The part-time contract is one of the most practical instruments of the Georgian Labour Code, yet concluding one requires legal care. The definition is embedded in the law: a part-time employee is a person whose normalized working time per week, or on average over a relationship of up to 1 year, is less than that of a full-time employee under analogous conditions (Article 16, paragraph 1). The comparator, too, is statutory: a full-time employee doing the same or similar work for the same employer, in the same direction, department or service — and, where such a person does not exist, a full-time employee with the same employer or in the same field. Fixing this comparator at the drafting stage is what makes the reduced schedule defensible.
Equal Treatment and Transfer Rights
Article 16, paragraph 2 prohibits less favourable treatment of a part-timer as to working conditions compared with a full-time employee in analogous conditions solely on the ground of the reduced schedule — unless justified by an objective ground. The norm is direct and self-sufficient: the pro-rata practice derived from the European Union part-time directive does not exist as such in Georgian law; the source of the equality rule is precisely Article 16, paragraph 2. A further ring is paragraph 3: dismissal for refusing a transfer between full-time and part-time work is impermissible except on a corresponding statutory ground. Paragraph 4 then obliges the employer, where an objective possibility exists, to consider the employee's transfer or increased-hours request, timely disseminate information about existing vacancies, and consider supportive measures at every level — including managerial positions — together with career advancement and vocational training of part-timers.
Plural employment is likewise precise: the right to work in more than one full-time or part-time position may be restricted by contract only where the party for whom the additional work is performed is the employer's competitor (paragraph 5) — a blanket multi-job ban would exceed what the Code allows.
Essential Terms of the Contract
In content, the part-time contract follows the full-agreement model: essential terms include 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 payment procedure, the overtime remuneration procedure, leave, the termination procedure and, where applicable, collective agreement provisions (Article 14, paragraph 1). At the employee's request the employer must issue a certificate of employment on the work, remuneration and term (paragraph 2). Where the internal rules of labour form part of the contract, they must be communicated before conclusion, and any amendment within 14 calendar days (paragraph 3). Contracts that merely supplement one another remain in force as a single contract, the last prevailing on the same condition (paragraphs 4–6). A term contravening the law or the collective agreement is void unless it improves the employee's position (paragraph 7).
Working Time and Overtime — The Numbers to Respect
The hourly yardstick is Article 24: normalized working time must not exceed 40 hours per week, and in a specific-regime enterprise with a continuous process longer than 8 hours — 48 hours (paragraphs 2–3). Continuous rest between working days or shifts must be at least 12 hours (paragraph 4); where the day exceeds 6 hours a break arises, and where it is at least 6 hours the total break must be at least 60 minutes (paragraph 5). A nursing mother of a child under 1 year is entitled, on request, to an additional break of at least 1 hour, counted as working time (paragraph 6). Within a 7-day period continuous rest of at least 24 hours is due, and the 24-hour rest may be used twice consecutively within 14 days (paragraph 7). For employees aged 16 to 18, the caps are 36 hours per week and 6 per day; aged 14 to 16 — 24 hours per week and 4 per day (paragraphs 8–9). The employer records working time in writing or electronically, communicates the monthly record, and keeps it for 1 year (paragraph 11).
Overtime deserves particular attention with part-time staff: overtime is work performed by agreement beyond the normalized working time (Article 27, paragraph 1) — for a part-timer the ceiling is the employee's own agreed hours, not the general 40-hour cap. It is remunerated at an increased hourly rate with the next monthly payment; the parties may agree instead on proportional additional rest — no later than 4 weeks after the overtime (paragraphs 2–3). The employer must give written notice 1 week in advance unless objectively impossible (paragraph 4). A minor's overtime must not exceed 2 hours per day and 4 per week (paragraph 1); employing a pregnant woman, a woman who has recently given birth or is nursing, a person with disabilities, a minor, or a person with a child under 3 on overtime without consent is prohibited (paragraph 6).
How is part-time status determined?
By the comparator method: normalized weekly time, or the average over up to 1 year, must be less than that of a full-time employee in analogous conditions (Article 16, paragraph 1).
May worse conditions be set for part-timers?
No. Article 16, paragraph 2 prohibits it unless justified by an objective ground.
When does overtime start for a part-time employee?
When work exceeds the part-timer's own normalized hours — not the general 40-hour ceiling; it is paid at an increased hourly rate.
Who may not be put on overtime without consent?
A pregnant woman, a nursing mother, a person with disabilities, a minor, or a parent of a child under 3 (Article 27, paragraph 6).
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team drafts part-time contracts with full care: we specify the hours and comparator basis, write the overtime clause, and verify the document against Article 16. We help employers document schedules and employees defend their rights. Contact Legal.ge for a consultation.