The Legal Nature of an Employee Option Programme
An employee stock option programme is not an institution of labour law: the Labour Code regulates only remuneration, while the option itself is a civil-law contract mechanism. Georgia has no separate statute for granting options: the company creates the programme under freedom of contract, and in its relationship with employees this contract is subject to special control — that control is the main theme of this page. United States tax and securities regulation of options does not apply here; the Georgian page builds the programme as a civil contract, while the tax and issuance layer is governed by separate legislation.
A second important circumstance: an option plan is usually drafted in advance by the employer or a group company and offered to employees in standard form. The Civil Code calls such clauses standard terms, and individuals who do not pursue entrepreneurial activity — employees squarely among them — enjoy special protection against them.