Online Cyprus Information & Business Contacts in English

The minimum working age in Cyprus is 15.

The contract of indeterminate duration is the commonest form of employment contract in Cyprus. However, in some economic sectors, such as tourism and agriculture, there is a great deal of seasonal employment.

Part-time employment

Equal treatment of part-time workers is safeguarded by a special law. The law defines a part-time employee as an employee whose hours of employment calculated weekly or averaged over an employment period of one year are fewer than the normal hours of employment of a comparable employee in full-time employment. In these circumstances the principle of proportionality is applied, on the basis of which the part-time employee has proportional entitlement to the same terms and treatment as the full-time employee.

Employment of specific duration

Employment of specific (fixed-term) duration is regulated by a special law. As regards terms and conditions of employment, an employee working under a fixed-term arrangement must not be treated less favourably than a corresponding employee whose employment is of indeterminate duration, except where this is justified for objective reasons. The law also provides that where a worker has been employed by the same employer on contracts of specific duration for more than 30 months (irrespective of the number of fixed-term contract renewals), the contract is then considered for all purposes to be of indeterminate duration, except where the employer can show that a fixed-term contract is justified for objective reasons.

Teleworking

Teleworking, in which the employed person works at home, is not yet a common practice in Cyprus.

Temporary employment

The practice of temporary employment is not very common in Cyprus, and for that reason there are no specialist offices/agencies offering such services.

Posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services

The posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services is regulated by a special law. The law provides that the minimum terms and conditions of employment of workers posted from undertakings established in countries of the European Union for the provision of temporary work in the territory of the Republic must be the same as those applicable in the Republic on the basis of law, regulation or administrative provisions or collective agreements.

The Department of Labour Relations is responsible for ensuring that the legislation governing the types of employment stated above is implemented and complied with, except in the case of the legislation covering the posting of workers, for which the competent authority is the Department of Labour.

For more information or to register a complaint contact the Department of Labour Relations, Tel. 22401695/6 or the Department of Labour, Tel. 22 400802.