GLOBAL EMPLOYER OF RECORD IN 190+ countries
Employer of Record in Georgia
Move ahead with priority hires in Georgia without waiting for entity formation. Acumen acts as your Employer of Record, helping you enter the market with the people you need while keeping the longer-term corporate footprint open.
GLOBAL EMPLOYER OF RECORD
Global coverage
Acumen International delivers global employment solutions across 190+ countries.
Strategic markets
Hiring and compliance support across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Established jurisdictions
Lawful employment and payroll in regulated, compliance-intensive countries.
Growth economies
Expanding into new regions? Hiring support across fast-moving economies.
Risky and remote locations
Compliant employment solutions in jurisdictions with limited infrastructure.
Employing in Georgia through an Employer of Record
Employment through an Employer of Record involves three parties. Acumen International becomes the legal employer of the professionals working for your business in Georgia: it concludes their labour contracts, calculates and pays salaries, withholds tax, makes pension contributions and obtains the permits that foreign staff require. Your business recruits the people it wants, assigns their responsibilities and manages their performance.
Because Acumen International employs in 190+ countries, a Georgian hire can sit within a wider regional plan. A company can build a technology team in Tbilisi or a logistics operation near the Black Sea ports and, in parallel, add people in Turkey, the UAE, Germany or Azerbaijan, each employed under local law, with one provider accountable across every country and no entity needed in any of them. Where the right person has not yet been found, Acumen International can also run the search, from specialist recruitment to executive search, with background and education checks before the offer.
Situations where an Employer of Record serves a Georgia hire
- Contractor compliance. Specialists who work full time for you from Georgia on service agreements become employees, with tax and pension handled at source.
- One accountable provider. Contracts, payroll, pension, work permits and residence sit with a single provider.
- No entity to set up or maintain. You employ in Georgia without registering a limited liability company, opening local bank accounts or filing Georgian accounts.
- Market tests and short-term projects. A first sales role or a time-limited project in Georgia gets staffed, then grows or winds down on the evidence.
- Bridge to your own entity. Early hires begin with Acumen International and move across once your Georgian company is ready to employ.
- Fast team launch. Georgian professionals start on Acumen International’s contracts while permits for foreign colleagues are processed.
- Mergers and restructuring. Staff in Georgia keep continuous employment while ownership or group structure changes around them.
- NGO staffing. International organisations and development programmes employ programme and technical staff under the Georgian Labour Code.
- Employer liability. Acumen International holds the duties of the Georgian employer, which are the duties the Labour Inspection Service and the Revenue Service enforce.
- Remote team expansion. People living in Georgia join your distributed team on local contracts, with Georgian tax and pension applied.
Employing for another business in Georgia: the legal basis and its limits
Georgian employment is governed by the Labour Code, an organic law that applies equally to Georgian and foreign staff. Acumen International concludes the labour contracts in its own name and makes the employees’ services available to your business under a commercial agreement. Three features of Georgian law shape that arrangement:
- The contract is written and complete. Any employment lasting longer than a month must be documented in writing (Art. 12), and the Code’s protections apply whatever the parties call the relationship.
- Permits follow the employer. Since 1 March 2026 a foreign employee’s work permit names a specific employer and position, so the party that signs the contract is the party that sponsors the permit.
- Equal treatment is a statutory duty. The Code prohibits direct and indirect discrimination, requires equal pay for women and men doing equal work (Art. 4) and bars less favourable treatment of part-time staff without objective reason (Art. 16).
What Acumen International handles in Georgia, from recruitment to exit
| Stage | What it involves in Georgia |
|---|---|
| Recruitment and checks | Finding the candidate where needed, with background and education checks before the offer |
| Right to work | The vacancy posting, work permit and residence document for a foreign hire |
| Contract | A written labour contract under the Labour Code, with probation and confidentiality terms |
| Payroll | Monthly salary in lari, with income tax withheld when salary is paid |
| Pension | Employer and employee funded pension contributions for staff in the scheme |
| Changes | Updates to the contract and, for foreign staff, to the Ministry’s labour migration records |
| Exit | Notice or severance, final settlement and closure of the permit record |
Salary rules in Georgia
Georgia’s private-sector minimum wage is GEL 20 a month, a figure fixed in 1999 and never revised, so in practice pay is set by the market. For the specialist and senior roles placed through Acumen International, the salary is negotiated individually and stated as a gross monthly amount in lari.
- Gross figure: the contract states pay before the income tax and pension deductions taken at source.
- Late payment: salary paid late accrues a penalty of 0.07% of the overdue amount for each day of delay.
- Final pay: everything owed on departure is settled within seven calendar days of the employment ending, unless the contract sets another term (Art. 44).
- Market benchmark: the Global Payroll Calculator shows the employer cost and net pay for a given Georgian salary before the offer goes out.
Georgian labour contracts and working time
| Topic | What the Labour Code provides |
|---|---|
| Fixed-term contracts | Allowed only for listed objective reasons, such as a defined project, seasonal work or cover for an absent employee; otherwise the contract is open-ended (Art. 12) |
| Conversion to open-ended | Employment that runs beyond 30 months on one or more consecutive fixed-term contracts becomes open-ended, and a gap of under 60 days does not break the chain (Art. 12) |
| Probation | Up to six months, agreed in writing, used only once, and paid as agreed (Art. 17) |
| Standard hours | Up to 40 hours a week, or 48 in sectors the government lists as needing continuous operation (Art. 24) |
| Rest | At least 12 hours between working days or shifts, with a break in any shift longer than six hours (Art. 24) |
| Overtime | Paid at an increased hourly rate agreed by the parties, or compensated with time off (Art. 27) |
| Night work | Work between 22:00 and 06:00, closed to pregnant employees and those who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding (Art. 28) |
Dismissal and severance in Georgia
An employer in Georgia may end a contract only on a ground listed in Article 47 of the Labour Code, such as economic or organisational change, expiry of a fixed term, completion of the work, mutual agreement or a serious breach. When the ground is organisational change, unsuitability for the role, long-term incapacity or another objective circumstance, the employer chooses one of two routes (Art. 48):
| Route | Written notice | Minimum severance |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 30 calendar days | One month’s pay |
| Short notice | 3 calendar days | Two months’ pay |
- Reasons on request: an employee may ask for the grounds in writing, and an employer that does not reply carries the burden of proving the dismissal was lawful.
- Collective dismissal: releasing at least 10 people from an organisation of 21 to 100, or at least 10% of a larger workforce, needs 45 days’ written notice to the Minister and the employees affected (Art. 49).
- Resignation: employees leaving on their own initiative give 30 days’ written notice.
- Foreign employees: early termination of the contract is entered in the Ministry’s labour migration database within five calendar days, which also closes the work permit.
Employment risks in Georgia and how Acumen International mitigates them
| Risk | Where it arises in Georgia | How Acumen International mitigates it |
|---|---|---|
| Worker misclassification | A full-time contractor directed by your business is in substance an employee, and since March 2026 a foreign contractor also needs a self-employment permit | Each person is engaged on a Georgian labour contract with tax and pension deducted at source |
| IP ownership | Work produced under a Georgian contract vests in the employer only as far as the contract provides | Contracts assign the rights to Acumen International, which transfers them to your business |
| Client liability for pay and contributions | Unpaid salary, tax or pension can be pursued against the business that benefits from the work | Acumen International pays salary and remits tax and pension each month, with records kept for inspection |
| Equal pay for assigned staff | The Labour Code requires equal pay for equal work and prohibits indirect discrimination | Salaries are set against comparable roles on objective criteria before the offer |
| Permanent establishment | Staff who conclude contracts in Georgia for a foreign company can give it a taxable presence | Roles are defined so that contracting authority remains with your company |
| Exit cost | Severance of one or two months’ pay depending on the notice route, plus reinstatement risk where the ground is unsupported | Acumen International documents a lawful ground and chooses the notice route before any decision |
| Sponsor obligations | A foreign employee may work only for the named employer and in the approved position, with changes reported within five days | Acumen International keeps every permit matched to the role and files changes on time |
Georgian work permits for foreign specialists since March 2026
For years Georgia let foreigners take up work with almost no formalities. Since 1 March 2026, amendments to the Law on Labour Migration require every foreign employee without permanent residence to hold a work permit issued to a named employer for a named position. Applications go through the labour migration system of the State Employment Support Agency.
- Local candidates first. The employer advertises the vacancy on the state Worknet portal for at least 10 working days. If the Agency proposes Georgian candidates, the employer must explain in writing why each one does not fit.
- Exemptions from the test. Companies with international company or innovative startup status are exempt, as are positions paying more than GEL 15,000 a month where the role requires a directly relevant university degree.
- Decision. The Agency decides within 30 calendar days for GEL 200, or within 10 working days on the expedited track for GEL 400.
- Residence. The permit takes effect with a D1 work visa, applied for within 30 days if the employee is abroad, or a work residence permit, applied for within 10 days if they are already in Georgia.
- Validity. A first permit runs for six months to a year, or up to three years in information technology, and an extension must be filed at least 30 days before expiry.
Foreign employees already registered when the rules began must hold a work permit and residence document by 1 January 2027.
What Acumen International contributes
- A registered Georgian employer as sponsor. The permit names the employer, and Acumen International takes that role, so your specialist is approved without your business setting up in Georgia.
- A local-candidate stage that holds up. The vacancy is written around the real requirements of the role, and every proposed candidate receives a documented, objective response.
- Offers that qualify for the exemption. Where a senior role justifies it, salary and degree requirements are set to meet the GEL 15,000 threshold and avoid the labour market test lawfully.
- Existing staff regularised in time. Foreign employees already working for you in Georgia move onto permits well before the January 2027 deadline.
- Permits kept valid. Extensions are filed ahead of the 30-day cut-off, and changes of role are approved before they apply.
Family members
A spouse and children can apply for residence permits for family reunification on the basis of the employee’s status. A family member who intends to work in Georgia needs a work permit of their own.
Georgian payroll tax and pension costs
Georgia keeps employment costs low and simple. There is no social security tax beyond the funded pension, and salary income is taxed at a single flat rate.
| Item | Employer | Employee | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal income tax | — | 20% flat, withheld at source | — |
| Funded pension | 2% of salary | 2% of salary | 2% on annual pay up to GEL 24,000; 1% on the band from GEL 24,000 to GEL 60,000 |
- Who joins the pension scheme: Georgian citizens and foreign nationals holding a permanent residence permit. Foreign employees on work permits and temporary residence are outside it, so their employer cost is the salary alone.
- Timing: income tax is withheld when salary is paid and declared to the Revenue Service by the 15th of the following month, and pension contributions are transferred no later than that declaration.
Industries hiring through an Employer of Record in Georgia
- Software and IT services: developers, QA leads and engineering managers in Tbilisi’s technology companies and delivery centres.
- Transport and logistics: freight, port and supply chain managers along the Black Sea and Caspian trade routes through Poti, Batumi and Tbilisi.
- Energy and infrastructure: engineers and project managers for hydropower, transmission and road and rail projects.
- Financial services and fintech: risk, compliance and product specialists for banks, payment firms and insurers.
- Hospitality and tourism: general managers and senior hotel staff for international brands in Tbilisi, Batumi and the mountain resorts.
- Development organisations: programme managers and technical advisers on donor-funded projects.
Hiring cases in Georgia
| Case | What Georgian rules add | How Acumen International handles it |
|---|---|---|
| A fintech with no Georgian entity hires a compliance lead in Tbilisi | A written labour contract, 20% income tax at source and funded pension contributions | Acumen International employs her, runs tax and pension each month and assigns her work product to the fintech, which operates in Georgia without a company of its own |
| A logistics group appoints a foreign operations manager in Poti at GEL 16,000 a month | A work permit for the named employer and position; no labour market test above GEL 15,000 where a related degree is required | Acumen International sponsors the permit on the expedited track and secures his D1 visa, so he takes up the role with permit and residence in place |
| A software company has three foreign developers in Tbilisi who started before March 2026 | Permits and residence documents required by 1 January 2027; IT permits of up to three years | Acumen International employs the developers and obtains three-year IT permits and residence well before the deadline, keeping the team in place |
| A project ends and two positions close | A ground under Article 47 and a choice between 30 days’ notice with one month’s severance or 3 days’ notice with two | Acumen International documents the organisational change, gives notice on the chosen route and settles severance and final pay, closing both roles without claims |
Employee benefits and leave in Georgia
With statutory costs this low, competitive packages in Georgia are built from private benefits. Employers of skilled staff commonly provide private health insurance, paid sick days beyond what the law requires, annual bonuses and, for foreign hires, housing and relocation support. Acumen International sets each package to the role and the market the client competes in.
| Leave | Statutory position |
|---|---|
| Annual leave | At least 24 working days of paid leave a year (Art. 31) |
| Public holidays | Fixed by the Labour Code, including Orthodox Christmas on 7 January and Independence Day on 26 May |
| Maternity and parental leave | 126 days of maternity leave, or 143 after complications or a multiple birth, followed by parental leave; 183 days in total are paid, or 200, funded by the state (Art. 37) |
| Adoption leave | 550 days for a child under 12 months, 90 of them paid (Art. 38) |
| Sickness | Incapacity suspends the contract; pay during absence follows the contract, and absence beyond 40 consecutive days or 60 days in six months can end it (Arts. 46–47) |
Sources
- Labour Code of Georgia
- On Funded Pension
- Funded pension scheme
- New work permit rules for foreign nationals in Georgia starting March 1
- Georgia introduces mandatory work permits for foreign workers
- What foreign nationals need to know about Georgia’s new labour laws
- Minimum wage – Georgia
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Got questions?
We’ve got answers
Have questions about hiring globally? You’re not alone. Below you’ll find answers to the most common questions from teams expanding into new markets — from compliance and onboarding timelines to payroll and local benefits.
If you don’t see what you’re looking for, our team of in-country experts is always ready to help you navigate the details.
Can our employees in Georgia sit within the same EOR programme as hires in other countries?
Yes. Acumen can coordinate Georgia alongside other markets through one provider relationship, while keeping each employee under the employment rules that apply locally. Global consistency can cover governance, reporting and service ownership without forcing identical employment terms across countries.
Who owns work product created by an EOR employee in Georgia?
Ownership should be addressed expressly in the employment documentation. Acumen can align the employee’s confidentiality and IP obligations in Georgia with the client’s commercial requirements, subject to the local rules that govern employee-created work.
Can we offer benefits above the statutory minimum in Georgia?
Yes. Statutory entitlements form the baseline, not the ceiling. Acumen can help add supplementary benefits that fit the role and the market in Georgia, while keeping the package workable from a payroll, tax and administration perspective.