Discover the global hiring and employment landscape in Georgia—a strategic crossroads between Europe and Asia. Known for its ease of doing business and favorable tax environment, Georgia presents a thriving market for business expansion and innovation.
Explore the employment essentials including payroll, personal income tax, statutory contributions, annual leaves, minimum wage, terminations, visa requirements, and more. Gain valuable compliance insights for a smooth entry into the dynamic Georgia market with Slasify's global premium HR platform.
| Capital | Tbilisi |
| Currency | Georgian Lari (GEL) |
| Payroll Cycle | Monthly |
| Minimum Wage | GEL 20 per month |
| Annual Leave | 24 days |
| Personal Income Tax | 20% |
Employment income in Georgia is taxed at a flat rate of 20%.
There are no local taxes on employment income in Georgia.
Contributions to the Funded Pension Scheme is mandatory for both Georgian citizens and foreign nationals permanently residing in Georgia, except for non-resident persons.
| Contribution rate | Note | |
|---|---|---|
| Funded Pension Scheme | 2% | |
| Accident Insurance | Varies | The contribution rate for accident insurance Varies across insurance provider |
| Contribution rate | |
|---|---|
| Funded Pension Scheme | 2% |
Employees shall be paid their wages at least once a month.
The minimum wage of private sector employees in Georgia is set at GEL 20 per month.
There are no statutory bonuses in Georgia.
Employment contracts cannot be terminated on grounds other than those provided in Article 47 of the Labor Code. These include, among others, the following:
| Grounds | Note |
|---|---|
| Economic circumstances, technological or organizational changes that make it necessary to reduce the workforce | |
| Voluntary resignation, provided that it is done in writing | |
| Written agreement of the parties | |
| Employee's lack of qualifications or skills with the position or the work to be performed | |
| Gross violation of the contract or collective agreement and/or labor regulations | ** |
| Violation of the contract or collective agreement and/or labor bylaws by the employee, provided that the applicable measure of disciplinary responsibility has already been applied to them in the last year | ** |
| [If the contract does not specify otherwise] Long-term incapacity for work after exhausting their sick leave entitlement | |
| Initiation of liquidation proceedings of the employing legal entity | |
| Another objective circumstance that justifies the termination of the employment contract | ^ |
| Explanation | |
|---|---|
| ** | Violation of the obligation imposed by the labor bylaws can be the basis for terminating the employment contract only if the labor bylaws are part of the labor contract. |
| ^ | The employer is obligated to substantiate the objective circumstance, which, in their opinion, justifies the termination of the employment contract in the written notification. |
Employees have the right to send their employers a request for written justification of the reason for their dismissal within 30 calendar days of receiving their dismissal notice, which gives the employer 7 calendar days to respond.
In the event of termination, the terminating party is obligated to observe notice period of 30 calendar days. However, no notice period is required for termination due to violation of the contract, collective agreement, company bylaws and/or labor regulations.
In the event of a dismissal with 30-day notice, the employee shall be entitled to a severance amounting to a month's salary. However, a shorter notice period of 3 calendar days may be observed if the severance is increased to at least 2 months' wage.
In the event that the employee is dismissed with notice, they shall be entitled to the following severance pay:
| Notice period | Severance pay |
|---|---|
| 30 calendar days | 1 month's salary |
| 3 calendar days | 2 months' salary |
No severance is required if the employee is rightfully dismissed without notice or when they voluntarily resign.
To determine whether a person is fit to perform the work required, an written agreement with the employee may be signed once for a trial period of not more than 6 months.
The employer shall be free at any time during the trial period to sign a labor agreement with the candidate or terminate the labor agreement signed for the trial period. The general termination requirements under Article 48 of the Labor Code shall not apply to the termination of the labor agreement signed for a trial period unless otherwise determined by said agreement.
Standard working hours in Georgia are subject to a maximum of 40 hours per week.
Employees who work for 6 or more hours per day shall be entitled to a break period of at least an hour. Generally, break periods are not included in the calculation of an employee's working time.
Moreover, nursing employees who need to feed their child under a year old shall be granted an additional hour of break time for said purpose. These breaks shall be considered working time and are therefore compensated.
While overtime work is generally done with the agreement of the parties, the employee may be obligated to work overtime, with or without compensation, in the following cases:
| Without compensation | With compensation |
|---|---|
| To prevent a natural disaster and/or eliminate the consequences | To prevent an industrial accident and/or eliminate the consequences |
Overtime work shall be paid in an increased amount of the hourly rate of pay, with the conditions for the overtime work being determined by agreement of the parties. This is usually set at 150%–200% of the employee's regular hourly rate.
The parties may agree to give an employee proportional additional time off in lieu of overtime pay, provided that the time off is granted within 4 weeks after their overtime work.
Employees shall be entitled to at least 12 consecutive hours of rest between working days and at least 24 consecutive hours of rest per week.
With the agreement of the parties, it shall be possible for the employee to take 48 consecutive hours of rest in a 14-day period.
The work an employee is required to do on public holidays must be considered overtime work. There are 17 days of public holidays in Georgia for 2024.
| Holiday | Date |
|---|---|
| New Year Holidays | January 1–2 |
| Orthodox Christmas | January 7 |
| Orthodox Epiphany | January 19 |
| Mother's Day | March 3 |
| International Women's Day | March 8 |
| Independence Restoration Day | April 9 |
| Orthodox Easter Holidays | May 3–6 |
| Victory Day | May 9 |
| St. Andrew's Day | May 12 |
| Independence Day | May 26 |
| Saint Mary's Day | August 28 |
| Svetitskhovloba | October 14 |
| St. George's Day | November 23 |
Employees shall be entitled to 24 working days of paid annual leave and 15 calendar days of unpaid annual leave. Furthermore, employees shall also be entitled to additional paid annual leave in the following circumstances:
| Circumstances | Additional paid annual leave |
|---|---|
| For work in hard, harmful or dangerous work | 10 calendar days |
| When participating in martial law and/or state of emergency, emergency measures once after their completion | Up to 15 calendar days |
| After the expiration of the rotation period in the peace operation and return to Georgia | 30 calendar days |
The employee has the right to request leave after 11 months of service or earlier if the parties agree. In the second year, the employer and employee may agree to grant the employee leave at any time during the working year.
When taking an unpaid leave, the employee is obligated to notify the employer 2 weeks in advance, except in the case when this is not possible due to urgent medical needs or family conditions. Moreover, unless otherwise specified in the employment contract, the employer has the right to determine the order of giving paid vacations to employees during the year.
If giving an employee paid annual leave may result in negative impact on the normal operation of the business, their leave entitlement can be carried over to the next year with the employee's consent. However, do note that is prohibited to carry over paid leave to the following year for 2 consecutive years.
Employment relationship shall be suspended in the event of a temporary incapacity for work, provided that its duration does not exceed 40 consecutive calendar days or a total of 60 calendar days within a 6-month period.
Employees shall be entitled to 126 calendar days of paid maternity leave in connection to their pregnancy and childbirth, which may be extended to 143 calendar days in case of childbirth complications or the birth of twins. The employee has the right to allocate their maternity leave to the periods before and after childbirth at their discretion.
This leave is the exclusive right of the child's mother, though the child's father has the right to use the days of said leave that the child's mother did not use.
Maternity leave is compensated from the state budget of Georgia, according to the rules established by the legislation of Georgia.
Employees shall be entitled to 604 calendar days of childcare leave, or 587 calendar days in case of childbirth complications or the birth of twins, of which 57 calendar days are paid.
This leave can be used in whole or in part by either of the child's mother or father, with the employee being obligated to notify the employer 2 weeks in advance about taking the said leave.
Furthermore, employees may, based on their request, be granted an additional 12 weeks of unpaid leave for childcare, until the child turns 5 years old. This leave can be taken in whole or in part of no less than 2 weeks per year.
Childcare leave is compensated from the state budget of Georgia, according to the rules established by the legislation of Georgia.
| Leave | Paid/Unpaid | Duration | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adoption Leave | Both | Up to 550 calendar days |
For employees who have adopted a child under 1 year old. They are entitled to this leave for 550 calendar days after the birth of the child, of which 90 calendar days are paid. Adoption leave is compensated from the state budget of Georgia, according to the rules established by the legislation of Georgia. |
| Blood Donation Leave | Paid | - | For employees who donate blood or its component, provided that the employee submits the relevant documents. |
| Disability Care Leave | Paid | 1 day per month |
For employees who are legal representatives or supporters of a disabled person. Employees entitled to this leave can also agree with the employer on working hours different from those stipulated by the labor regulations. |
| Pregnancy Checkup Leave | Paid | - | For pregnant employees who require medical checkups, provided that the checkup must be conducted during working hours and that the relevant documents are produced. |
In addition to the above leave, the following shall constitute grounds for the temporary suspension of an employment relationship:
| Grounds | Duration |
|---|---|
| Strike | - |
| Lockout | - |
| Exercise of active electoral right and/or passive electoral right | - |
| Reporting to the investigative, prosecutor's office or judicial body in the cases provided for by the procedural legislation of Georgia | - |
| Enlistment of conscripts into national military service or non-military, alternative labor service | - |
| Enlistment in the reserve military service** | - |
| Placing a victim of violence against women and/or domestic violence in a shelter and/or a crisis center if they can no longer perform their duty | Up to 30 calendar days per year |
| Qualification raising, professional training or study | Up to 30 calendar days per year |
| Leave without pay | - |
| Paid leave** | - |
** Except for these cases, the employee will not be paid for labor during their period of suspension unless otherwise required by their contracts or by Law.
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