Complaint to the Labour Inspection Service: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Is the Inspection the right body: an inspection starts on a complaint from an interested person, on the Service’s own initiative, or on a report of an occupational safety violation (Law on the Labour Inspection Service, Art. 13). Interested persons are the employee whose right has been violated, another employee of the same employer, a trade union, and the Office of the Public Defender (Law on the Labour Inspection Service, Art. 3). The subject matter is violations of the Labour Code, occupational safety and labour migration. The Inspection does not impose fines for violations of dismissal rules (Labour Code, Arts. 47–50); a dismissal is challenged only in court (Labour Code, Art. 77).
2. What it can do: an inspector may, without prior notice and at any time, enter the workplace, request documents and interview people (Law on the Labour Inspection Service, Art. 16). Sanctions are a warning, a fine, suspension of work, and an order to remedy the violation within a reasonable time. The Inspection does not collect money for the employee (Law on the Labour Inspection Service, Art. 20). If the violation is not remedied within the order’s deadline, a fine and an additional deadline follow (Art. 20). For violations of the Labour Code the penalty is a warning or a fine of GEL 200 or more, depending on the employer’s turnover (Labour Code, Art. 77). Time limits: a decision on liability must be made no later than 2 months from receipt of the complaint (extendable by 1 month); where life or health is at risk, the Inspection acts immediately (Law on the Labour Inspection Service, Art. 14).
3. What it cannot do: recover wages. If you want money, prepare a lawsuit in parallel. A Labour Code claim must be filed within 1 year from when you learned of the violation. Do not assume that a complaint to the Inspection extends this period (Labour Code, Art. 74).
4. Anonymity: the identity of the complainant is confidential, and during an inspection the Inspection does not indicate that it was initiated on a complaint (this is confidentiality, not an anonymous complaint) (Law on the Labour Inspection Service, Art. 19). The law protects the author’s name but does not provide for anonymous complaints, so it is more reliable to file in your own name.
5. Dangerous conditions: where there is a clear threat to life or health, the employee has the right to refuse work and leave the dangerous place (Law on Occupational Safety, Art. 10). Dismissing an employee or worsening their position for raising occupational safety issues is prohibited (Law on Occupational Safety, Art. 10).
6. Where to apply: Labour Inspection Service (შრომის ინსპექციის სამსახური) for a complaint; court for money and dismissal.
7. Evidence: the substance of the violation, dates, pay slips, shift schedules, photos or videos of dangerous conditions, names of witnesses.
8. Traps: expecting the Inspection to recover wages and missing the lawsuit deadline; filing a complaint with the Inspection about an unlawful dismissal instead of going to court.

Be sure to check

• who may complain and what the Inspection checks (not dismissals)
• powers: inspection without prior notice; warning, fine or suspension of work; an order to remedy
• the Inspection does not collect money for the employee — a lawsuit is needed within the deadline
• confidentiality of the complainant; review deadline