Facts & stats
The Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti) is a Mediterranean island nation nestled just off the coasts of Israel, Turkey, and Egypt. The famed tourist hotspot is rich with history and natural beauty.
Beyond a storied cultural heritage that has been 12,000 years in the making, Cyprus is an advanced, high-income economy with an exceptionally high rating on the human development index. Free public education and low income inequality makes Cyprus an attractive market for skilled talent and multinational corporations.
Grow your team in Cyprus with Remote
To employ in Cyprus, companies must own a local legal entity in the country or work with a global HR partner. Managing payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance in Cyprus can get complicated, especially without Cypriot HR and legal experts and established local relationships.
Risks of misclassification
Cyprus, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time workers differently and there are risks associated with misclassification.
Employing in Cyprus
Cypriot labor regulations are contained in several legislations that spell out provisions for employee protections and workers’ rights applicable to Cyprus’ workforce of 440,000.
Employees in Cyprus enjoy protections against discrimination based on age, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, and race.
Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include the minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in Cyprus.
Public holidays
| Date | Holiday Name | Extra information |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | ||
| Epiphany | ||
| Clean Monday | ||
| Greek Independence Day | ||
| Cyprus National Day | ||
| Good Friday (Eastern) | ||
| Orthodox Easter Monday | ||
| Whit Monday | ||
| Dormition of the Mother of God | ||
| Independence Day | ||
| Ohi Day | ||
| Christmas Day | ||
| Boxing Day |
- Minimum
Wage -
Cypriot labor regulations only specify minimum wage requirements for specific industries & worker classifications such as:
- Manual, semi-skilled assistance: €870 ($1061.15) per month, rising to €924 ($1,127.01) after six months’ experience is acquired
- Unskilled asylum seekers working in the agriculture industry: €425 ($518.38) per month, with food and board provided
- Skilled workers in the agriculture industry: €767 ($935.52) per month
Cypriot minimum wage laws appear to cater to Cyprus’s agriculture economy and in the absence of any specified wage, employers and employees are free to negotiate independently.
- Payroll
Cycle - For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly instalments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.
- Onboarding
Time -
We can help you get a new employee started in Cyprus fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 14 working days.
Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.
For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.
Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.
Competitive benefits package in Cyprus
Remote can help you provide a competitive and compliant benefits package for your employees in Cyprus. If you have questions or would like to offer a custom benefit, let us know and we can help.
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Supplementary private insurance
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Supplemental dental insurance
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Supplementary vision insurance
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Additional paid holidays
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Flexible work schedule
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Pension scheme
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Life insurance
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Other insurance
Taxes in Cyprus
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Cyprus.
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Employer
- 12.5% - Corporate tax rate
- 8.3% - Social insurance
- 2% - Social cohesion
- 1.2% - Redundancy
- 0.5% - Training & development
- 2.9% - National health system
- 8% - Holiday fund
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Employee
- 8.3% - Social insurance
- 2.65% - National Health System
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Income Tax
- 0% - Up to €19,500
- 20% - €19,500 to €28,000
- 25% - €28,000 to €36,300
- 30% - €36,300 to €60,000
- 35% - Above €60,000
Types of leave
- Paid
time off Employees are entitled to four weeks of paid leave after completing 48 weeks on the job every year. Within that bracket, employees who work 5 days a week are entitled to 20 days of leave annually, while employees who work 6 days weekly are entitled to 24 days of paid annual leave.
- Public
holidays In addition to the paid leave entitlement, both part-time and full-time Cypriot workers are entitled to take the 13 public holidays off as, with full wages paid.
- Sick
leave Starting the fourth day of an illness, sick employees can draw benefits from the Social Insurance Fund for up to 156 days.
- Maternity
leave Female employees can take up to 18 weeks of paid leave for a single birth, 22 weeks for twins, and 26 weeks for triplets or more, with a maternity benefit paid by the government at a rate of 72% of the employee’s normal wages.
- Paternity
leave Natural fathers can take 2 weeks of paid leave, anytime within their partner’s maternity leave window.
Each parent can take up to seven weeks of leave annually to care for their children aged below eight. After exercising the first two weeks, parental leave entitlement can be transferred between partners.
Employment
termination
Termination process
Employee contracts can be terminated if a just cause is established, such as dishonesty, negligence, fraud, or any other work-related offenses.
Notice period
Like its severance obligations, notice periods in Cyprus depend on how long an employee has worked with the employer.
- 26 – 51 weeks of employment: 1 weeks’ notice
- 52 - 103 weeks of employment: 2 weeks’ notice
- 104 - 155 weeks of employment: 4 weeks’ notice
- 156 - 207 weeks of employment: 5 weeks’ notice
- 208 - 259 weeks of employment: 6 weeks’ notice
- 260 - 311 weeks of employment: 7 weeks’ notice
- 312 weeks and above: 8 weeks’ notice
Severance pay
In Cyprus, severance pay entitlements are calculated based on an employee’s tenure with the employing organization, ranging across:
- 2 weeks’ pay: employment for up to 4 years
- 2.5 weeks’ pay: employment for 5 to 10 years
- 3 weeks’ pay: employment for 11 to 15 years
- 3.5 weeks’ pay: employment for 16 to 20 years
- 4 weeks’ pay: employment for over 20 years
Probation periods
Probations can last anywhere from 6 months to 2 years, as long as both parties agree to it in the terms of the employment contract.
