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[null,"Prepared By:","Contributors:"]
[null,"Chrysostomides Advocates & Legal Consultants","Herodotos Taliadoros"]
[]
[]
[]
["Global Employment Law Guide"]
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["Report Generated: 7/14/2026"]
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["View your report results on next tab"]

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["Question","Cyprus"]
["Lex Mundi Global Employment Law Guide"]
["What are the different categories of employment status (for example, employee, worker, self-employed individuals, etc)?","The \nSocial Insurance Law distinguishes between Employees and Self-employed individuals.\n"]
["Are there different types of employment contracts (for example, fixed-term, indefinite)?","The main types of employment contracts are fixed-term contracts, part-time contracts and contracts of indefinite duration.\n"]
["What requirements need to be met in order for an employment contract to be valid?"," The essential information/terms of employment with which the employee must be provided are, at least, the following: \n \n the identity details of the parties to the employment contract/relationship \n the place of work and the registered office of the business or the residential address of the employer. In the absence of a specific or main place of work, the principle that the employee will perform their work in various places or that they are free to determine their place of work will be established. \n One of the following categories of information:\n \n the title, level, nature or category of the employee’s work \n a brief characterization or description of the employee's work \n \n \n the starting date of employment \n if the employment concerns a fixed-term contract, the expiration date or its expected duration \n if they are employed in temporary employment agencies, the identity of the company to which the employee is assigned, as soon as it becomes known \n the duration and terms of the probationary period, if such a period is provided for by the contract or employment relationship \n the training entitlement provided by the employer, if it is provided in the contract or employment relationship \n the duration of the paid leave to which the employee is entitled, or if this is not possible at the time the information is provided, the details of the granting and determination of such leave \n the procedure followed by the employer and the employee in the event of termination of employment, including the formal requirements and the duration of the notice periods, or, if the duration of the notice periods is not determined at the time the information is provided, the method of determining such notice periods \n the remuneration, including the basic salary, any other components of the remuneration which are stated separately, as well as the frequency and method of payment of the remuneration to which the employee is entitled \n the duration of the employee's typical working day or week, if the work time schedule is entirely or mostly predictable, any arrangements and compensation for overtime work, and any arrangements regarding shift changes \n in the event that the work time schedule is entirely or mostly unpredictable, the employer informs the employee about:\n \n the principle that the working hours are variable, the number of guaranteed paid hours, and the remuneration for work performed in addition to these guaranteed hours \n the reference hours and days within which the employee may be called upon to work \n the minimum notice period provided to the employee before the start of the assignment of work and, where applicable, the deadline for the cancellation of the assignment of work \n \n \n any collective agreements governing the terms of employment of the employee or, in the case of collective agreements concluded outside the enterprise by specific collective bodies or organizations, the name of the competent body or organization within which these agreements were concluded \n the identity details of the body collecting contributions for social security purposes provided by the employer, as well as any protection related to that social security. This information must be provided to the employee within 7 days from the start of employment. Evidence of the transmission and receipt of the relevant correspondence must be kept either in paper form or in digital form, provided that the employee has the ability to access it or that the information can be saved and printed. \n "]
["Are part-time employees afforded the same rights as full-time employees?","Where “part-time worker” is defined as an employee whose normal hours of work, calculated on a weekly basis or on average over a period of employment of up to one year, are less than the normal hours of work of a comparable full-time worker, pursuant to the \nPart-Time Workers (Prohibition of Discrimination) Law of 2002 (76(I)/2002), as amended, the principle of non-discrimination applies. In other words, part-time workers shall not be treated in a less favorable manner than comparable full-time workers solely because they work part-time unless different treatment is justified on objective grounds, and, where appropriate, the principle of pro rata temporis shall apply.\nPursuant to the same law, every part-time worker is entitled to equivalent terms and conditions of employment and equivalent treatment and shall enjoy the same protection as the one afforded to comparable full-time workers, particularly in relation to wages and benefits (pro-rated), social insurance, termination of employment, protection of maternity, annual paid leave and paid public holidays, parental leave, and sick leave.\n\nEvery part-time worker is also entitled to the same treatment and protection afforded to comparable full-time workers in relation to the right to association, right to collective bargaining, right to act as representative of employees, occupational safety and health, and protection from discrimination in employment and profession.\n"]
["Can employment contracts be assigned?","There is no general right to assign employment contracts, but it is possible to transfer employees to an affiliated / group entity, provided that terms, conditions, obligations, duties and rights all remain the same and continuity of employment is recognized.\n"]
["What rights do employees have (to object, to severance), if any, when the company they work for is transferred as a going concern?","In cases of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts thereof depending on all the factual circumstances surrounding the matter, this may trigger the applicability of the \nEU Council Directive 2001/23/EC of 12 March 2001 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the safeguarding of employees' rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of undertakings or businesses, and its transposing Cypriot legislation, \nSafeguarding and Protecting Employees Rights in the Event of a Transfer of Undertakings, Businesses or Parts Thereof Law 104(I)/2000. According to the said law, when an undertaking, or part of it, is transferred from one employer to another, as evidenced, for example, by a transfer of assets or employees, then the rights and obligations of the previous employer are transferred automatically to the new employers and, in case of collective agreements, the same terms and conditions have to be maintained by the new employer until the date of expiry or termination of the collective agreement, or the implementation of a new collective agreement with a minimum period of maintenance of these terms and conditions for at least one year.\nIt is noted that the transfer may not constitute in and of itself a lawful ground of dismissal (unless financial, technical, or organizational reasons arise, which merit changes in the human resource).\nFurther, affected employees or their representatives have the right to be informed, in good time before the transfer is carried out, of the following: (a) the date or proposed date of the transfer, (b) the reasons for the transfer, (c) the legal, economic and social implications of the transfer for the employees, (d) any measures envisaged in relation to the employees, and (e) conditions of employment. Where the transferor or the transferee envisages measures in relation to the status of the employees, he shall consult the employees or their representatives in good time on such measures with a view to reaching an agreement.\n\nEven further, the information and consultations shall cover at least the measures envisaged in relation to the employees and the information must be provided and consultations take place in good time before the transfer.\nFinally, the above obligations shall apply irrespective of whether the decision resulting in the transfer is taken by the employer or an undertaking controlling the employer.\n"]
["Do you have statutory rights for employees on change of control of an employer? If so, please give the statute.","In cases of acquisitions or other changes in the shareholding structure, but where the employing entity remains the same, there are no statutory rights for employees. However, in cases of mergers, the \nSafeguarding and Protecting Employees Rights in the Event of a Transfer of Undertakings, Businesses or Parts Thereof Law 104(I)/2000, in the way explained in our reply to \"\nWhat rights do employees have (to object, to severance), if any, when the company they work for is transferred as a going concern?\" may apply.\n"]
["In what circumstances can employers unilaterally change the terms of employment, and what remedies (if any) are afforded to an employee?","Employers cannot amend the terms of employment unilaterally in a way that would be unfavorable to the employee (e.g., reducing salary, increasing duties, increasing working hours, etc). However, if any changes to the terms of employment are favorable to the employee, no consent is required by the employee.\nIf an employer amends the terms in a way that would be unfavorable to the employee, this may also constitute cause for constructive dismissal, and the employee can file a labor dispute application to the Industrial Disputes Tribunal to seek damages.\n"]
["Is your jurisdiction an employment-at-will jurisdiction? What are the employer’s termination rights?","No - except for the first twenty-six weeks of continuous employment, which is the statutory probation period during which an employee can be dismissed without cause, without notice, and without compensation (such probation can be extended up to two years by agreement between the parties, in cases of directors, chairpersons, corporate secretaries, or other persons with a similar managerial role).\nOtherwise, all terminations must be objectively grounded on section 5 of the \nTermination of Employment Law of 1967 (L. 24/1967),\nas later amended, i.e.: (a) unsatisfactory performance (excluding temporary incapacitation due to illness, injury, and childbirth), (b) redundancy, (c) force majeure, act of war, civil commotion, or act of God, (d) termination at the end of a fixed period, (e) conduct rendering the employee subject to summary dismissal, and (f) conduct making it clear that the relationship between employer and employee cannot reasonably be expected to continue, a commission of a serious disciplinary or criminal offense, indecent behavior, or repeated violation or ignorance of employment rules.\n"]
["Are there remedies for dismissal without cause or wrongful termination?"," Pursuant to the Termination of Employment Law of 1967 (L. 24/1967) , as amended, the compensation to which the employee is entitled cannot exceed the equivalent of two years’ wages and is payable by the employer insofar as it does not exceed the employee’s annual wages and from the state-administered Redundancy Fund to the extent that such compensation exceeds the employee’s annual wages. The Employer is thus exposed to the payment of damages up to a maximum of one year’s wages. \n The compensation must in no case be less than what the employee would have received had he been declared redundant by the employer and was entitled to a redundancy payment under Law 24/1967 . According to Law 24/1967 , the redundancy payment is calculated on a graduated scale on the basis of the employee’s service and his/her last wages, up to a maximum of two years’ salary.   \n This compensation is calculated on a graduated scale in accordance with Table 4 of Law 24/1967 , as follows:  \n \n two weeks’ wages for each year of service for the first four years of employment;  \n two-and-a-half weeks’ wages for each year of service from five to ten years;  \n three weeks’ wages for each year of service from eleven to fifteen years;  \n three-and-a-half weeks’ wages for each year of service from sixteen to twenty years;  \n four weeks’ wages for each year of service beyond twenty years.    \n \n Please note that, according to Law 24/1967 , the Minister for Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance can set a ceiling for the maximum compensation per week, which he does, by ministerial order, currently at EUR 883.04 per week.  \n Damages awarded by the court may be aggravated over the minimum indicated above depending on the circumstances of the termination, the age of the employee and potential loss of career.  "]
["Are there protections for whistleblowers?"," The Law on the Protection of persons who report breaches of Union and National law of 2022 [6(I)/2022], transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law, offers protection to whistleblowers who have proceeded with the reporting of a breach of Union or national law while having reasonable grounds to believe that the information reported was true at the time of the report and when this information falls within the scope of this law. The reporting may take place through internal or external channels as well as publicly under certain conditions. \n The legislation covers workers in the private sector as well as civil servants, including at least persons who: \n \n have the status of a worker within the meaning attributed to that term by the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 45 of the TFEU , including public servants: It is understood that, in the definition of the term “worker,” the term “employee” is included;  \n have the status of a self-employed person within the meaning attributed to that term by the provisions of Article 49 of the TFEU : It is understood that, in the definition of the term “self-employed person,” the term “independent worker” is included;  \n have the status of a shareholder or belong to the administrative, management, or supervisory body of a company, including non-executive members, volunteers, and both remunerated and non-remunerated trainees;  \n work under the supervision and instructions of contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers as well as reporting persons where they report or publicly disclose information on breaches acquired in a work-based relationship which has since ended and reporting persons whose work-based relationship is yet to begin in cases where information on breaches has been acquired during the recruitment process or other pre-contractual negotiations. \n \n Where relevant, the protection also covers facilitators, third persons who are connected with the reporting persons and who could suffer retaliation in a work-related context, such as colleagues or relatives of the reporting persons and legal entities that the reporting persons own, work for or are otherwise connected with in a work-related context. \n According to this legislation, all legal entities in the public sector as well as the legal entities in the private sector with more than 50 employees are obliged to establish channels and procedures for internal reporting and for follow-up, following consultation and in agreement with the social partners where provided for by national law. At the same time, competent authorities are obliged to establish external reporting channels and to follow up on reports, with the Cyprus Bar Association acting as a competent authority issuing the Whistleblowing External Reporting Manual Regarding the Law on the Protection of persons reporting breaches of Union and National law 2022 (L. 6 (I)/2022). \n Finally, these legal entities are prohibited from acting in retaliation against reporting persons, including threats and attempts of retaliation, in particular in the form of: \n \n suspension, lay-off, dismissal or equivalent measures; \n demotion or withholding of promotion; \n transfer of duties, change of location of place of work, reduction in wages, change in working hours; \n withholding of training; \n a negative performance assessment or employment reference; \n imposition or administering of any disciplinary measure, reprimand or other penalty, including a financial penalty; \n coercion, intimidation, harassment or ostracism; \n discrimination, disadvantageous or unfair treatment; \n failure to convert a temporary employment contract into a permanent one, where the worker had legitimate expectations that he or she would be offered permanent employment; \n failure to renew, or early termination of, a temporary employment contract; \n harm, including to the person's reputation, particularly in social media, or financial loss, including loss of business and loss of income; \n blacklisting on the basis of a sector or industry-wide informal or formal agreement, which may entail that the person will not, in the future, find employment in the sector or industry; \n early termination or cancellation of a contract for goods or services; \n cancellation of a licence or permit; \n psychiatric or medical referrals \n unilateral detrimental change of working conditions. \n \n Dismissal related to reporting, as well as any detrimental change in employment conditions or retaliatory measure, is invalid, unless the employer proves that the dismissal or the detrimental change is due to a reason unrelated to the filing of a report by the employee. \n In proceedings before a court or other authority relating to a detriment suffered by the reporting person, and subject to that person establishing that he or she reported or made a public disclosure and suffered a detriment, it shall be presumed that the detriment was made in retaliation for the report or the public disclosure. In such cases, it shall be for the person who has taken the detrimental measure to prove that that measure was based on duly justified grounds. \n Additionally, there is criminal liability for natural persons who (a) obstruct or attempt to obstruct the submission of a report; or (b) take retaliatory action against a reporting person; or (c) initiate malicious proceedings against a reporting person; or (d) breach the obligation to maintain the confidentiality of the identity of the reporting person. \n Finally, every employer, as soon as they become aware of specific retaliations due to the filing of a report, takes all appropriate measures to stop and prevent the recurrence of the retaliations, as well as to eliminate their consequences. In the event that an employer does not take such measures, they are considered complicit with the person who committed the said acts. At the same time, every employer takes all appropriate and timely measures to prevent these acts, such as establishing a code of conduct. In the event that an employer does not take these measures and said acts are committed against one of his employees, then he is considered jointly liable with the person who committed those acts. \n \n "]
["Do employees have a right to privacy? If so, what are the remedies for a breach?"," Υes – the main data privacy legal framework applicable to employees consists of the following: \n \n The Constitution of Cyprus pursuant to which employees have a constitutional right to privacy vis-à-vis the state, like any other natural person; \n Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) , hereinafter the “ GDPR ”, where employees as data subjects, have certain rights i.e. right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability, and to object to processing; and \n The Cyprus Protection of Natural Persons with regard to the Processing of Personal Data and on the Free Movement of Such Data Law of 2018 (125(I)/2018), which is the national law that implements certain provisions of the aforementioned regulation. \n \n Any interference with the employee’s privacy, by means of processing their personal data, is prescribed by the following principles under the GDPR : lawfulness, fairness and transparency, purpose limitation, data minimization (adequacy, relevance, and necessity), accuracy, storage limitation, integrity and confidentiality, and accountability. \n It is further noted that any interference with the employee’s privacy by means of employee surveillance and monitoring is subject to the following principles, as per section 14 of the Directive of the Cyprus Commissioner for Personal Data Protection on the Processing of Personal Data in the Sector of Employment Relationships : \n \n the employer may install electronic surveillance systems at the workplace for legitimate purposes which the employer pursues, provided that these purposes supersede the rights, interests and fundamental freedoms of the employees; \n the means/monitoring systems that the employer chooses to install and the data collected every time must be proportionate to the objective pursued; \n the employer must choose the least interventionist means of monitoring in order to satisfy the pursued aims; \n the personal data of the employees collected during the stage of monitoring shall be used only for the purpose for which the monitoring is carried out; \n the personal data of the employees collected during the stage of monitoring shall be destroyed/deleted once the purpose for which the monitoring is carried out has been fulfilled; \n the employer must in all instances inform the employees before the monitoring begins, of the purpose, method, duration and the technical specifications of the surveillance;  continual monitoring in the workplace must be avoided;  secret surveillance is prohibited; \n the employer may choose to prohibit employees from using the equipment of the company/organization for personal purposes such as sending e-mails or making outbound telephone calls; \n the employer must inform the employees of how they can use the equipment of the company/organization, the electronic surveillance methods which will be used and the consequences on employees resulting from the use of such equipment for personal purposes; \n the access of the employer to the content of personal e-mails and personal telephone calls of the employees is prohibited; and \n the employees maintain the right to protection of their private life even in the workplace; the employers must maintain the balance between this right and the degree to which the surveillance systems they choose interfere with the private life of employees.  \n \n The above is also in line with previous opinions and working documents of the EU Article 29 – Data Protection Working Party and the European Data Protection Board (“ EDPB ”). \n Additionally, the Office of the Cyprus Commissioner for Personal Data Protection issues from time to time various opinions and guidelines (in line with the  EDPB ) on specific matters that may affect employees. \n More specifically as an example, the Commissioner has issued Directive 1/2025 regarding the use of personal mobile phones in the workplace (\" BYOD \"), in which it is stated that employees cannot be obliged to use their personal mobile phones for work purposes, unless (i) the employee agrees, (ii) it facilitates their work and (iii) it does not involve the employer processing employee personal data. Where no personal data processing is involved, limited use is allowed provided it is justifiable. If personal device use is not desired by the employee, the employer must provide a work alternative and ensure no negative consequences arise. If personal devices are used in a way that involves the processing of personal data, the GDPR principles and obligations must be complied with (e.g. informing the employees, having a valid legal basis, conducting a Data Protection Impact Assessment where necessary, etc). Additionally, where personal devices are used in a systematic and integrated way into work processes, the employer must have a clear policy regulating their use and contingencies (e.g. in case the employee forgets their device at home, it malfunctions, or the employee opts out). \n When it comes to remedies, breaches of the above principles, and hence the GDPR and the Cyprus Protection of Natural Persons with regard to the Processing of Personal Data and on the Free Movement of Such Data Law of 2018 (125(I)/2018), may incur criminal sanctions (certain breaches may carry up to EUR10,000 and/or one-year imprisonment; other breaches of data protection law may carry up to EUR30,000 and/or three-year imprisonment, and certain other breaches may carry up to EUR50,000 and/or five-year imprisonment) as well as administrative sanctions (administrative fines up to EUR20,000,000 or up to 4% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher, subject to the conditions of the GDPR on imposing fines). The data subject/employee also has the right to seek compensation in court if damages have been suffered due to the breach of these principles. "]
["Are employees afforded any anti-discrimination protection?","Cyprus has a multitude of anti-discrimination laws dealing with different forms of discrimination in different sectors, starting with \nArticle 28 of the \nConstitution of the Republic of Cyprus, which states that everyone is equal before the law, government and justice and is entitled to equal protection and treatment; there is no single comprehensive equality statute. In particular, the following are most relevant to discrimination in the workplace. \nThe Suppression of Racial and Some Other Forms of Discrimination (Ombudsman) Law of 2004 (42(I)/2004) and the Equal Treatment in Employment and Work Law of 2004 (58(I)/2004), which have some overlapping provisions, prohibit any direct or indirect discriminatory treatment or conduct, provision, term, criteria or practice in both private and public sector activities on grounds of race, community, language, colour, disability, religion, political or other beliefs, national or ethnic origin, or sexual orientation, including in relation to (a) access to employment, self-employment and work, including selection criteria and appointment terms, regardless of sector of activity at all levels of the professional hierarchy, including promotions, (b) access to all kinds and levels of professional orientation, training, education and re-orientation, including obtaining practical professional experience, (c) conditions and terms of employment, including provisions on dismissals and remuneration, (d) capacity of a member and participation in an employees’ or employers’ organisation or any organisation the members of which exercise a particular profession including advantages granted by such organisations, and (e) social protection, social security, and healthcare.\nIn addition, the \nEqual Pay between Men and Women for the Same Work or Work of Equal Value Law of 2002 (177(I)/2002) and the \nEqual Treatment between Men and Women in Employment and Professional Education Law of 2002 (205(I)/2002) prohibit discrimination in the public and private sectors on the basis of gender, including in relation to terms and conditions of remuneration for same work or work of equal value, ensure equal criteria for men and women, conditions of employment or access to employment or criteria, further protection of maternity, protection from harassment, and ensure active participation and representation. The preceding laws also have certain exceptions pertaining to residency requirements of third-country nationals and stateless persons or objectively justified discrimination on certain grounds of religion or age, and affirmative action. They also include pertinent administrative sanctions, criminal sanctions on perpetrators, enforcement mechanisms, and whistleblower protection.\nWe further note additional anti-discrimination laws pertaining to discriminatory treatment of (a) fixed-term employees vis-à-vis employees of indefinite duration, (b) full-time vis-à-vis part-time employees, (c) persons with disabilities, as well as Law 3/1968 ratifying the \nInternational Labour Organisation Convention No. 111 concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation of 1958.Finally, in relation to potential claims, it is noted that a prima facie discrimination claim shifts the burden of proof onto the employer.\n"]
["Are there statutory rights to vacation, medical leave and parental leave? Have there been any changes to leave benefits in the past 12 months? Is there any proposed legislation that employers should be aware of that will impact leave benefits?","Annual Paid Leave: Pursuant to the \nAnnual Paid Leave Law 8/1967, each employee who has worked 48 weeks within one year is entitled to an annual leave with pay of four weeks. According to the same law, if an employee works 5 days per week, then he is entitled to a minimum of 20 working days, whereas if he works 6 days per week, he is entitled to 24 working days unless he is entitled to more days provided by any other law, custom or collective agreement. The contribution rate to the Central Holiday Fund is 8% for the minimum leave and is payable wholly by the employer. The employer may apply to be exempted from the said contribution if he/she has opted to pay the employee annual leave directly with full pay. This is standard practice in most businesses, whereas the practice of contributing to the Central Holiday Fund is more common in the industrial sector where there are larger businesses. When the employer opts to pay the employee's annual leave directly, this should be more beneficial than the law, i.e., the legal minimum should be exceeded, for example, 21 days for a five-day week or 26 days for a six-day week, respectively, with full pay.\nSick Leave: There is no statutory minimum for paid sick leave that needs to be granted by the employer. However, the employee may claim a sickness benefit from the Social Insurance Fund when the number of continuous sick leave days exceeds three.\nPublic Holidays: They are compulsory only for retail sector workers. There is no statutory obligation to grant public holidays otherwise to this effect in the private sector, but it is a matter of the individual employment contract or the collective agreement. Nevertheless, it is common practice to grant a number of these public holidays.\nMaternity Leave: In accordance with section 3(2) of the \nProtection of Maternity Law 100(I)/1997, an employee has the right to take 22 weeks of maternity leave, 11 of which are mandatorily taken during the period starting two weeks before the week of the expected birth. In the case of the third and subsequent births, the maternity leave period is extended to 26 consecutive weeks. During the maternity leave, the employee is entitled to a maternity allowance from the Social Insurance Fund. Further, section 5 of the same law also gives the right to new mothers to have a paid one-hour breastfeeding break. Adoptive mothers have comparable protections and rights.\nPaternity Leave: Pursuant to \nLeave Law 216(I)/2022, Cypriot law provides for paternity leave. By virtue of Section 5 of said Law, an employee, the spouse of which has given birth or got a child by surrogacy or through the adoption of a child under 12 years old, is entitled to paternity leave of 2 continuous weeks, within the period that begins from the week of childbirth or adoption and ends after the lapse of 2 weeks from the expiry of the maternity leave period. During the paternity leave, the employee is entitled to a paternity allowance from the Social Insurance Fund.\nCarer’s leave: Pursuant to \nLeave Law 216(I)/2022, an employee is entitled to receive unpaid care leave of 5 working days per year, provided that the need for this is documented.\nLeave on Grounds of Force Majeure: Pursuant to \nLeave Law 216(I)/2022, an employee is entitled to be absent from work without pay, 7 working days per year, on grounds of force majeure related to urgent family matters involving illness or accident that make it necessary for the employee to provide immediate care to the affected person.\nIt is noted that granting parental leave, carer’s leave or leave on grounds of force majeure does not affect the continuity of employment.\nFinally, in the past 12 months there has only been a change in the right to new mothers to have a paid one-hour breastfeeding break to which a new mother is now entitled for a duration of 12 months from childbirth or from the day when maternity leave begins in the case of adoption, while in the past a new mother was entitled to this right only for the first 9 months. There is also no proposed or pending legislation that employers should be aware of that will impact leave benefits in the near future.\n"]
["Are restrictive covenants recognized and, if so, what are reasonable restrictions as to geography, duration and scope of activity?"," Prima facie, under section 27 of the Cyprus Contracts Law, Cap. 149, any agreement which restricts the freedom to conduct a legitimate profession, trade or business is void. The only exceptions are the following:  \n \n One who sells the goodwill of a business may agree with the buyer to refrain from carrying on a similar business, within specified local limits, so long as the buyer or any person deriving title to the goodwill from him carries on a like business therein, provided that such limits appear to the Court reasonable, regard being had to the nature of the business;  \n partners may, upon or in anticipation of a dissolution of the partnership, agree that some or all of them will not carry on a business similar to that of the partnership within such local limits as are referred to in the last preceding subsection;  \n partners may agree that some one or all of them will not carry on any business, other than that of the partnership, during the continuance of the partnership.    \n \n In view of the above, restrictive covenants are only valid in the above exceptions where the court’s decision on such enforceability will be based on all the relevant circumstances of the case at hand. The circumstances that shall be taken into account, to this effect, are the time limits of the restrictions, the geographical coverage, the sector and the ability to negotiate the contract on an equal footing with the other party. "]
["Can employees be terminated for refusing to sign a restrictive covenant? What serves as consideration for a restrictive covenant?","Employees cannot be terminated for refusing to sign a restrictive covenant. As stated above, there is an exhaustive list of lawful grounds for dismissal, and no ground can be linked to a refusal to sign a clause that is not obligatory to perform the duties of the contract.\n"]
["Does your jurisdiction require contributions to a pension or retirement scheme?","No, this is optional unless there is a collective agreement between the employers and trade unions to that effect. Social insurance laws require contributions to the Social Insurance Fund, out of which both state pensions and other benefits, such as sickness allowance or maternity or paternity allowance, are paid.\n"]
["Are certain benefits mandated by your jurisdiction?","There are no mandatory benefits, but only mandatory contributions to certain statutory funds (Central Holiday Fund, Redundancy Fund, Social Insurance Fund, General Healthcare System, Human Resource Development Fund, and Social Cohesion Fund), out of which statutory benefits are paid. In some sectors, such as the Hotel and restaurant industries, employees have a right to specific overtime ratios, as well as paid sick leave.\n"]
["Is it permitted to have a mandatory retirement age in your jurisdiction?","There is no mandatory retirement age in the private sector, but there is a pensionable age of 65 (an employee may also claim early pension at the age of 63, instead, at a reduced rate, under certain conditions). There may, however, be mandatory retirement for certain professions by statute. However, dismissing an employee for reaching the retirement age is a lawful ground for dismissal. Therefore, while it is not mandatory to retire at 65, employers are allowed to dismiss an employee without further reasoning.\nThere is a mandatory retirement age in the public sector at 65 (or early retirement age at 63 with reduced pension under certain conditions). It is noted that some higher-level officials (such as the Attorney General and Supreme Court Justices) have a higher mandatory retirement age at 68.\n"]
["Is it possible to cease pension or insured benefits (income continuance/disability insurance, healthcare, life assurance, etc.) when work continues beyond retirement age?","After the employee has started claiming a pension, this cannot be ceased, even if work continues beyond that age, but certain benefits might be. This is a contractual matter, but since the employer is allowed to lawfully dismiss an employee after reaching the retirement age, it is more common to contractually agree to cease all benefits after retirement age.\n"]
["Can an employer require that employees return to work in the office (absent government order to shut down)? If an employee refuses to return to the office, can the employer terminate the employee’s employment?","This is a contractual matter that governs the employment relationship of the parties. If the parties agreed to fully remote work, then the employer cannot unilaterally amend the employment terms. If the parties agreed to a hybrid model or there is a provision which gives the employer the discretion to require employees to return to work, then this is lawful.\n"]