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Employment terms in Cyprus: what your employer must give you in writing, probation and working time

Your employer must give you the main terms in writing by day 7. Probation is at most 6 months, the week at most 48 hours on average, with 11 hours' rest a day.

Working in Cyprus Checked: Changed:

In short

Who it applies to
Everyone employed in Cyprus — Cypriot, EU or third-country national, full-time or part-time. The law does not cover people working on average up to 3 hours a week with guaranteed hours, and the working time rules leave out the armed forces, the police and some seafarers.
What it costs
Nothing for the employee: the employer issues the documents on the terms himself and free of charge. An employer who breaks the law faces a fine of up to €5.500.
How long it takes
The main terms — job, place, start date, pay, working hours, probation — are given in writing no later than the 7th calendar day of work. The rest — leave, how dismissal works, training, the collective agreement, where contributions go — within a month.
Where to apply
The employer issues the document — on paper or electronically in a form you can store and print — and records the same terms in the state system ΕΡΓΑΝΗ. If you were not given the terms or they are broken, complain to the district office of the Department of Labour Relations; third-country nationals file through the police Aliens and Immigration Service.
If your case differs
No term of the contract may be worse than the law provides. The employer may not forbid a second job with another employer outside your hours, unless at hiring he set out an objective reason in writing — safety, trade secrets, a conflict of interest.

Your case

If you are just starting a job

By the 7th calendar day you should have a document with the parties, workplace, job, start date (and end date for a fixed-term contract), probation, pay with all its parts and pay dates, working hours and overtime. Within a month come leave, how dismissal works with notice periods, training, the collective agreement and where social insurance contributions go. Probation may not exceed 6 months; during it either side may end the job without notice.

If you already work there and the terms change

The employer gives you a document on any change no later than the day it takes effect; the exception is a change in a law or collective agreement the document already referred to. After 6 months and the end of probation you may ask for a more predictable and secure form of work, if one exists — the employer answers in writing, with reasons, within a month.

If your schedule is unpredictable — you are called in when there is work

The document must state the guaranteed paid hours, the days and hours in which you may be called in, and the minimum notice before a call. You may turn down a call outside those windows or without notice, with no consequences. If the employer cancels a shift later than the agreed deadline, he pays at least your day's wage for that day.

Deadlines and conditions

  • the main terms are given in writing by the 7th calendar day at the latestLaw 25(I)/2023, s. 12(1): the basic information is given «εντός του χρονικού διαστήματος που αρχίζει την πρώτη εργάσιμη ημέρα και λήγει το αργότερο την έβδομη ημερολογιακή ημέρα»; directive 2019/1152, art. 5.
  • the other terms within 1 monthLaw 25(I)/2023, s. 12(2): the supplementary information is given «εντός ενός μηνός από την πρώτη ημέρα».
  • probation lasts no more than 6 monthsLaw 25(I)/2023, s. 15(1): probation «δεν μπορεί να υπερβαίνει τους έξι (6) μήνες, ανεξαρτήτως οποιωνδήποτε ρυθμίσεων ίσχυαν πριν»; managers of legal entities are excepted, s. 15(3); directive 2019/1152, art. 8.
  • the old 104-week probation no longer appliesLaw 24/1967, s. 9(1), proviso still in the cylaw consolidated text: «ουδεμία δοκιμαστική περίοδος θα είναι μακροτέρα των εκατόν τεσσάρων εβδομάδων» — overridden by s. 15(1) of Law 25(I)/2023.
  • no more than 48 hours a week on average, overtime includedLaw 63(I)/2002, s. 7(1): «δεν μπορεί να υπερβαίνει τις 48 ώρες κατά μέσον όρο, συμπεριλαμβανομένων των υπερωριών»; s. 7(4) allows more with the employee's consent.
  • the average is taken over 4 monthsLaw 63(I)/2002, s. 7(3): «Η περίοδος αναφοράς είναι τέσσερις μήνες».
  • at least 11 consecutive hours of rest between working daysLaw 63(I)/2002, s. 4(1): «περίοδο ανάπαυσης ελάχιστης διάρκειας ένδεκα συνεχόμενων ωρών».
  • a working day longer than 6 hours comes with a breakLaw 63(I)/2002, s. 5(1)(a): «Όταν ο χρόνος ημερήσιας εργασίας υπερβαίνει τις έξι ώρες ο εργαζόμενος δικαιούται σε διάλειμμα».
Show all conditions (12)
  • the break is at least 15 minutes and not at the start or end of the dayLaw 63(I)/2002, s. 5(1)(b): «συνεχής περίοδος τουλάχιστο 15 λεπτών»; the break may not be placed at the start or end of the day.
  • once a week, at least 24 consecutive hours offLaw 63(I)/2002, s. 6(1): «συνεχή ελάχιστη ανάπαυση 24 ωρών» a week, on top of the 11 hours of daily rest.
  • after 6 months with one employer you may ask for a more stable contract and get a reasoned written answer within a monthLaw 25(I)/2023, s. 19(1): an employee «με τουλάχιστον έξι (6) μήνες υπηρεσία στον ίδιο εργοδότη» may ask for a more stable form of work; s. 19(2) — a reasoned answer «εντός ενός (1) μηνός».
  • an employer who breaks the law faces a fine of up to €5.500Law 25(I)/2023, s. 27: «χρηματική ποινή που δεν υπερβαίνει τις πέντε χιλιάδες πεντακόσια ευρώ (€5.500)».

A collective agreement

The law lets collective agreements set terms other than the rules on probation, second jobs, schedules and moving to a stable form — as long as the employee's general protection is kept. If your sector or company has a collective agreement, check its terms or ask the union.

Overtime pay

There is no general legal rate for overtime: how extra hours are paid is set by the contract, a collective agreement or custom. The law only requires the overtime rules and pay to be written in the document on your terms.

Sources

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