Leave as a Constitutional Right

Article 26.1 of the Constitution of Georgia (currently Article 30.4 in the active edition) pertains to the freedom of labor and the guaranteed protection of labor rights. According to Article 30.4: "Freedom of labor is guaranteed. Everyone has the right to freely choose employment. The right to safe working conditions and other labor rights shall be protected by organic law." The Constitution of Georgia explicitly dictates that the protection of labor rights is implemented based on the Organic Law of Georgia, the "Labor Code of Georgia." Among other rights, one of the most significant rights of an employee is the right to leave (vacation);

Leave constitutes a ground for the suspension (and not the termination/cancellation) of employment rights. This means that during the leave period, the employment relationship between the parties is suspended; specifically, the employee does not perform any type of work for the benefit of the employer, but despite this, they still receive remuneration. Leave is divided into several types, namely:
Paid leave;
Leave without pay (unpaid leave);
Maternity leave, paternity leave, childcare leave, leave for the adoption of a newborn, and additional leave for childcare;

In my legal practice, I frequently encounter cases where clients are largely unaware of the full "scope" of their right to leave, its essence, and the preconditions for its exercise. Consequently, based directly on legal/advocacy practice, I decided to briefly explain this issue through a series of relevant questions and answers;

Question 1: When does the right to request leave arise?
Answer 1: The right to request leave arises for the employee after 11 months of work. At the same time, the parties are authorized to agree on taking leave even before the expiration of this period. After the passage of one year, the employee is authorized to request and use their accrued leave at any time in agreement with the employer; the leave can also be taken at any time of the year. The right to request leave means that the employer must agree to the employee's request for leave;
Question 2: Can leave be postponed?
Answer 2: In the case of paid leave, if the employee's absence could negatively affect the normal course of work (specifically, if they hold a position of responsibility where the employer cannot temporarily replace them, and/or the employee represents irreplaceable personnel, etc.), the employer is authorized to deny the employee the use of leave and may postpone the leave to the following year only with the employee's consent. Furthermore, it is crucial that the burden of proof—demonstrating that replacing the employee is impossible, that a normal work environment will face problems, etc.—rests with the employer. This provision does not apply to minors; a minor's request for leave must be unconditionally satisfied by the employer. While an employer may refuse and postpone leave for one year, at the end of the second year of work, regardless of the term of employment, the employer does not have the right to deny the employee the use of leave for two consecutive years. This means that if the employer is authorized to refuse in the first instance, they are obligated to grant consent for the leave in the second instance;
Question 3: What is paid and unpaid leave?
Answer 3: As the names suggest, in the first case, the employer is obligated to pay vacation pay to the employee, while in the second case, the employee does not receive compensation during the leave. The duration of paid leave is defined as 24 working days, whereas unpaid leave is 15 calendar days. Despite the similarities, it is noticeable that in one instance the legislator uses the term "working days," while in the other, "calendar days." This terminological difference creates ambiguity in practice, as the current Labor Code does not provide a definition of a working day. If a person works two days a week, for how many working days should they be granted leave? Almost 12 weeks? This naturally exceeds the legislator's logical intent. Therefore, in such cases, several interpretations can be presumed: first, that every day except public holidays is considered a working day, and leave should be recalculated into calendar days; second, that 24 calendar days should be applied in such cases; and according to a third opinion, these 24 working days represent almost a 1-month period (this opinion is supported by the fact that in the edition active before 2006, a working day was explicitly defined as the days from Monday to Friday inclusive). In addition, the European Social Charter includes a mandatory condition for member states, requiring parties to ensure the creation of conditions for employees to take no less than 4 weeks of leave;

Question 4: Can there be different rules for granting leave?
Answer 4: The employer has the right to establish a leave schedule for employees, specifically determining which employee takes their accrued leave in which period, the order of succession, etc. The law also deems it permissible for the employment contract to establish different conditions regarding the granting, duration, and term of leave for the employee, provided these are improved conditions and the number of days is not less than those established by the Labor Code.
Question 5: What is the procedure for requesting leave?
Answer 5: The law does not explicitly mandate a written form for exercising the right to request leave. However, to ensure protection, it is necessary to adhere to a written form when requesting any leave. Specifically, after the 11-month period has elapsed, you should apply in writing (in two copies: you submit one copy to the employer's chancellery or the relevant authorized person, and have the second copy signed and/or stamped as proof that you submitted the request). It should also be noted that taking leave is your request, which the employer can deny only in exceptional circumstances; it is your constitutional right to rest. There is no obligation to forfeit your compensation due to being replaced by a so-called "substitute employee," nor is there an obligation to pay someone else your salary while you are on leave. Additionally, the current Labor Code does not provide for a so-called "13th-month salary." As for leave without pay, you have the right to request unpaid leave for 15 calendar days per year. To request this, you must apply to the employer 2 weeks prior to taking the unpaid leave, except in cases where such advance notice is impossible due to urgent medical or family circumstances;

Question 6: What are the rules and conditions for leave compensation?
Answer 6: In the case of a fixed monthly salary, it is based on the remuneration of the last month. Specifically, if your salary is 500 GEL, this is divided by the working days of that month to calculate the average daily rate, which is then multiplied by the number of leave days to be taken. In the event that the time worked by the employee since starting work or since the last leave is less than 3 months, it is calculated from the average remuneration of the worked months. For example, if the remuneration for one month was 100 GEL and for the second month 200 GEL, the average taken is 150 GEL, and the vacation pay is calculated accordingly. If the employee does not have a fixed salary and is paid based on a piece-rate (performance-based) system, the average remuneration of the last three months is used.
Question 7: What rights/obligations does the employee have during the leave period?
Answer 7: During the suspension of the employment relationship / leave period, the employer has no right to demand that the employee appear at work or perform work. In practice, there are cases where the employer formally sends the employee on leave, and the latter is technically on leave but practically continues to perform their duties. Leave is called a suspension of the employment relationship precisely because, during such a period, the main obligation—the employee performing assigned work in exchange for remuneration—is suspended. All such conditions (demanding work during leave) are void, have no legal justification, and are mostly "invented" by the employer to avoid paying the statutorily required vacation pay;

Question 8: What rule applies to compensation for unused leave days after the termination of a contract?
Answer 8: If the employer terminates the employment relationship with the employee, the employer is obligated to pay the employee for unused leave in 5 specific cases, namely if:
Economic circumstances, technological, or organizational changes make the reduction of the workforce necessary;
The employee's qualifications or professional skills do not match the position held/work to be performed;
There is a gross violation by the employee of the obligations imposed on them by the individual employment contract, collective agreement, and/or internal labor regulations;
There is a violation by the employee of the obligations imposed on them, provided that some measure of disciplinary liability has already been applied to the employee within the last 1 year;
There are other objective circumstances justifying the termination of the employment contract;

It must also be noted that compensation for unused leave must be paid in proportion to the duration of the employment relationship. Specifically, if a person worked for 3 years and used, say, 12 days out of 72 accrued leave days, they must receive compensation for the remaining 60 unused leave days if the employment relationship with them is terminated on any of the aforementioned grounds. The employee must also know that their right to leave cannot be replaced by any compensation, whether material or immaterial. Your right to leave is a right that you should exercise when granted by law, and the employer can only refuse its use in cases established by law. The right to leave is a constitutional right of the employee, which the employer must fundamentally respect; the employer bears the obligation to grant the employee leave and ensure the employee's enjoyment of this right. Moreover, during my legal practice, I frequently hear from employers that if a person did not use their leave during the year, this right is annulled and does not transfer to the next year, etc. This opinion cannot withstand any legal critique. Proof of this can be seen in the draft amendments to the Labor Code already submitted to the Parliament, which includes Article 31.5 (upon termination of the employment contract at the employer's initiative, the employer is obliged to compensate the employee for unused leave in proportion to the duration of the employment relationship) and Article 31.6 (any condition of an employment contract by which the right to annual paid leave is waived or rejected is void);

Follow-up question: Would it be helpful to detail how Georgian courts typically handle disputes regarding the calculation of unused leave compensation? 
In case of additional questions, please contact me: 
Attorney Guram Kontuadze, full legal and advocacy services throughout the territory of Georgia;
Signal/Tel/viber/WhatsApp/Telegram +995 591 976 764; facebook; 
e-mail: guram.kontuadze@gmail.com; We Set Precedents; 

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Answer 1: The right to request leave arises for the employee after 11 months of work. At the same time, the parties are authorized to agree on taking leave even before the expiration of this period. After the passage of one year, the employee is authorized to request and use their accrued leave at any time in agreement with the employer; the leave can also be taken at any time of the year. The right to request leave means that the employer must agree to the employee's request for leave.