Cyprus
Make employment in Cyprus easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in Cyprus, all in one easy-to-use platform.
- Capital City
Nicosia
- Currency
Euro (€, EUR)
- Languages
Greek and Turkish
- Population size
1,189,265
Facts & Stats
- Capital City
Nicosia
- Currency
Euro (€, EUR)
- Languages
Greek and Turkish
- Population size
1,189,265
- Ease of doing business
Easy
- Cost of living index
$$$ (36 of 139 nations)
- Payroll frequency
Monthly
- VAT - standard rate
19%
- GDP - real growth rate
3.1 (2019)
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
Looking to employ workers in Cyprus? Companies hiring in Cyprus must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.
Remote can employ your team in Cyprus on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Cyprus team. You can also pay contractors now in Cyprus with Remote.
Risks of misclassification
Cyprus, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Cyprus may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.
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.
Minimum Wage
Every employee who works full-time must receive an initial monthly salary of at least €885 gross per month and after a 6-month continuous period of employment with the same employer, this salary must increases to at least €940 gross per month.
This minimum wage does not apply to domestic workers, agricultural and livestock workers and shipping workers, as well as to workers for whom the minimum wages in the hotel industry applies.
Payroll Cycle
For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments 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 5 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.
16 Public holidays
Competitive benefits package in Cyprus
At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practicing “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).
Our benefits packages in Cyprus are tailored to fulfill the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Mental Health Support
Pension or 401(K)
Life and Disability Insurance
Taxes in Cyprus
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Cyprus.
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
Types of leave
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.
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
Probation periods can last anywhere from six months to two years, as long as both parties agree to it in the terms of the employment contract.