TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT IN CYPRUS

The Employment Law (100(1)/2000) in Cyprus includes both statute and case law. Specifically, Cyprus statute law contains issues related to the termination of employment, paid leave, annual social insurance, maternity leave, equal treatment at work e.t.c. The Labour Disputes Courts deals with issues related to the rights of employees and employers.

The Employment Law applies to every employee who has a contract or employment relationship in the private, public and semi-governmental sector.

The Employment Law does NOT apply to :

• employees whose total period of employment is less than one month;

• employees whose total hours of employment is less than eight hours in a given week;

• employees whose employment is of a casual nature and/or particular nature under the condition that in these cases the non-application of the Law is justified by objective reasons;

In this article, our employment lawyers will present the primary aspects of termination of employment in Cyprus, i.e. notice period, unlawful termination of employment and redundancy.

Under the Termination of Employment Law (24/1967), an employer intending to dismiss an employee, who has completed at least 26 weeks of continuous employment, is obliged to give the employee a minimum period of notice based on the length of his/her service, as illustrated below :

26 -51 weeks work (6 months- 1 year) One week notice

52 - 103 weeks work (1-2 years) Two weeks notice

104 - 155 weeks work (2-3 years) Four weeks notice

156- 207 weeks work (3-4 years) Five weeks notice

208 - 259 weeks work (4-5 years) Six weeks notice

260 - 311 weeks work (5-6 years) Seven weeks notice

More than 312 weeks work (more than 6 years) Eight weeks notice

Unlawful termination of employment:

Following the Termination of Employment Law, an employee whose employment has been terminated unlawfully after completing 26 weeks of continuous employment with an employer is entitled to receive compensation. In addition, an employee who quitted his/her job due to his/her employer’s conduct is also eligible to receive compensation. Second of all, it should be clarified that the amount of compensation is determined by the Labour Disputes Court following an application by the employee.

When assessing the amount of compensation, the Court takes into account the following criteria:

• The remuneration of the employee;

• The duration of employee’s service;

• The restriction of employee’s career prospects;

• The age of the employee;

• The circumstances of employee’s dismissal;

An employee cannot claim compensation if he/she terminated his/her employment for one of the following reasons:

• In case the termination of employment held as an outcome of redundancy, Act of God, war, riots, extreme weather conditions, etc.;

• In case of dismissal due to redundancy;

• In case the employment is terminated at the end of fixed-term contract;

• In case the dismissal is due to employee’s fault;

How to receive compensation for unlawful dismissal:

Submitting an application for unlawful dismissal compensation requires a professional legal support. An employment lawyer will assist you with all the necessary legal and administrative procedures so that to help you to get the compensation you deserve. Therefore, if you wish to receive a customised legal support contact one of our lawyers.

Redundancy:

The amount of redundancy payment is calculated as illustrated below:

Period of continuous employment Amount of redundancy payment

Up to 4 years 2 Weeks wages for each year of continuous employment

More than 4 and up to 10 years 2,5 Weeks wages for each period of continuous employment

More than 10 and up to 15 years 3 Weeks wages for each year of continuous employment

More than 15 and up to 20 years 3,5 Weeks wages for each year of continuous employment

More than 20 and up to 25 years 4 Weeks wages for each year of continuous employment

How to claim redundancy payment:

In order to get payment from the Redundancy Fund, the employee must make a claim on the prescribed form, that can be found on Social Insurance Offices, Citizen’s Service Centre and the official website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurances.

The claim must be submitted to the closest Social Insurance Office, within three months at latest from the date of termination of employment. Nevertheless, in cases where the employee proves that he/she had a good reason for the delay, payment may be approved given that the claim is made within 12 months from the date of termination of his/her employment.