A legal audit of an employment contract under Georgian law consists of four precise tests: the legality of form and term (Article 12), the language rule (Article 13), the completeness of essential terms (Article 14) and the legality of restrictions (Article 60). Above all of them stands the floor of Article 1, paragraph 3: a contract may not establish norms that worsen the employee's position compared with the law. This is not a United States-style contract compliance review — in the Georgian system every audit finding must rest on a specific, numbered article of the Labour Code, and that is exactly what gives the audit its enforceable value.
Test One — Form and Term
Article 12 permits an employment contract orally or in writing, for a fixed or an indefinite term, but where the relationship exceeds 1 month, written form is mandatory (paragraphs 1–2). A fixed-term contract may be concluded only on enumerated grounds — among them a specific volume of work, seasonal work, a temporarily increased workload, the replacement of a temporarily absent employee, remuneration subsidy under the Law on the Promotion of Employment, and another objective circumstance (paragraph 3). For the auditor, the conversion norms are decisive: if the term exceeds 30 months, or if successive contracts together exceed 30 months (the second contract being concluded within 60 days of the expiry of the first), the contract is deemed indefinite (paragraph 4); a fixed-term contract concluded without any statutory ground is likewise deemed indefinite (paragraph 5). The start-up exception — where the employer's state registration took place within the preceding 48 months — is itself constrained: the fixed term may not be less than 3 months, the exception does not apply to an entity created through reorganization, and once the period expires the relationship becomes indefinite (paragraphs 6–8). In addition, the employer must inform fixed-term employees about existing vacancies (paragraph 9).
Tests Two and Three — Language and Content
A written contract must be concluded in a language understandable to the parties; where it is concluded in several languages, it must contain a clause on which language's text prevails in case of divergence (Article 13) — the language test of the audit checks precisely for the existence of this clause. The content test is built on Article 14: the essential terms are information about the parties, the start date and duration, working and rest time, the place of work, the position and description of the work, remuneration and the payment procedure, the overtime remuneration procedure, leave, the termination procedure and collective agreement provisions (paragraph 1). A certificate of employment is issued on request (paragraph 2); where the internal rules form part of the contract, they must be communicated before conclusion and any amendment notified within 14 calendar days (paragraph 3). The audit also checks the interplay of documents: mutually supplementing contracts count as one, the last prevails on the same condition, and a term contrary to the law or the collective agreement is void unless it improves the employee's position (paragraphs 4–7).
Test Four — Restrictions and the Article 1 Floor
A competition restriction is valid only in its lawful form: an obligation not to use knowledge and qualification for the employer's competitor may apply only within 6 months after the termination of the employment relationship, and only provided that during this period the employer pays monthly remuneration not lower than the amount existing at termination; such a restriction may not be imposed on employees in education, science or culture (Article 60, paragraphs 1–2), and damage caused by breach of these requirements is compensated under the general rules (paragraph 3). Every overreaching clause in an audit conclusion maps onto these two blocks: the conditions of Article 60 and the prohibition of Article 1, paragraph 3. Finally, in matters not regulated by this law or another special law, the norms of the Civil Code apply (Article 1, paragraph 2) — a complete audit takes this fallback framework into account as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a fixed-term contract has no statutory ground?
It is deemed an indefinite employment contract under Article 12, paragraph 5; contracts exceeding or successively exceeding 30 months also convert to indefinite.
Is a language clause mandatory in a bilingual contract?
Yes. Under Article 13, a contract concluded in several languages must contain a clause on the prevailing language.
Is a non-compete longer than 6 months lawful?
No. Article 60 caps the restriction at 6 months after termination and requires compensation; it is unavailable altogether in education, science and culture.
May a contract reduce the employee's statutory rights?
No. Article 1, paragraph 3 prohibits norms that worsen the employee's position compared with the law.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team audits employment contracts precisely along these four tests: we identify form and conversion risks, verify language clauses and essential terms, assess the legality of restrictions, and correct the defects found. Contact Legal.ge — your contract will stand on a lawful footing.