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.