Georgian Labor Code Articles 37-40Leave & time

Maternity and parental leave under Georgian Labor Code (Articles 37-40)

Also known as: Georgia maternity leave, Georgia parental leave, maternity pay Georgia

Article 37 of the Georgian Labor Code grants 126 calendar days of paid pregnancy and childbirth leave (143 for a complicated birth or twins) plus 604 calendar days of childcare leave (587 in those cases), of which 57 days are paid — 183 (or 200) paid days in a row and up to 730 calendar days per child, with the employment relationship suspended, not ended, throughout. The leave is paid from the state budget in an amount set by Government resolution (Article 39); employer and employee may agree on extra pay on top.

Maternity and parental leave is one of the most sensitive areas of Georgian labor law, particularly when employees return to work and find their role has been restructured or filled. The 2020 amendments rewrote these rules: pregnancy and childbirth leave, childcare leave that either parent can use, adoption leave and an extra unpaid childcare leave now sit in Articles 37-40, and the ban on dismissal runs from the moment the employer is told of the pregnancy. For employers, the cost question often dominates — but the harder question is workforce planning: a 183-day paid absence followed by potentially another 547 days of protected unpaid leave requires deliberate succession planning, not ad-hoc coverage.

Paid pregnancy and childbirth leave: 126 days (Article 37)

Article 37(1) gives the employee, on request, 126 calendar days of paid pregnancy and childbirth leave, or 143 calendar days for a complicated birth or twins. The Code does not fix a split before and after the birth: under Article 37(2) the employee distributes the leave between the pre-birth and post-birth periods as she sees fit. This leave is the mother's exclusive right, although the father may use any of its days the mother has not used (Article 37(4)). It is paid from the state budget, the amount of the benefit is set by Government resolution, and employer and employee may agree on additional pay for the leave (Article 39). Any such top-up is voluntary unless it is written into the contract.

Childcare leave: up to 730 days in total (Article 37)

Article 37(3) adds childcare leave of 604 calendar days (587 after a complicated birth or twins), of which 57 calendar days are paid. Together with the pregnancy and childbirth leave, that makes 730 calendar days per child in both cases, and the 183 (or 200) paid days are used in one continuous run (Article 37(5)). Either the mother or the father can use the childcare leave, in whole or in part (Article 37(4)), and the employee must warn the employer 2 weeks before taking it (Article 37(5)). The leave suspends the employment relationship rather than ending it (Article 46(2)(g)); no wage is owed for the unpaid days unless legislation or the contract provides otherwise (Article 46(4)).

Job protection during and after leave

From the day the employee notifies the employer of her pregnancy and through this leave, dismissal is banned except on the grounds Article 47(5)(c) allows — such as expiry of the contract, resignation, mutual agreement, or a gross or repeated breach of duties
Redundancy (Article 47(1)(a)) and the start of the employer's liquidation are not among those exceptions, so restructuring does not open a way to dismiss her during that period
After the leave, the employee returns to the same job on the same terms and gets any improvement in conditions they would have received without the leave (Article 20(8))
Discrimination, including on the grounds of sex and family status, is banned both in employment and at the hiring stage (Articles 4-5), and dismissal on a discriminatory ground is prohibited (Article 47(5)(b))
On request after the leave, the employer must provide the training the employee needs to do the job, unless it causes disproportionate cost (Article 22(2))

Father's and partner's entitlements

The Code has no separate paternity leave; instead, parental leave is shared. The father can use all or part of the 604-day childcare leave, including its 57 paid days, and any pregnancy and childbirth leave days the mother has not used (Article 37(4)) — all within the 730-day total. An employee who adopts a child under one year old gets adoption leave of 550 calendar days from the child's birth, 90 of them paid (Article 38). An employee who actually cares for the child can also take an extra 12 weeks of unpaid childcare leave before the child turns 5, in whole or in parts of at least 2 weeks a year (Article 40).

Breastfeeding break (Article 24)

An employee who is breastfeeding a child under one year old gets, on request, an additional break of at least one hour per working day to feed the child. The break counts as working time and is paid (Article 24(6)). This entitlement runs until the child's first birthday.

Frequently asked questions

How long is paid maternity leave in Georgia?

183 calendar days in total: 126 days of pregnancy and childbirth leave plus the 57 paid days of childcare leave that follow straight on (Article 37). After a complicated birth or twins it is 200 days (143 plus 57). The benefit is paid from the state budget in an amount set by Government resolution, not by the Labor Code.

Who pays for maternity leave — the employer or the state?

The state. Under Article 39 the leave is paid from the state budget, and the amount is set by Government resolution. Employers are not required to pay maternity wages directly, though employer and employee may agree on additional pay, and many employers top up the difference as a contractual benefit.

Can fathers take parental leave in Georgia?

Yes. Either parent can use the 604-day childcare leave in whole or in part, including its 57 paid days, and the father may also use any pregnancy and childbirth leave days the mother has not used (Article 37(4)). There is no separate paternity leave on top of that.

Can an employer terminate an employee on maternity leave?

Only on limited grounds. From the day the employee notifies the employer of her pregnancy and through the leave, Article 47(5)(c) bans dismissal except on grounds such as expiry of the contract, resignation, mutual agreement, or a gross or repeated breach of duties. Redundancy and liquidation are not among the exceptions. Returning employees go back to the same job on the same terms (Article 20(8)).

How long is the combined paid + unpaid parental leave entitlement?

Up to 730 calendar days per child: 126 (or 143) days of pregnancy and childbirth leave plus 604 (or 587) days of childcare leave. Of these, 183 (or 200) days are paid and the remaining 547 (or 530) are unpaid (Article 37). An employee who cares for the child can also take an extra 12 weeks of unpaid leave before the child turns 5 (Article 40).

Are there breastfeeding breaks for returning mothers?

Yes. Article 24(6) gives an employee who is breastfeeding a child under one year old, on request, an additional break of at least one hour per working day. The break counts as working time and is paid. This entitlement runs until the child's first birthday.