Basketball players' employment agreements are not regulated in Georgia by a separate statute — the Law on Sport directs professional sport to labour legislation, so a basketball player's contract is an ordinary contract under the Labour Code: it is concluded under the same rules, enjoys the same protections and terminates under the same procedures. On this page we explain the Labour Code norms that apply most often in a player's career: the pre-hiring stage, the language and start of the contract, secondment and termination.
The Pre-hiring Stage — the Exchange of Information between Club and Candidate
The Labour Code regulates the stage before the employment contract as well. The club, as employer, may obtain information about the candidate, except information not connected with the work and not needed to assess his ability to perform it — the details of a player's private life do not belong to the club. In parallel, the candidate is obliged to inform the employer of any circumstance that may impede the performance of the work or threaten the employer's interests — for a player, this is the duty to disclose health stability and other obligations. The employer may verify the accuracy of the information submitted; it may not be made available to another person without the candidate's consent, except as provided by legislation; if the contract is not concluded, the candidate may withdraw his documents. Under the same norm, the employer must provide the candidate with information about the work to be performed, the form and term of the contract, the working conditions, the legal status of the employee and the remuneration. The employer need not justify a refusal of employment, but the pre-contractual relationship ends by the conclusion of the contract or by informing of the refusal.