Employment contracts, leave requests and resignation letters in Cyprus
In Cyprus the employer must give the employee the terms of the job in writing under Law 25(I)/2023 on transparent and predictable working conditions: the core terms no later than seven days after the start, the rest within a month. The Termination of Employment Law of 1967 sets minimum notice by length of service; the employer's runs from one week after 26 weeks' employment up to eight weeks after 312. Paid annual leave for a full year is at least 20 working days on a five-day week and 24 on a six-day week. A general non-compete clause does not hold: section 27 of the Contract Law, Cap. 149, makes void any agreement that stops someone practising a lawful profession, so the employee confidentiality agreement protects information without one.
For a new hire there is the open-ended employment contract and the fixed-term employment contract; under Law 98(I)/2003, successive fixed-term contracts adding up to 30 months count as open-ended unless there is an objective reason. Telework is voluntary and agreed in writing, with the employer bearing the equipment and its costs, which is what the remote work agreement sets out. An annual leave request or a parental leave request leaves a written record; parental leave under Law 216(I)/2022 is open after six months' service until the child turns 15, asked for three weeks ahead. The notice of sick leave tells the employer; Social Insurance pays sickness benefit from the fourth day.
An employee who leaves has the resignation letter, and when both sides want to part there is the mutual agreement to end employment. For wages that were not paid, a written demand for unpaid wages comes before a complaint to the Department of Labour Relations and a claim in the Labour Disputes Court. A request for a certificate of employment and a request for a social insurance statement show the service to a new employer, a bank or a benefits office. The documents themselves are in Greek, written for Cypriot law, and each page describes its document in English. Fill one in online and download a finished PDF, or download it blank.
The documents
13 forms available to fill out or download.
Request for a social insurance record statement (Cyprus)
The written request to the Social Insurance Services in Cyprus for a statement of one's insurance record: periods of insurance, insurable earnings, contributions and employers for the period you choose. It serves to check that an employer paid the contributions, before a claim for a benefit or pension, or for use in another country. It is also made as a request for access to personal data under art. 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation. With a verified CY Login account the statement can also be seen on gov.cy; this letter is for asking in writing, at the district office, a Citizen Service Centre or by email.
Notice to the employer of sick leave (Cyprus)
The written notice in which an employee in Cyprus tells the employer they are off sick: from when, until when the absence is expected to last, which doctor is issuing the medical certificate and whether it is enclosed or will follow. It promises no pay for the first three days, for which no sickness benefit is paid, and asks for it only if the employment contract or a collective agreement provides for it. From the fourth day, sickness benefit is paid by Social Insurance.
Employee confidentiality agreement (Cyprus)
The agreement by which an employee in Cyprus undertakes to keep the employer's information confidential, during and after the employment, and not to approach, for a limited time, the clients and colleagues they worked with. It contains no non-compete clause: under section 27 of the Contract Law, Cap. 149, an agreement that stops someone practising a lawful profession is void, and only narrow, reasonable restrictions can stand. It expressly excludes the employee's general knowledge and reports of wrongdoing.
Demand for unpaid wages (Cyprus)
A written demand by an employee or former employee in Cyprus to the employer for wages that have not been paid: the job, the salary, the unpaid periods and the amount owed, with seven days to pay into a bank account, the documents attached and a request for a written reply within 14 days. It warns that, if unpaid, a written complaint to the Department of Labour Relations under the Protection of Wages Law and a claim before the Labour Disputes Court will follow, or, above two years' wages, before the District Court, for which it is also the letter of claim the Civil Procedure Rules require. It is sent by registered post or by hand.
Remote work agreement (Cyprus)
A written agreement between an employer and an employee in Cyprus for telework under the Telework Framework Law of 2023: pattern and days, place, hours and time recording, the right to disconnect and the measures that secure it, equipment, costs, data, health and safety, and the return to the office. Telework is voluntary and agreed in writing, and the employer bears the equipment and its costs. The agreement also serves as the written statement of telework terms the Law requires.
Parental leave request to the employer (Cyprus)
A working parent's written request to the employer in Cyprus for parental leave under Law 216(I)/2022: the child, the dates, the length and the leave already taken, with room for the employer's reply. After six months' service the Law gives up to 18 weeks for each child until the child turns 15 (21 with a disability), from one day to five weeks a year (seven with three or more children), on a request made at least three weeks before the start. Social Insurance Services pay a benefit for part of the leave, eight weeks for the first child and more for later children, on the parent's own separate claim.
Unpaid leave agreement (Cyprus)
A written agreement between an employer and an employee in Cyprus for leave without pay: how long it lasts, the return date, what happens to the employment contract, social insurance and length of service, and which benefits continue. Unpaid leave is granted by agreement between the two, which is why its terms are best written down before it starts. The employment contract is suspended, not ended, and the employee returns to the job on the date set.
Request for a certificate of employment (Cyprus)
A written request by an employee or former employee in Cyprus asking the employer for a certificate of employment: the job and the period worked, and, if wanted, the pay or an assessment of the work. It serves a new employer, a bank, a landlord, a residence permit or studies. A written request, with a date for the reply, leaves proof of what was asked for and when.
Annual leave request (Cyprus)
An employee's written request to the employer in Cyprus for paid annual leave: dates, working days, the leave year and who covers, with room for the employer's approval on the same sheet. Under the Annual Leave with Pay Law of 1967, a full year's work earns at least 20 working days on a five-day week and 24 on a six-day week; a contract may give more. A written request leaves a record of what was asked for and what was approved.
Mutual agreement to end employment (Cyprus)
The agreement by which an employer and an employee in Cyprus end the employment contract together, without a dismissal or a resignation. It sets the last working day, the pay and annual leave still owed, any agreed lump sum and when it is paid, the return of equipment, a certificate of employment and continuing confidentiality, with a settlement clause that leaves untouched any rights the law does not allow to be waived. It rests on the Contract Law, Cap. 149, which requires free consent.
Resignation letter (Cyprus)
The letter by which an employee in Cyprus resigns and ends the employment contract. It states the notice in weeks and the last working day, asks for the sums due with the final pay and for a certificate of employment, and leaves room for the employer to sign for receipt. Under the Termination of Employment Law the employee owes less notice than the employer: one week after 26 weeks' service, two after 52 and three after 260, and none during probation.
Fixed-term employment contract (Cyprus)
A written employment contract with an end date for an employee in Cyprus: job, place and hours, gross salary, social insurance, annual leave, probation in proportion to the term, and the reason for the fixed term. It sets whether the contract can be ended early on notice or only by agreement, and follows Law 98(I)/2003: a fixed-term employee may not be treated less favourably than permanent staff, and employment that reaches 30 months in total on successive contracts counts as open-ended unless there is an objective reason.
Open-ended employment contract (Cyprus)
A written employment contract with no end date for an employee in Cyprus: job and duties, place and hours of work, gross salary in words, payment into a bank account, social insurance, 20 or 24 days' annual leave, probation and termination under the Termination of Employment Law. It gives in writing the terms Law 25(I)/2023 requires the employer to hand over, the core ones within seven days of the start, and protects confidential information without a non-compete clause, which Cypriot law would treat as void.