What Managing a Mass Layoff Procedure Means
Managing a mass layoff procedure is a process built on the bright lines of Article 49 of the Georgian Labour Code. A mass dismissal is the employer's termination of employment contracts within 30 calendar days on a ground not conditioned by the employee's person or conduct or by the expiry of the contract: with not fewer than 10 employees — in an organisation employing more than 20 but fewer than 100 employees; or with not fewer than 10 percent of employees — in an organisation employing more than 100.
Managing the procedure means arranging the thresholds, the deadlines and the documents correctly: a decision that looks merely numerical in fact demands precise simultaneous action on three fronts — legal, organisational and communicational — because breaching the statute's deadlines turns the dismissal itself into the subject of a dispute.
The 45-Day Notice and the Effectiveness Rule
The procedure's central deadline is the written notice: the employer must, not less than 45 calendar days before the mass dismissal, send written notice to the Minister and to the employees whose contracts will be terminated. A copy of the notice sent to the Minister goes to the employees' association or, in its absence, to the employees' representatives. The mass dismissal enters into force after 45 calendar days from the dispatch of the notice to the Minister — meaning the process plan opens and closes with the 45-day barrier.
Consultations and the Mandatory Information
An employer planning a mass dismissal must, within a reasonable period, commence consultations with the employees' association with the intention of reaching a possible agreement. The consultations must cover, at a minimum, ways and means of avoiding the mass dismissal or reducing the number of employees to be dismissed, and support for the re-employment or retraining of dismissed employees. The employees must be given the opportunity to submit constructive proposals.
The documentary side is also precisely defined: the employer must notify the association or the representatives in writing of the reasons for the planned dismissal, the number and categories of employees to be dismissed, the total number and categories of employees in the organisation, the period over which the dismissal will be carried out, the selection criteria and the payment of compensation; a copy of that notice also goes to the Minister. At the selection stage the statute's prohibitions must also be considered: termination is impermissible on grounds of discrimination, during the period following an employee's notification of pregnancy, during military or alternative labour service, or while serving as a lay juror — save for the exceptional grounds named directly in the law.
The Ground and the Per-Employee Procedure
The ground for a mass layoff is created by the economic-circumstances clause of the Code's list of termination grounds: economic, technological or organisational changes that necessitate a reduction of the workforce. At the same time, the general termination procedure runs for each employee: on this ground the employer must give at least 30 calendar days' prior written notice and pay compensation of at least 1 month's remuneration; with 3 calendar days' notice, the compensation must be at least 2 months' remuneration. The employee, in turn, may demand written substantiation of the ground within 30 calendar days of the notice, and has 30 calendar days from receiving the substantiation to challenge the decision in court. From the submission of the request the employer must substantiate the ground in writing within 7 calendar days; if that deadline passes, the employee retains 30 calendar days to appeal and the burden of proving the factual circumstances of the dispute shifts to the employer.
Where a court declares the termination decision void, the employer must, by the court's decision, reinstate the person at the former workplace, secure an equivalent job, or pay compensation in an amount determined by the court; beyond reinstatement or compensation, the employee may also claim compensation for forced idle time.
What Does Not Apply in Georgia
The well-known American mass-notification model of layoff legislation does not carry over into the Georgian system — the Georgian thresholds and deadlines are set precisely by Article 49 of the Code: 10 employees or 10 percent within 30 calendar days, a 45-day advance notice and effectiveness only after 45 calendar days. Planning must be built on exactly these numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer the questions most frequently asked about mass layoffs.
When is a dismissal considered mass?
When, within 30 calendar days, at least 10 employees are dismissed (in an organisation with more than 20 but fewer than 100 employees), or at least 10 percent are dismissed (in an organisation with more than 100), provided the ground is not connected to the person or contract expiry.
To whom is the advance notice sent?
To the Minister and to every employee whose contract will be terminated; a copy goes to the association or the representatives. The dismissal takes effect only after 45 calendar days from dispatch.
What must the association learn?
The reasons for the dismissal, the number and categories of those to be dismissed, the total headcount, the time period, the selection criteria and the compensation arrangement — in writing, with a copy to the Minister.
What compensation do employees receive?
With 30-day notice — at least 1 month's remuneration; with 3-day notice — at least 2 months' remuneration.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team manages the mass layoff process from beginning to end: we compute the thresholds and determine the procedure's applicability, draft the notices for the Minister and the employees, conduct the consultations with the association, frame the selection criteria and write the compensation package. Contact us — an advocate engaged at the very start of the process prevents disputes and protects the deadlines.