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The Termination of Employment Law in Cyprus
Cyprus has a very strong legislation for the protection of employees, which is why the Employment Law only contains few regulations about the dismissal of employees. However, the Termination of Employment Law is the main regulatory framework providing all the legal requirements for dismissal. The Cypriot Termination of Employment Law was enacted in 1967. The Cypriot Court of Labor Disputes was founded in the same year. The law applies to Cypriot workers in both the private and public sectors and also includes apprentices. The Termination of Employment Law was last amended in 2001 when protection against collective dismissals was introduced. The role of the law is to protect Cypriot employees against unfair dismissal.
Notice periods in case of dismissal in Cyprus
Article 9 in the Termination of Employment Law covers all employees, including shareholders acting as employees of Cypriot private companies. The law also requires an employer to give a minimum notice period in case of dismissing employees. The notice period is strictly related to the period of service the worker provided to the Cypriot company. The notice periods are as it follows:
- one week for 26 to 51 weeks of employment,
- two weeks for 52 to 103 weeks of employment,
- four weeks for 104 to 155 weeks of employment,
- five weeks for 156 to 207 weeks of employment,
- six weeks for 208 to 259 weeks of employment,
- seven weeks for 260 to 311 weeks of employment.
For employees working more than 312 weeks for a Cypriot company the notice period is eight weeks.
Reasons for dismissal in Cyprus
Even if the legislation requires a Cypriot employer to give notice in case of dismissal, there are certain circumstances that allow them to terminate employment without previous notice. These circumstances are:
- serious misconduct of the employee at the workplace,
- committing criminal offences at the workplace,
- immoral behavior,
- repeated infringement of work regulations.
Absence from work may also lead to dismissal of Cypriot employees without any notice if the period exceeds 26 weeks.
For complete information about the provisions of the Termination of Employment Law, please contact our lawyers in Cyprus.