Statements

2026 March 4, the Tbilisi Court of Appeals upheld Mariam Kandelaki's appeal, overturned the decision of the court of first instance, and adopted a new decision, which declared Kandelaki's dismissal order invalid, and the defendant, N(N)LE* the Municipal Services Development Agency, was ordered to pay forced idle time compensation.

Mariam Kandelaki has been working at the agency under the Tbilisi Municipality since 2018. Reorganization began in the agency on February 1, 2025, with a deadline of May 1. It is noteworthy that the professional knowledge and skills of the employees were not checked during the reorganization process, nor were any general or individual criteria established for selecting staff. The acting head of the agency conducted formal interviews with only some of the employees, and did not communicate with others at all.

Mariam Kandelaki was not interviewed. She was verbally informed of her dismissal on March 7, 2025, and a written order was sent to her on March 10, according to which she was dismissed from her job as of March 17.

Mariam Kandelaki appealed her dismissal order to the Tbilisi City Court. The court found that the reorganization order alone was sufficient grounds for dismissing the employee, which Mariam Kandelaki appealed to a higher court. She requested that the first-instance decision be overturned, the order be declared null and void, forced idle time compensation be paid, and reinstatement.

The Court of Appeal found that the appellant's complaint was well-founded and fully upheld it. "The Appellate Chamber notes that the economic externalities, technological or organizational changes envisaged by subparagraph "a" of Article 147.1 of the current Labor Code may exist independently; however, for the termination of the employment contract to be considered justified, any of the aforementioned circumstances must result in a reduction in the workforce. When the employer decides on reorganization, he/she must ensure that the said step is in line with the interests of the organization and, at the same time, does not unjustifiably infringe on the legal rights of employees."

Since the agency did not have a vacant position at the time, the Court of Appeal replaced part of the reinstatement with monetary compensation. The plaintiff's interests were represented in court by a lawyer from ISFED.

For your information, after public servants made a statement regarding the suspension of Georgia's EU accession process on November 30, 2024,. The Tbilisi City Hall and its subordinate N(N)LEs announced an unplanned reorganization. On this basis, many civil servants were dismissed from their jobs without assessing their professional skills or applying objective criteria. Court proceedings related to these events are still ongoing. With the help of ISFED, some of the illegally dismissed individuals have already been able to win several disputes.

If you think you have been dismissed from your job for political reasons, write to us: info@isfed.ge 

 

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*Non-commercial, (Non-entrepreneurial) Legal Entity