Probationary period under Georgian Labor Code Article 17
Also known as: Georgia probation period, Georgian probationary employment, Article 17 Labor Code, Georgia probationary contract
Article 17 of the Georgian Labor Code lets the parties agree, only once and only in writing, a probationary employment contract of up to six months to test whether a person suits the work. Unless the probationary contract says otherwise, Article 48's notice and compensation rules do not apply when it ends (Article 17(4)), and the employee is paid for the time worked.
Probation is the only built-in mechanism Georgian law gives an employer for low-friction termination of a new hire who is not working out. Outside probation, every employer termination needs an Article 47(1) ground, and redundancy-style exits need the Article 48 procedure: 30 days' notice plus at least one month's pay, or 3 days' notice plus at least two months' pay. Getting probation right at the contract stage means a clean exit option in the first six months; getting it wrong — no written probationary contract, a term over six months, or a second probation — risks the exit being judged under the standard termination regime with full notice and compensation exposure.
Maximum duration: six months
Article 17(1) caps the probationary term at six months and allows it only once with the same person. A longer probationary term is not allowed, and neither is a second one. The Code counts the limit in months, not working days. A shorter term is allowed; six months is the legal ceiling. Article 17(3) also lets the employer, at any point during probation, move the employee onto a fixed-term or indefinite-term contract, so there is no need to wait out the full term once the decision is made.
Must be agreed in writing
Article 17(1) requires the probationary contract to be concluded by agreement of the parties and only in written form. The Code frames probation as a contract concluded to test a person's fit for the work, not as a clause the employer can impose later — the employer cannot put an existing employee on probation mid-relationship on its own. If there is no written probationary contract, no probation exists, and the ordinary Article 47-48 termination rules apply from day one.
Termination during probation
- The employer may end the probationary contract at any time during probation (Article 17(3))
- Required notice: none under the Code, for either side — Article 48, including its 30-day resignation notice, does not apply unless the probationary contract says otherwise (Article 17(4))
- No Article 48 compensation and no Article 48 written-reasons procedure, unless the probationary contract provides for them
- Termination still cannot be discriminatory (Article 47(5)(b))
- Pay for the time worked is owed (Article 17(2) and (4))
- If the employer ends it, unused annual leave is paid in proportion to the length of employment (Article 31(5)), with the final settlement due within 7 calendar days (Article 44)
Single use rule
Article 17(1) allows a probationary contract with the same person only once. If an employee completes probation successfully and is later moved into a different role within the same employer, a fresh probationary period for the new role is not available. The Code does not contemplate "renewable" or "extendable" probations. The most common employer mistake is structuring a six-month probation as two consecutive three-month periods with an extension option — that is two probationary contracts, which the once-only rule does not allow.
What happens when probation ends
Article 17(3) lets the employer, at any time during probation, conclude a fixed-term or indefinite-term contract with the employee, or end the probationary contract. The Code does not spell out what happens if the probationary term simply runs out with neither step taken, so do not leave it to chance: sign the regular contract before the probationary term ends. From then on, the ordinary Article 47 grounds and, where they apply, the Article 48 notice and compensation rules govern any termination.