Employment contracts and minimum terms
Cyprus employment law requires a written contract of employment for every employee, issued within one month of the start date. The contract must state at minimum: job title and description, place of work, start date and duration (if fixed-term), salary and payment frequency, working hours (the standard is 40 hours per week, 8 hours per day), probationary period (maximum 6 months), and notice period. The governing legislation is the Termination of Employment Law of 1967 (as amended) and the Employment Information Law of 2009. Contracts can be in English; there is no requirement for a Greek translation for the employer's records. Fixed-term contracts are permitted but repeated renewals that together exceed 4 years allow the employee to claim a permanent contract by statute.
Minimum wage and mandatory benefits
Cyprus introduced a statutory minimum wage in January 2023, set initially at €940 per month and increased to €1,000 per month from January 2024 for all employees who have completed six months of continuous employment with the same employer; new starters receive 80% of the minimum for the first six months. The minimum wage applies to nearly all employees regardless of sector, with exemptions for domestic workers and trainees. Mandatory benefits include 20 working days of paid annual leave per year (or 4 weeks, whichever is greater), paid sick leave after completion of probation (partially funded by the Social Insurance Fund), and public holiday pay. A 13th salary — typically paid in December — is not mandated by statute but is standard practice across most sectors; it should be specified or excluded explicitly in the contract to avoid disputes.
Probation, notice periods, and termination
Probationary periods are legally capped at 6 months. During probation, either party can terminate without notice or compensation unless the contract specifies otherwise. After probation, statutory minimum notice periods scale with tenure: zero to two years requires one week's notice; two to four years, two weeks; four to seven years, four weeks; and the scale continues to a maximum of eight weeks for twelve-plus years. Notice must be given in writing. Employees terminated after 26 weeks (6 months) of continuous employment qualify for statutory redundancy pay, calculated as two weeks' pay per year of service for the first 4 years and three weeks' pay per year thereafter, subject to the insurable earnings ceiling. Immediate dismissal for gross misconduct is permitted but must be documented carefully — Cyprus courts tend to favour employees in ambiguous dismissal disputes.
Practical steps to make your first hire
Before the employee starts, the employer must register the employment with the Social Insurance Services (form TE.S.P. 5) and ensure the employee has a Tax Identification Number (TIC) and Social Insurance number. The HRDA registration (for the Human Resource Development levy) can be done online. Payroll is typically processed monthly; payslips are required to show gross pay, deductions, and employer contributions. For non-EU employees, work permits are required before they begin work — these are processed by the Civil Registry and Migration Department, and obtaining one for a skilled worker typically takes 3–6 weeks for approved company sponsors. Many small Cyprus employers use a local payroll bureau (€50–€120 per employee per month) rather than managing Social Insurance filings themselves, particularly in the first year.