Employer wants to dismiss an employee lawfully: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Choose the ground: dismissal on a ground outside the closed list is prohibited (Labour Code of Georgia, Art. 47). Poor work — sub-paragraph “в”: the employee’s qualifications or professional skills do not match the position or the work (Art. 47); this requires criteria, evaluations and warnings. Disciplinary grounds “з” or “т” require proof of the misconduct. Ground “о” (“other objective circumstance”) must be justified already in the notice (Art. 47). Check the prohibitions: a pregnant employee (after she has notified the employer) cannot be dismissed on redundancy ground “а” or non-conformity ground “в”; only grounds “б”, “г”, “д”, “е”, “з”, “т”, “к”, “м” are permissible (Art. 47). During a probation period the requirements of Art. 48 do not apply unless the contract provides otherwise (Labour Code, Art. 17). Mass dismissal — written notice to the Minister and the employees at least 45 calendar days in advance (Labour Code, Art. 49).
2. Alternative to a dispute: the safest route is a written agreement of the parties (sub-paragraph “е”) (Labour Code, Art. 47), including severance pay and a waiver of claims.
3. Notice and money: for grounds “а”, “в”, “и”, “о” — written notice at least 30 calendar days in advance and compensation of at least one month’s salary (Labour Code, Art. 48); or notice at least 3 calendar days in advance and compensation of at least two months’ salary (Art. 48). In writing, stating the ground, delivered in a provable way.
4. Prepare for the request: on the employee’s request (within 30 calendar days of the notice), the employer must justify the ground in writing within 7 calendar days (Art. 48); if it does not reply in time, the burden of proving the factual circumstances of the dispute passes to the employer (Art. 48). The reply must contain concrete facts and documents, not a formula.
5. Calculation: final pay — no later than 7 calendar days after termination (Labour Code, Art. 44); on termination on the employer’s initiative — compensation for unused leave (Art. 31); delayed payment — 0.07% of the delayed amount for each day (Art. 41).
6. Risk of error: if the dismissal is invalid, the consequences are reinstatement or compensation plus forced-absence pay; compensation already paid on dismissal is credited (Art. 48).
7. Where to apply: disputes over the lawfulness of a dismissal — court; mass dismissal — notice to the Minister.
8. Evidence: employment contract, job description, internal rules with a signed acknowledgment; evaluations, KPIs, memos, earlier warnings; the notice with proof of delivery, payment records.
9. Traps: “dismissing under the article” without documents on the misconduct or non-conformity; wording such as “due to loss of trust” when the ground is outside the list; delayed final pay and non-payment of leave.

Be sure to check

• ground only from the closed list; for “poor work” — non-conformity of qualifications or a proven misconduct
• 30-day notice plus 1 month’s compensation, or 3 days’ notice plus 2 months’ compensation
• request for justification — the employer replies within 7 days, otherwise the burden of proof is on the employer
• final pay within 7 days and unused leave; an agreement of the parties as the safe route