The Parliament has supported the amendment in Labour Code on the prohibition of more than 6 months unpaid internship with 90 votes in the first reading.

According to the project, the Labour Code will be supplemented with a new article which will regulate the work-related relations between an intern and an employer. The project defines an intern as a natural person who performs unpaid/paid work in order to deepen his/her qualification, professional knowledge, skills, and practical experience.

The draft law states that the employer will be prohibited to use the labor of the intern in order to avoid a work contract. The draft states that an intern isn't a replacement for an employee and that the employer doesn't have a right to hire an intern in place of an employee with whom the contract has been suspended or/and terminated.

According to the project, the duration of an unpaid internship shouldn't exceed 6 months while the paid internship shouldn't last longer than 1 year. An intern won't be allowed to take the same internship with the same employer twice. The work-related relations between an intern and an employer will be regulated by a written agreement that should cover the tasks assigned to the intern in detail.

The initiators of the amendment are the following MPs: Dimitri Tskitishvili, Sopio Kiladze, Tamar Chugoshvili, Irakli Kobakhidze, Rati Ionatamishvili, Tamar Khulordava.