All countries have laws designed to safeguard employees and promote fairness in the workplace, and employee protections in Georgia are no exception. From rules on data privacy and anti-discrimination to equal pay and whistleblower safeguards, these protections help ensure employees are treated fairly while supporting employers in building compliant and respectful workplaces.
In this section, we’ll explore the key employee protections in Georgia, including whistleblowing laws, data privacy regulations, equal treatment for temporary agency workers, anti-discrimination legislation, and pay equity requirements. By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of the employee protections in Georgia and what’s required to stay compliant while supporting a positive working environment.
Whistleblowers play an important role in society by calling out wrongdoing that they witness in the workplace. For this reason, many countries have specific laws in place to provide mechanisms for reporting illegal activity as well as protecting whistleblowers from retaliation.
The principal piece of whistleblowing legislation in Georgia is the Law on Conflict of Interest and Corruption in Public Service. This law establishes protected channels for reporting corruption in public bodies, mandates internal reporting mechanisms, and forbids retaliation. Currently, whistleblower protection in Georgia is limited to the public sector.
What counts as whistleblowing in Georgia?
For a disclosure to be protected under whistleblowing legislation in Georgia, it must concern wrongdoing such as bribery, abuse of power, or fraud committed by a public servant. Reports must be made to authorised internal channels or to the Anti‑Corruption Agency. Whistleblowers in Georgia can be employees, contractors, or external stakeholders of public institutions or any other individual.
Georgian law forbids public-sector employers from retaliating against whistleblowers for their disclosure. Retaliation includes dismissal, demotion, disciplinary action, harassment or other adverse measures. Employers who retaliate against a whistleblower can face administrative or criminal sanctions under the Criminal Code and the Law on Public Service.
During the course of the employment relationship, employers are required to collect and process at least a certain amount of personal data on their employees. In Georgia, as in many other countries, they have a responsibility to ensure that data is kept safe and secure. Read on for what you need to know about data protection in Georgia as an employer.
Data protection laws in Georgia
Data protection in Georgia is mostly governed by two laws:
Together, these two laws mirror the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) while also incorporating local specifics. The body responsible for overseeing data protection in Georgia is the Personal Data Protection Service.
Employers in Georgia must put certain measures in place to protect employee data. For example, they must:
Georgia’s data protection laws also set limits on the monitoring and surveillance measures that employers can put in place. For example, employers may use CCTV or other monitoring in public or communal work areas for security or operational purposes, provided employees are informed in advance and signage is displayed.
However, covert surveillance, audio recording, or monitoring in areas where privacy is expected (e.g. restrooms, changing rooms) is forbidden. Monitoring must also be proportionate to the needs of the business. Employers may only collect data for the stated purpose, and data can only be held as long as it is needed.
When an employer temporarily requires additional staffing, they can lease workers through a temporary work agency. This is a simple solution that gives employers access to the manpower they need without having to go through the long process of recruiting and selecting employees. Temporary agency workers in Georgia are subject to certain specific rights and protections, which employers need to know about.
Employees in Georgia may be hired by employment agencies and then seconded out to client companies. Unlike in some countries, there are no specific limits on the use of agency workers under Georgian labour laws.
Agency workers in Georgia must receive the same remuneration and core benefits as permanent employees at the user company performing comparable work. This includes things like paid leave, rest breaks, and overtime rates. They must also be granted equal rights to training, health and safety measures, social contributions, and access to workplace facilities. There is no specific chapter of the Labour Code concerning temporary agency workers. However, the rules and standards contained within it apply in full to agency workers just as they do to other employees.
Employees in Georgia have the right to be free from discrimination and harassment in the workplace. This is protected under several important pieces of legislation, including the Labour Code of Georgia. Read on to learn what you need to know about anti-discrimination laws in Georgia as an employer.
Anti-discrimination laws in Georgia
The main anti-discrimination laws in Georgia are:
Together, these laws prohibit discrimination across employment and other areas of life in Georgia and establish remedies for victims.
Under Georgia’s labour code, discrimination is explicitly prohibited on any of the following grounds:
The Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, which was enacted in 2014, extends protections to all grounds covered by the Constitution and relevant international treaties, which include gender identity and health status.
Anti-discrimination laws in Georgia specifically prohibit harassment, which it defines as unwanted conduct that creates an intimidating, hostile, humiliating, degrading, or abusive environment. At the moment, the Labour Code does not contain a dedicated chapter on sexual harassment. However, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has recommended explicit inclusion to strengthen enforcement.
Victims of discrimination or harassment in Georgia may file a complaint with the Public Defender of Georgia (Ombudsman) or initiate civil proceedings in the common courts. If the complaint is upheld, the courts may order the harassment or discrimination to stop, restore rights to the wronged employee, and award them compensation for moral and material damages.
Discrimination is also punishable under Georgian criminal law if it has caused serious consequences for the employee in question. In these circumstances, employees can submit a complaint to the State Police. If they feel that the violation of their rights has not been remedied by Georgian courts or institutions, they may also complain to international and European institutions such as the European Court of Human Rights or the UN Human Rights Committee.
Employees in Georgia have the right to be paid equally for their work, regardless of their gender or other discriminatory factors. This is guaranteed by certain key pieces of legislation, including the Labour Code. Read on for more information about pay equity laws in Georgia.
Georgia’s Labour Code explicitly requires equal remuneration for female and male employees performing equal work, embedding the principle of pay equity in national law. The Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination reinforces this, prohibiting gender‑based pay discrimination across both public and private sectors. Georgia has also ratified the ILO Equal Remuneration Convention (C100), reflecting its obligation to implement ‘equal pay for work of equal value’.
Georgian employers who fail to adhere to the principle of equal pay can be subject to fines and penalties. Affected employees may also claim back pay and additional damages through the courts under the country’s anti-discrimination laws. Failure to guarantee equal pay to men and women can cause serious harm to a company’s reputation and employer brand.
Understanding what you can and can’t do as an employer is one of the biggest challenges of hiring in Georgia. Get it wrong, and you could face legal action and damage to your reputation.
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