Hire in Cyprus

Although labour law in Cyprus does not mandate employment contracts to be in writing, it is best practice to provide new employees with a detailed employment contract outlining the exact terms of employment. In case no written employment contract is put in place, employers have to provide their new employees with a written statement containing all the necessary basic terms, including:

• Identification of both parties – including a registered company office
• Date of commencement (and employment duration for temporary contracts) 
• Workplace
• Job description, duties and responsibilities
• Basic salary as well as other compensation or benefits
• Working hours 
• Total number of holidays
• Notice periods for employment termination

Probation Period

In Cyprus, the first 26 weeks of every employment usually count as probation. 

Working Hours and Breaks

Working hours in Cyprus vary between job sectors and are subject to collective agreements but most employees work between 38 and 40 hours per week. 

When it comes to employee rest periods, the following regulations apply:

• an employee’s daily rest period must not be shorter than eleven hours
• every employee must be granted an uninterrupted weekly rest period of at least 35 hours
• after six hours of consecutive work, employees are entitled to 15 minutes of rest

Overtime

Any work performed beyond standard working hours is considered overtime and is permitted as long as the employee’s weekly working time does not exceed 48 hours in total. Remuneration rates for overtime are not indicated by law but are subject to both individual and collective agreements.

It is possible to pay employees in Cyprus either on a weekly or monthly basis.

Minimum Wage

There are only certain professions in Cyprus that are subject to national minimum wage regulations including sales persons and office workers. For these job categories, the minimum is currently (January 2022) set at EUR 870 per month. According to law, it must increase to EUR 924 after six months of employment. The government is expected to fix a national minimum wage in early 2022. 

Sick Pay

Sick leave in Cyprus is regulated by collective as well as individual agreements. Employers are not obligated to provide their employees with sick pay. In those cases where sick leave is not covered by the employer, employees receive sick leave benefits from social security for a maximum duration of 156 days – extendable to 312 days in certain cases. 

Bonuses

Although not required by law, annual bonuses are common practice among companies in Cyprus. 

Employees and employers in Cyprus are subject to the following tax and social security contribution rates (as of 2022):

Annual Leave

Employees in Cyprus are entitled to a minimum of 20 days of paid annual leave – 24 days for those employees working a six-day week. In addition, Cyprus observes between 14 and 17 public holidays every year. 

Maternity Leave and Paternity Leave

Female employees can claim up to 18 weeks of maternity leave of which two weeks must be taken before and nine after birth. During maternity leave, the mother receives maternity allowances from social security equaling 72% of her usual wages – capped at EUR 753.32 per week. A new law was passed in 2021 which increases maternity leave to 22 weeks for the second child and to 26 weeks for any subsequent child.

Fathers are entitled to 14 days of paternity leave within the first 16 weeks after the child’s birth during which they receive the same allowances as mothers during maternity leave.

Parental Leave

Mothers and fathers are entitled to 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave after their baby is born or after having adopted a child. This leave must be taken before the child turns eight. 

Additional Leave and Benefits

There are no legal provisions for additional leave. However, there may be collective agreements granting further leave to employees.

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In addition to employment termination by default – i.e. in case of a fixed-term contract – resignation and mutual agreement, employment in Cyprus may be terminated due to the following reasons (non-exhaustive list):

• summary dismissal due to gross misconduct (no notice required)
• breach of employment contract (no notice required)
• employee’s underperformance
• employee’s long-term illness
• redundancy or other business-related reasons

Except for the first two cases, employers and employees have to observe the following notice periods, depending on the employee’s length of service:

For every additional 52 weeks of employment, the minimum notice period increases by an additional week up to a maximum of eight weeks. For employees, the following notice periods apply:

• 26 to 51 weeks = one week
• 52 to 259 weeks  two weeks
• over 260 weeks = three weeks

Employees who are made redundant are entitled to compensation payments which are calculated as follows:

• up to four years of service: two weeks’ pay for each continuous period of employment of 52 weeks
• five to ten years of service: two and a half weeks’ pay for each continuous period of employment of 52 weeks
• eleven to fifteen years of service: three weeks’ pay for each continuous period of employment of 52 weeks
• sixteen to twenty years of service: three and a half weeks’ pay for each continuous period of employment of 52 weeks
• more than twenty years of service: four weeks’ pay for each continuous period of employment of 52 weeks