Injury sustained in the performance of work duties is one of the most sensitive and frequently litigated areas of Georgian employment law. The Georgian Labour Code addresses it through Article 45, whose paragraph 6 obliges the employer to fully compensate the employee for damage caused by the deterioration of health connected with the performance of work, together with the costs of necessary medical treatment. This norm is the central protective mechanism of the employment relationship: it imposes liability on the employer directly, before the injured employee, and does not require any additional contractual basis to apply. It applies to every employment relationship governed by the Code, regardless of the type or duration of the contract.
The Safe and Healthy Working Environment Duty
Before compensation is even discussed, the prevention block embedded in Article 45 must be understood. The employer is obliged to provide the employee with a working environment that is as safe and healthy as possible for life and health (Article 45, paragraph 1). Within a reasonable period, the employer must supply the employee with complete, objective and understandable information about every factor affecting the employee's life and health or the safety of the natural environment (paragraph 2). The employee has the right to refuse to perform work, an assignment or an instruction that contravenes the law or, due to unsafe working conditions, creates a clear and substantial threat to his or her life or health, to that of a third person, to property or to the safety of the natural environment — and must immediately inform the employer of the circumstances behind the refusal (paragraph 3).
Introducing a preventive system ensuring labour safety is not a voluntary corporate decision but a direct statutory duty (paragraph 4): the employer must timely inform employees about occupational risks, prevention measures and the rules for handling dangerous equipment, replace hazardous equipment with safer equipment in line with technological progress, and, where necessary, provide personal protective equipment. The employer must also take every reasonable measure for the timely localization and elimination of the consequences of an industrial accident, for giving first aid and for evacuation (paragraph 5). The same article contains the duty to protect a pregnant woman from work endangering her wellbeing or that of the fetus (paragraph 7) and refers the list of heavy, harmful and dangerous works — including mandatory periodic medical examinations at the employer's expense — to Georgian legislation (paragraph 8).
Full Compensation of Damage and Treatment Costs
Where, despite the prevention duties, health deteriorates in connection with the performance of work, Article 45, paragraph 6 requires compensation of both components: the damage caused by the deterioration of health and the costs of necessary treatment. The legislator deliberately uses the word "fully" — the employer cannot limit its liability to only one component, such as treatment costs while leaving the health damage itself uncompensated. The employee's income during recovery is also regulated: during forced absence caused by the employer's fault, the employee receives remuneration in full, while forced absence caused by the employee's own fault is not remunerated (Article 42, paragraphs 1 and 2). The fault criterion for downtime must therefore be established and documented in every concrete case, because it determines whether the wages for the missed period are payable.
Material Liability and the Court Track
Damage caused by one party to the other within an individual employment relationship is compensated according to the procedure established by Georgian legislation (Article 58) — this norm is reciprocal and applies to both the employer and the employee. Article 81 adds an essential guarantee: the imposition of an administrative penalty on the employer by the Labour Inspectorate does not release the employer from other liability that a court may impose within civil proceedings initiated by the person. A fine and compensation of damage therefore do not exclude each other; paying the fine does not close the civil claim of the injured employee, and the court track runs in parallel with the administrative track.
This is precisely where a clear distinction from other legal systems matters. The United States "workers' compensation" model is built on the exclusive remedy principle, under which an insurance fund substitutes the employer's direct liability. That model does not exist in Georgian law and relying on it is a mistake: in Georgia the employer answers directly, on the basis of the duty set out in Article 45, paragraph 6, and an administrative penalty does not replace this duty. In dispute resolution, the decisive evidence is the documentation of the work process, medical records, proof of the preventive measures taken, and substantiation of the fault behind any forced absence.
Does the type of employment contract affect the right to compensation?
No. Article 45, paragraph 6 applies to every employee regardless of whether the contract is fixed-term or indefinite. Downtime pay is decided under the fault criterion of Article 42.
Are medical treatment costs compensated in full?
Yes. Article 45, paragraph 6 covers the costs of necessary medical treatment and requires their full compensation; medical documentation is decisive in the dispute.
Does a fine release the employer from compensating the employee?
No. Under Article 81, the imposition of an administrative penalty does not release the employer from civil liability that a court may impose in proceedings initiated by the person.
Can the employer argue that the injury was the employee's own fault?
Fault matters for downtime pay: absence caused by the employee's fault is not remunerated (Article 42, paragraph 2). Each element of fault must be substantiated separately.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team advises both injured employees and employers in work-related injury cases. We assess compliance with the safe working environment duties, build the documentary strategy, and represent your interests before the Labour Inspectorate and the courts. Contact Legal.ge for a consultation — we will put our experience to work for your protection.