About this service
Anti-discrimination training is valuable only when it is built on the exact norms of the law — not on general ethical attitudes, but on the rules the Labour Code of Georgia establishes and whose breach triggers a real sanction. This page unpacks the tectonic blocks of the training: the concept and forms of discrimination, the scope of the prohibition from vacancy to termination, the employer's obligation in internal rules, and the liability regime — together these four blocks create the knowledge that teaches an employee to recognise a right and a manager to avoid a risk.
The concept of discrimination: grounds, direct and indirect forms
Article 4 of the code defines discrimination as the intentional or negligent distinction, exclusion or granting of preference to a person on a prohibited ground. The code's list of grounds is broad: race, colour of skin, language, ethnic or social affiliation, nationality, origin, property or social status, status under an employment contract, place of residence, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, state of health, religious, social, political or other affiliation, family status, political or other opinion, and any other ground that aims at or causes the negation or infringement of equal opportunity or treatment in employment and professional activity.
The forms are interpreted within the law itself: direct discrimination is unequal treatment of a person on a ground compared with another person in the same situation; indirect discrimination is where a neutral provision, criterion or practice places a person at a disadvantage, unless it is objectively justified by a legitimate aim and the means are necessary and proportionate. A separate rule concerns equal work: a woman and a man performing equal work are entitled to equal pay. Harassment — including sexual harassment — is a form of discrimination: unwanted conduct that violates dignity and creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading environment. Protection of complainants is also secured: dismissal of an employee because he or she applied with a statement or complaint is prohibited.
The scope of the prohibition: from vacancy to termination
Article 5 of the code extends the prohibition even to employment and pre-contractual relations — including the publication of a vacancy announcement and the selection stage. The prohibition covers selection criteria and employment conditions, access to career advancement at every level of the professional hierarchy, access to vocational guidance, training, qualification and retraining, conditions of labour, pay and termination, membership in associations, and conditions of social protection and health care. For the training, this means the risk of discrimination does not begin with the signing of a contract — it begins with the text of the vacancy.
Internal rules and the employer's obligations
Article 23 of the code names the most practical block of the training: the employer is obliged to take measures to secure observance of the principle of equal treatment, including reflecting anti-discrimination provisions in the internal labour rules and other documents and ensuring their performance. Under the same article, the employer must facilitate the realisation of the rights of persons with disabilities at the workplace, within the framework of reasonable accommodation. And a mandatory element of the internal rules is the procedure for reviewing statements and complaints — a document in which these provisions are not reflected is itself a sign of non-compliance.
The liability regime
Article 78 of the code determines the sanction: breach of the principle of prohibition of discrimination — direct or indirect, harassment and sexual harassment, reasonable accommodation, equal pay — entails a warning or a fine applied under the procedure of the first part of Article 77 of the code, in the triple amount of the corresponding fine. Repetition of the same act within 1 calendar year of the imposition of the penalty entails a doubled fine. A note also matters: the liability of the employee who committed the harassment does not release the employer, if the employer knew of the fact and did not inform the labour inspection or failed to take measures.
Frequently asked questions
On which grounds is discrimination prohibited?
Under Article 4 of the code — race, language, ethnic affiliation, origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, religious and political affiliation, family status and other grounds.
When does the scope of the prohibition begin?
Already in the pre-contractual relation — from the vacancy announcement and selection stage — and extends over employment and professional activity until termination.
What must be reflected in the internal labour rules?
Anti-discrimination provisions and the procedure for reviewing statements and complaints — under Article 23 of the code, and the employer also ensures their performance.
What sanction does a breach carry?
A warning or a fine in the triple amount of the corresponding fine; repetition within 1 calendar year — a doubled fine; an employee's liability does not release the employer.
How We Help on Legal.ge
We conduct anti-discrimination training built on the code's four blocks: concept and forms, scope of the prohibition, internal-rules requirements and sanctions. For management — a risk map from the vacancy text to the exit interview; for employees — practical exercises in recognising rights; for documents — an analysis of internal-rules provisions against the code's requirements. Contact us for training that does not stop at a declaration of ethics and teaches precisely the norms on which inspection and liability stand.