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How many hours a week can you legally work in Georgia?

Article 24 of the Labour Code: the norm, rest and exceptions.

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Short answer

Standard working time in Georgia cannot exceed 40 hours a week, and in certain sectors with a continuous production process, listed by the Government, up to 48 hours is allowed. Work beyond the norm counts as overtime and is possible only by agreement of the parties. Employees get at least 12 hours of rest between working days or shifts and at least 24 uninterrupted hours in every seven days.

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Why

  1. Article 24(2) of the Labour Code: standard working time does not exceed 40 hours a week.
  2. Article 24(3): up to 48 hours is allowed at enterprises with specific operating conditions where the process runs more than 8 hours without interruption, and the Government draws up the list of sectors.
  3. Article 24(4) and (7): at least 12 hours of rest between working days or shifts, and at least 24 uninterrupted hours of rest in every seven days.
  4. Article 27(1): overtime work is performed by agreement of the parties.

Details

Working time is any period during which the employee is at the employer's disposal, and breaks and rest are not counted (Article 24(1)). If the working day is longer than 6 hours, the employee is entitled to a break (paragraph 5). The limits are shorter for minors: under Article 24, no more than 36 hours a week at ages 16–18 and no more than 24 hours at ages 14–16.

If you work in Georgia as an employee, see whether a foreigner needs a work permit, and for days off see the question on public holidays.

Tip

If you work shifts, check how working time is counted in your agreement: Article 26 allows a procedure for summing up working time where the daily or weekly limit is hard to observe.

What may differ

The norms depend on the employee's age, the sector and the terms of the agreement, and some categories (minors, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers) have extra limits, for example on overtime (Article 27). Rules change, so check the current version of the code.

Common misconception

An employer can demand that you stay beyond the norm at any time and you cannot refuse.

What actually happens

Under Article 27(1), overtime is performed by agreement of the parties, and the employer must give one week's notice unless that is objectively impossible (paragraph 4).

People also ask

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Sources

This answer is for reference only and is not legal advice. Rules change, so check official websites.

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