What Wage Dispute Resolution Means
Resolving wage disputes follows a refined procedural ladder defined by the Georgian Labour Code — this page is about that procedure, not about computing the pay itself. Under Article 61 of the Code, a dispute is a disagreement arising during the employment relationship whose resolution is in the lawful interests of the parties to the contract. A dispute is born when one party sends the other written notice of the disagreement, and for pay matters the Code expressly names as grounds the violation of an individual employment contract, a collective agreement or working conditions, as well as disagreements connected with essential terms.
The first practical lesson of the procedure is this: an oral intervention creates no legal dispute. A dispute arises only when a party addresses the other in writing, and it is precisely that notice which starts the deadlines moving. A wage demand should therefore always be put in written form — with the exact amount, the period and the basis of the computation.
The Steps of the Conciliation Procedure
An individual wage dispute must be resolved through the conciliation procedures of Article 62 of the Code and/or by applying to a court or arbitration. The procedure means direct negotiations between employee and employer. One party sends the other written notice of the commencement of the conciliation procedures, which must state precisely the ground on which the dispute arises and the party's demands. The other party is obliged to consider the notice and communicate its decision in writing within 10 calendar days of receipt.
The procedure's strict disciplinary side sits in two norms. First, if no agreement is reached within 14 calendar days of receipt of the notice, either party may apply to the court. Second, if within those same 14 calendar days a party evades the conciliation procedures, the burden of proving the factual circumstances of the dispute shifts to that party. In a wage dispute, where everything turns on documents, that bonus can prove decisive.