Remote work: terms, working time, monitoring and return to office: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Moving to remote work or back to the office: essential terms may be changed only by agreement (Labour Code, Art. 20). In your reply, ALWAYS name the exception the employer is likely to rely on. A change of workplace is not a change of essential terms if the commute is no more than 3 hours a day without disproportionate expenses (Labour Code, Art. 20). Shifting the start or end of the working day by up to 90 minutes is also not a change of essential terms; a simultaneous change of both is already an essential change (Art. 20). The employee’s argument: remote work is written into the contract, so not only the address but the working regime itself changes. Without the employee’s consent, such a transfer is contestable.
2. The Labour Code has no chapter on remote work; the contract governs. Place of work is an essential term of the contract (Labour Code, Art. 14), as are working time and rest (Art. 14). Specify the place, availability hours, time recording, equipment, expenses and the return to the office.
3. Time: working time is any time at the employer’s disposal, including being “on call” (Labour Code, Art. 24). Working time must not exceed 40 hours per week, and rest between days must be at least 12 hours (Art. 24). Time worked must be recorded daily, including electronically (Art. 24). Work beyond the standard is overtime, payable by agreement and at an increased rate (Art. 27).
4. Expenses: the law does not require their compensation; only the contract can. A safe working environment is the employer’s obligation (Labour Code, Art. 45).
5. Monitoring: video monitoring of an employee’s work is permitted only in exceptional cases (Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection, Art. 10), with prior written notice of the specific purpose (Art. 10). It is not permitted where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy (Art. 10). A complaint may be lodged with the State Audit Office of Georgia (სახელმწიფო აუდიტის სამსახური) or the court (Law on Personal Data Protection, Art. 22).
6. Protection: submit a written objection. A Labour Code claim must be filed within 1 year from when you learned of the violation (Labour Code, Art. 74).
7. Where to apply: court — civil chamber of the district (city) court; Labour Inspection Service; State Audit Office (for data protection).
8. Evidence: the remote work contract and additional agreements, correspondence about the working regime, logs and messages outside working hours, commuting time to the office, monitoring notices.
9. Traps: demanding internet compensation “by law”; considering any summons to the office unlawful; complaining to a “Personal Data Protection Service”, since supervision now lies with the State Audit Office.

Be sure to check

• there is no special chapter on remote work — the conditions (place, time, expenses) are fixed in the contract as essential terms
• essential terms change only by agreement, but a change of workplace within a 3-hour daily commute is not a change of them
• working time, the 40-hour limit, time recording and overtime pay also apply to remote work
• video monitoring of an employee — only in exceptional cases with written notice; complaint — State Audit Office