Employing in Cyprus.

Minimum wage

The national minimum wage is EUR 1,088 gross a month full-time, or EUR 979 in the first six months with an employer; hotels have a separate decree, and domestic, farm and maritime work is excluded.

EUR 1,088 per month (EUR 979 in the first six months) · from 1 January 2026per month, gross, full-time; EUR 979 until six months' continuous employment with the same employer; pro rata for part-time; no age bands in the decree text read

• EUR 1,088 gross a month for full-time work from 1 January 2026 (was EUR 1,000)
• EUR 979 gross a month until the employee completes six months' continuous employment with the same employer (was EUR 900)
• Part-time: the monthly minimum is adjusted in proportion to hours compared with the full-time schedule
• Excluded: domestic workers, agricultural and livestock workers, maritime workers
• Hotel industry: separate occupational minimum wages under the Hotel Industry Minimum Wages Decree 2025 (K.D.P. 55/2025), in force 1 January 2025
• Adjustment mechanism: first applied from 1 January 2024 and every two years after that

Employer social security contributions

Employers pay 15.4% of pay: 8.8% social insurance, 2.9% health (GESY), 2% Social Cohesion Fund, 1.2% Redundancy Fund and 0.5% training levy (HRDA); the 8.8%, 1.2% and 0.5% stop above EUR 5,742 a month.

15.4% of pay (8.8% social insurance, 2.9% GESY, 2% Social Cohesion, 1.2% Redundancy, 0.5% HRDA); cap EUR 5,742 a month · from 1 January 2026percent of gross pay, employer share, 2026; the 5,742 cap applies to social insurance, Redundancy Fund and HRDA levy

• Social Insurance Fund: employer 8.8%, employee 8.8%, state 5.2% of insurable earnings (22.8% in total)
• Maximum insurable earnings 2026: EUR 5,742 a month for monthly-paid employees (from 1 January 2026) and EUR 1,325 a week for weekly-paid employees (from 5 January 2026); applies to Social Insurance, Annual Leave (Central Holiday) Fund, Redundancy Fund and HRDA levy
• General Healthcare System (GESY): employer 2.90%, employee 2.65%; GESY is charged on income up to EUR 180,000 a year per person
• Social Cohesion Fund: employer 2%, on total earnings without a ceiling
• Redundancy Fund: employer 1.2%
• Human Resource Development Authority (HRDA) levy: employer 0.5% of insurable earnings, capped at the maximum insurable earnings (new Regulations K.D.P. 128/2026 in force 6 April 2026, same rate)
• Central Holiday Fund: employer contribution (from 8%) only where the employer is not exempted from contributing

Our sum of the published rates: social insurance 8.8%, health (GESY) 2.9%, Social Cohesion Fund 2%, Redundancy Fund 1.2% and training levy (HRDA) 0.5% make 15.4%.

Changes coming, December 2026 to January 2027: The notice of the 2027 maximum insurable earnings; the 2026 notice was dated December 2025 and posted on 15 January 2026. Expected Source: Γνωστοποίηση για το Ανώτατο Όριο Αποδοχών 2026 (Notice to employers regarding the maximum earnings subject to social insurance contributions, annual paid leave, redundancy fund and human resource authority development levy)

Payroll tax withholding and filing

Employers withhold income tax (PAYE) and file a monthly withholding return through the Tax Department's Tax For All portal, paying by the end of the following month, plus an annual employer return.

Employer, monthly return and payment by the end of the following month (Tax Department, Tax For All) · from 1 January 2025PAYE income tax withholding (and GESY where paid through the Tax Department)

• Authority: Tax Department, Ministry of Finance (https://www.gov.cy/mof-tfa/); returns and payments only through Tax For All (TFA) since 22 August 2025
• Monthly employer withholding returns (TD7) mandatory from 1 January 2025; each monthly return lists each employee's tax identification number and withholdings
• Payment only after the monthly return is filed; payment due by the end of the month following the month of withholding; 1% surcharge per month of delay and interest after a further month
• Annual employer withholding return (TD7) reconciles the monthly returns; the 2025 annual return deadline was extended to 30 November 2026
• Social insurance and related fund contributions are paid separately to the Social Insurance Services through SISnet by the end of the month following the contribution month

Changes on 30 November 2026: Deadline for the 2025 annual employer withholding return (TD7), extended to 30 November 2026. Published Source: Παρατείνεται η προθεσμία υποβολής Ετήσιας Δήλωσης Παρακράτησης Φόρου Εισοδήματος και Εισφορών (PAYE) για το έτος 2025

Salary payments a year and holiday allowance

There is no statutory 13th or 14th salary in the private sector; it is owed only where a collective agreement, the employment contract or established company practice provides it.

No statutory 13th month (12 monthly payments; 13th or 14th only by agreement or practice)salary payments a year, private sector

• No law obliges private-sector employers to pay a 13th or 14th salary
• Owed where it is in a collective agreement, an individual contract or other agreement, or established company practice (paid in previous years without a written agreement)
• Where owed, payment is enforceable under the Protection of Wages Law; the employer must state it in the written terms of employment (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Law 2023)

Paid annual leave

Employees are entitled to at least four weeks' paid annual leave: 20 working days on a five-day week or 24 working days on a six-day week (full leave year of 48 weeks' work).

20 working days (5-day week); 24 working days (6-day week)minimum paid annual leave per leave year, for at least 48 weeks' work in the year

• 20 working days on a five-day week; 24 working days on a six-day week (Annual Paid Leave Law 8/1967, art. 5(1))
• Longer leave under law, custom or collective agreement replaces the statutory minimum
• Public holidays, maternity and paternity leave and days of sickness do not count as annual leave days; sickness, maternity, parental and paternity leave count as time worked for the entitlement
• Leave is paid by the employer directly or by the Central Holiday Fund; it can be replaced by money only on termination

Sick pay

Sickness benefit is paid by the Social Insurance Services from the fourth day of incapacity for up to 156 days; employers have no statutory duty to pay sick pay unless agreed.

State sickness benefit (Social Insurance Services) from day 4, up to 156 days; no statutory employer sick paystatutory sickness benefit per period of interruption of employment

• No benefit for the first three days of the period of interruption of employment
• Maximum 156 days of sickness benefit in each period of interruption of employment
• Employer sick pay and its length are a matter of collective agreement, contract or practice; without one the employer need not top up the benefit or pay the first three days
• Exception: employees in hotels and entertainment centres have a statutory right to fully paid sick leave from the employer, by length of service

Running payroll without a local entity

An employer based in another EU or EEA state or Switzerland can register directly with the Social Insurance Services and, for payroll tax, obtain a tax number and employer registration from the Tax Department.

SIS Employers' Register (form YKA 1-001) plus Tax Department TIN and employer registration (form T.D. 2001 emp); no Cypriot entity needed for EU/EEA/Swiss employersregistration to run Cypriot payroll without a local entity

• Social insurance: every employer employing employees in Cyprus registers with the Employers' Register of the Social Insurance Services (form YKA 1-001) before hiring; an employer established in another EU or EEA state or Switzerland submits the registration documents of its home company registry
• Employees: hiring declaration (YKA 1-003) and, if needed, the employee's social insurance registration (YKA 1-008)
• Tax: online registration in the Tax Department registry under 'Foreign Companies not registered in the Registrar of Companies' (incorporation certificate, registered office, directors, shareholders, registration reason letter) to obtain a tax identification number
• Tax employer registration: Form T.D. 2001 emp via Tax For All; a 'Foreign Company not registered in the Register of Companies' attaches evidence that it is an employer in the Republic

Being confirmed with the authority: whether an employer based outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, with no Cypriot entity, can register with the Social Insurance Services. The Tax Department registration applies to any foreign company not registered in Cyprus.

Pension

The state pension is funded through social insurance contributions and paid from age 65 (63 under conditions); workplace provident funds and pension schemes depend on collective or individual agreements.

State social insurance pension (age 65, or 63 under conditions); no mandatory workplace pensionfirst pillar via compulsory Social Insurance Fund contributions; occupational schemes by agreement

• Statutory pension at 65; possible from 63 with conditions, with a lifetime reduction of 0.5% a month before 65 (12% at 63)
• Funded by the Social Insurance Fund contributions (employer 8.8%, employee 8.8%, state 5.2%)
• No statutory auto-enrolment or mandatory occupational scheme; the Economy and Competitiveness Council recommended auto-enrolment in 2023, noting most micro firms offer no occupational fund
• Sector example: the Department of Labour Relations lists a hotel-industry provident fund with an employer contribution of 5.25% in 2026 and 5.5% from 1 January 2027 (sector arrangement, not a general rule)

Changes coming, date not yet set: A pension reform bill (Social Insurance (Amending) Law of 2026) was at final legal review before the Council of Ministers and Parliament on 8 October 2026. It is not enacted, and its start date and effect on employers are not yet known. Proposed Source: Συνέχιση της συζήτησης για τη συνταξιοδοτική μεταρρύθμιση στη συνεδρία του Εργατικού Συμβουλευτικού Σώματος

Probation and notice

Probation lasts up to 26 weeks, or up to 104 weeks if agreed in writing at hiring; employer notice then rises from one week (after 26 weeks' service) to eight weeks (after six years).

Probation up to 26 weeks (up to 104 weeks if agreed in writing); employer notice 1 to 8 weeksmaximum probation; minimum written notice by the employer by length of continuous service

• No notice is required when either party ends employment during or at the end of a probation period
• Probation over 26 weeks needs a written agreement made when employment starts; maximum 104 weeks; the 26-week qualifying period for dismissal protection can likewise be extended to 104 weeks by written contract at hiring
• Employer notice: 26-51 weeks 1 week; 52-103 weeks 2 weeks; 104-155 weeks 4 weeks; 156-207 weeks 5 weeks; 208-259 weeks 6 weeks; 260-311 weeks 7 weeks; 312 weeks or more 8 weeks
• Employee notice: 26-51 weeks 1 week; 52-259 weeks 2 weeks; 260 weeks or more 3 weeks
• Notice must be in writing; shorter contractual notice is void; hotel and entertainment-centre employees have notice even before six months