Within the scope of the OSGF funded project –Public Information Database www.opendata.ge, the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) has analyzed statistical information received from public authorities on the dismissal of employees from various public institutions in 2014.

IDFI has requested public information on the dismissal of employees for the entire period of 2014 from 207 public institutions, containing the number of dismissed employees and the grounds for dismissal. The study includes information from 17 Ministries and Office of the State Minister, 16 independent Legal Entities of Public Law (LEPL) and 45 LEPL-s that are subordinate to the ministries. In addition, the research includes information from 112 municipal authorities throughout Georgia (Municipal Assemblies and Municipal Governments). It is important to point out that public information requests have not been responded to by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and 6 of its subordinate agencies, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia and 9 municipal authorities.

Through the analysis of obtained information, it turned out that a grand total of 8 388 employees were dismissed from Georgian public institutions on different grounds. A total of 1 737 employees were dismissed from Ministries and Office of the State Minister, with the majority of employees (1 225 individuals) dismissed from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 2 832 employees were dismissed from 42 subordinate agencies (LEPL-s under various ministries). In 2014, independent agencies (LEPL-s) have dismissed 568 employees.

In 2014, Municipal authorities have dismissed a total of 3 251 employees on various grounds.

It is important to point out the main reasons of dismissal of the employees from central authorities and their subordinate agencies. The most common grounds for dismissal are:

• Own initiative of the employee;
• Expiration of the employment contract;
• Transfer to another company/institution;
• Disciplinary violation;
The main reasons of dismissal from the municipal institutions were:
• Downsizing that resulted from reorganization of the institution – 1377 instances;
• Dissolution of the institution – 565 instances;
• Own initiative of the employee – 481 instances;
• Expiration of the employment contract -336 instances;

According to the Civil Service Reform in Georgia, which started in 2014, the circulation of human resources in the civil service should become more balanced and predictable. One of the main components of the Civil Service Reform was the adoption of the new Law on Civil Service, which was adopted by the Parliament of Georgia on October 27, 2015 and will come into force from January 1, 2017. The successful implementation of the first stages of the Civil Service Reform must ensure the uniform application of career-based principles in the Georgian civil service, which will protect it from massive and groundless dismissal of employees.