Employment contract requirements under Georgian Labor Code Article 6
Also known as: Georgia employment contract requirements, Article 6 Labor Code Georgia, Georgian employment agreement, შრომითი ხელშეკრულება საქართველო
Article 6 of the Georgian Labor Code requires every employment relationship to be documented in a written contract specifying the parties, the work to be performed, the workplace, the start date, the working hours, the wage, and (if fixed-term) the duration. A contract not specifying a duration defaults to indefinite-term. Verbal agreements are not enforceable as employment contracts; the absence of a written contract creates default-rule exposure for the employer in any subsequent dispute.
Article 6 is the entry point for every other Code provision: probation (Article 9), wage rules (Article 32), termination (Article 47) and severance (Article 48) all assume a written contract exists and reference its terms. The 2020 amendments tightened the written-form requirement and clarified what counts as a "mandatory term" — making it materially harder for employers to argue that an undocumented arrangement was actually an employment relationship under different terms. Whether you hire one employee or one hundred, getting Article 6 right is the single highest-leverage labor compliance step.
Mandatory written form
Article 6 requires the contract to be in writing. Verbal agreements are not enforceable as employment contracts under the Code — though work performed without a written contract is still treated as an employment relationship for protective purposes (the employer cannot use absence of paperwork to deny statutory protections to the worker). One signed copy stays with each party. Electronic signatures are recognized when they comply with the Law on Electronic Documents and Electronic Trust Services.
Mandatory terms in every contract
- Names and identification details of both parties (employer entity and employee)
- Work to be performed — job title and a description of duties sufficient to identify the role
- Workplace — the physical location, or a remote-work designation per Article 33
- Start date of the employment relationship
- Term — fixed-term with end date, OR indefinite-term (default if not specified)
- Working hours and the daily/weekly schedule
- Wage — gross monetary amount and payment frequency (Article 32 sets monthly minimum)
- Annual leave entitlement (defaults to the Article 24 minimum of 24 working days if silent)
- Termination notice period (defaults to the Article 47 statutory minimum if silent)
Indefinite vs fixed-term default
A contract that does not explicitly specify a term is treated as indefinite — meaning Article 47 termination procedure (30-day notice + grounds + Article 48 severance for redundancy) applies on exit. Fixed-term contracts must state the end date and a substantive reason for the fixed term (e.g., temporary project, seasonal work, fixed budget). Successive fixed-term contracts that exceed 30 months total or are used to evade indefinite-term protections are converted to indefinite-term by operation of law. Most foreign employers default to indefinite-term contracts in Georgia precisely because the fixed-term renewal rules are restrictive.
Language of the contract
The Code does not require contracts to be in Georgian. English-only contracts are valid and enforceable, particularly common when the employer is a foreign company hiring through a Georgian entity. Where the employee's comprehension of the contract language is in question, best practice is a bilingual contract (parallel Georgian and English columns) — this eliminates any later argument that the employee did not understand a material term.
Modifying an existing contract
Material changes to a written contract — wage reduction, schedule restructure, change of workplace, change of duties — generally require the employee's written consent. The employer cannot unilaterally modify contract terms. If the employee refuses a substantive change, the employer's lawful path is termination under Article 47 (with notice and severance), not unilateral imposition of the new terms. This is one of the most contested areas in practice; document any consensual modification in a written addendum signed by both parties.
Frequently asked questions
- Must Georgian employment contracts be in writing?
- Yes. Article 6 requires written form. Verbal agreements are not enforceable as employment contracts, though work performed without a written contract is still treated as an employment relationship for the worker's protection.
- What must a Georgian employment contract include?
- Names of both parties, work to be performed, workplace, start date, term (fixed or indefinite), working hours, wage and payment frequency. Annual leave and notice period default to the statutory minimums if not specified.
- Can the contract be in English?
- Yes. The Code does not require Georgian-language contracts. English or bilingual contracts are valid. Bilingual is best practice when the employee's English fluency is uncertain — it eliminates later disputes over comprehension of material terms.
- What happens if no end date is specified?
- The contract is treated as indefinite-term. This means Article 47 termination procedure (30-day notice plus grounds) and Article 48 severance apply on exit, rather than the simpler end-of-term expiry available for fixed-term contracts.
- Can an employer unilaterally change contract terms?
- No. Material changes (wage, hours, workplace, duties) require the employee's written consent. If the employee refuses, the lawful path is termination under Article 47 with notice and severance, not unilateral imposition of the new terms.
- Are independent contractor agreements a way to avoid Article 6?
- Not legitimately. Classification is substance-over-form. Regular hours, exclusivity, defined workplace, and integration into the organization will reclassify a "contractor" as an employee, triggering retroactive labor and tax exposure.