Drafting an Ethics and Equality Policy
An ethics and equality policy in Georgia is not an imported corporate document — it is an instrument built on precise norms of the Labour Code. The federal models of United States corporate codes of conduct and compliance programmes do not apply here: the content of a Georgian policy is given by the concept of discrimination, its form by the internal labour rules, its teeth by the sanctions norm, and its governance by the rules on information and consultation.
The architecture of the document rests on four questions: what to prohibit (the concepts), where to write it (internal rules), how it works (the complaint procedure), and how it is launched (the exchange of information with employees).
Content: What the Policy Must Prohibit
Article 4 of the Code is the catalogue of the policy's content. Discrimination is the intentional or negligent distinction, exclusion or preference of a person on protected grounds — including race, language, ethnic and social origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, membership of a religious, public or political association, family status and others. Direct and indirect discrimination are both defined. Harassment at the workplace and sexual harassment are forms of discrimination: unwanted conduct that violates dignity and creates an intimidating, hostile or degrading environment. Retaliation against an employee for a statement or complaint is prohibited — this last norm is written into the policy as its whistle-blower protection clause.
Each of these concepts should be described in the policy text with examples — otherwise the document remains a repetition of the Code and stays incomprehensible to employees. Indirect discrimination needs the most detailed explanation: a neutral rule that in fact places a protected group at a disadvantage is permissible only where it is objectively justified by a lawful aim and is a necessary and proportionate means.
Form: Internal Rules and the Complaint Procedure
Article 23 gives the policy its legal form. Internal labour rules are a written document that may define the rules on protecting working conditions and the procedure for considering applications and complaints — this last item is precisely the drawer where the governance mechanism of an ethics policy sits: the channel for receiving complaints, the period of consideration, and the form of the answer. The employer must acquaint employees with the internal rules, take measures to protect the principle of equal treatment, and reflect anti-discrimination provisions in the internal rules and other documents. A provision of the internal rules contradicting the law, the individual contract or a collective agreement is void.
The sanctioning endpoint is Article 78: violation of the prohibition of discrimination — a warning or a fine at three times the corresponding amount, and repetition within 1 calendar year — a doubled fine. For harassment, liability arises according to whether the fact became known to the employer: if it neither notified the Inspectorate nor took measures, the sanction will not be avoided.
Launch: Information and Consultation in Organizations of 50+
The launch governance is supplied by Article 70: in an enterprise regularly employing at least 50 employees, the employer must ensure the provision of information and the holding of consultation. Employees exercise this right through a representative: representatives are elected for a fixed term, by simple majority of votes, at a meeting attended by more than half of the enterprise's employees. Where the enterprise has 50 to 100 employees, at least 3 representatives are required; above 100 — additionally 1 per every 100 employees; and upon the written demand of at least 10 percent of employees, the employer must enable the election.
The liability regime is precise: violation of the norms on discrimination — direct and indirect — harassment and sexual harassment, reasonable accommodation and equal pay for equal work entails a warning or a fine of triple the corresponding amount; repetition of the same act within 1 calendar year of the imposition of the sanction carries graver consequences.
The information and consultation procedure in an enterprise with regularly no fewer than 50 employees is the employer's obligation; the employees' right may also be exercised through a representative — in launching an ethics and equality policy this mechanism is the policy's natural addressee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we summarize the questions most often asked when drafting an ethics and equality policy.
Where must the complaint procedure be written?
In the internal labour rules — the written document that defines the procedure for considering applications and complaints, with which the employer must acquaint the employees.
What does the law require of the content?
Anti-discrimination provisions must be reflected in the internal rules and other documents; the catalogue of their content is given by the concept of discrimination.
What fine is the threat?
A triple fine for the corresponding violation and a doubled one on repetition within a year; the knowledge trigger operates on facts of harassment.
When does consultation become mandatory?
In an enterprise with at least 50 employees — information and consultation through representatives.
How We Help on Legal.ge
On Legal.ge we write ethics and equality policies as working instruments: prohibitions built on the Code's concepts, the complaint block of the internal rules, sanction and governance mechanisms. Contact us — your policy will be lawful and enforceable.