The Essence of a Wrongful Termination Dispute
Wrongful termination means that the employer terminated the employment contract on a ground, or in a manner, not permitted by the Labor Code of Georgia. Building the dispute rests on two articles of the Code: Article 47 establishes the closed list of grounds for termination of an employment contract and defines when termination is impermissible, while Article 48 establishes the procedure of termination — the deadlines for notice, substantiation and challenge, and the consequences of the court's decision.
This page reflects the position of both sides: for the employee, how to build the case and within which deadlines; for the employer, how to make its decision withstand legal scrutiny. The system of sanctions and fines is determined by other provisions and is not discussed here — what follows are only the rules concerning the basis and the conduct of the dispute.
The Closed List of Grounds and the Prohibitions
The grounds for termination of an employment contract are defined by an exhaustive list in the law: among them are economic, technological or organizational changes necessitating a reduction of the workforce; expiry of the term of the contract; completion of the work provided for; the employee's leaving of the position voluntarily on the basis of a written statement; the parties' written agreement; non-conformity of qualification or professional skills; gross breach of a duty; a repeated breach where a disciplinary measure has already been applied within the last 1 year; prolonged incapacity for work — exceeding 40 consecutive calendar days, or a total of 60 calendar days within 6 months; entry into legal force of a court judgment excluding the possibility of performing the work; a court decision recognizing a strike as unlawful; death of a party or commencement of liquidation of the legal person; and other objective circumstances justifying termination.
The same article establishes prohibitions: termination is impermissible on a ground other than those in the list; on a ground of discrimination; during the period determined by law after the employee woman's notification of her pregnancy; during military or alternative service; and during service as a juror — in each case save for the exceptional grounds provided by law. A breach of a duty imposed by the internal labor rules becomes a ground for termination only where those rules are part of the employment contract.
Notice, Compensation and Deadlines
For certain grounds (workforce reduction, non-conformity of qualification, prolonged incapacity, objective circumstances), the employer is obliged to give the employee preliminary written notice no less than 30 calendar days in advance and to pay compensation of no less than 1 month's remuneration; alternatively, to give notice no less than 3 calendar days in advance and to pay compensation of no less than 2 months' remuneration. Where the employee leaves on their own initiative, they must give the employer notice no less than 30 calendar days in advance.
The substantiation mechanism is decisive for the dispute: the employee has the right, within 30 calendar days of receiving the notice of termination, to send the employer a written demand for written substantiation of the ground; the employer is obliged to substantiate the ground of termination in writing within 7 calendar days of the demand. If the employer fails to substantiate within that period, the employee may challenge the decision in court within 30 calendar days, and the burden of proving the factual circumstances of the dispute shifts to the employer. From receipt of the substantiation the deadline for challenge is likewise 30 calendar days; and if the employee did not demand substantiation, the decision may be challenged within 30 calendar days of receipt of the notice.