notice of three days.
• You may ask employees resigning voluntarily to serve a prior 30 days' notice.

Further, Georgia labor law requires you to complete all final settlements within seven days of termination.

Discrimination and Equal Opportunity

Georgia labor law transfers the burden of proof on you in case of any discrimination dispute. Therefore, you need an EOR platform in Georgia to act effectively on anti-discrimination and equal opportunities provisions. 

Prohibitions against workplace discrimination

• The employment laws in Georgia prohibit any form of workplace discrimination based on 
  • Race, skin color, language, ethnicity, or social status
  • Nationality, origin, wealth, or position
  • Place of residence, age, or gender
  • Sexual orientation, marital status, or disability
  • Religious, political, or other beliefs or affiliations, including unions

• You must ensure equal pay entitlements for equal work. 
• You must avoid retaliation, especially against employees who file discrimination complaints or cooperate with discrimination investigations.

Health and Safety Regulations

The labor laws of Georgia require you to fulfill the employees’ right to a safe and healthy working environment in the following ways: 

• You must implement preventive measures to provide a safe and healthy work environment.
• You must take prompt action to manage accidents at the workplace. 
• You must compensate employees for work-related injuries and any required treatment costs.
• Further, you cannot assign work that could endanger the well-being of pregnant or nursing employees, minors, or specially challenged.

Stay Compliant with Skuad

An EOR platform like Skuad can streamline hiring and managing global employees. Skuad removes the burden of local entity setup and offers payroll & benefits management and legal compliance, allowing you to focus on attracting and retaining top talent worldwide. 

We stay up-to-date on evolving regulations under the employment laws in Georgia so that you adhere to local laws and avoid costly penalties.

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FAQs

Q1. What are labor laws in Georgia?

A1. The labor law in Georgia protects employee rights, such as limiting working hours to 40 hours a week, providing safeguards against terminations, anti-discrimination measures, mandatory leave entitlements, safety obligations at the workplace, etc., while outlining employer obligations. 

Q2. What are the fair employment practices in Georgia?

A2. Fair employment practices in Georgia prohibit discrimination and provide equal opportunities for all qualified candidates in areas like hiring, promotions, compensation, and termination. Additionally, harassment based on these factors is also strictly prohibited.

Q3. What are the termination laws in Georgia?

A3. The termination laws in Georgia provide 30 days' written notice unless otherwise stated in the contract. Employers may offer higher severance pay to reduce notice requirements.  

Q4. Can you get fired without notice in Georgia?

A4. Yes, employers can fire employees without notice in Georgia. Employers can also unilaterally and without notice terminate the contract in case of serious employee misconduct, fixed-term contracts, or during the trial period.