Data on Workers and Companies 
Available data on companies (public and private)

• There are a total of 227,840 registered companies in total in 2015, 11,270 new registrations, 24,318 applications for name approval, 282,451 certified copies, 88,318 searches and 173,878 annual returns and reports[1]. There are very little information and data on the number of public and private companies in Cyprus beyond those figures.

Available data on workers

• The labor force is composed of 349,700 people in 2015 and is divided between services (81%, 2013 estimate), industry (15,2%) and agriculture (3,8%).[2]. The employment rate between 20 and 64 is of 67,7% and of 25,8% between 15 and 24 years[3].In 2014, the labor force participation rates are of 41,2% for people aged 15 to 24, of 93,5% for 25-54, of 69,9% for 55-64, 11,5% for 65 and plus. [4] The total number of workers was of 362,741. On those 362,741, 13,439 were employers, 44,737 were self-employed, 297,853 were employees and 6,712 were family workers.
• On those 362,741, 311,422 had full-time employment and 51,320 part-time employments. Regarding the 69,547 unemployed workers in 2014, on the basis of their previous professional status, 838 were employers, 3,376 were self-employed, 27,888 were employees, 239 were family workers and 5,705 were newcomers[5].
• On those 69,547 unemployed workers, 87 were from the armed forces, 692 were legislators and managers, 5,955 were professionals, 5514 were technicians, 7,175 were clerks, 13,600 were service and sales workers, 88 ere agriculture and fishery workers, 9,676 were craft and related trade workers, 4,231 were plan and machine operators, 9,117 were elementary workers and 13,413 were newcomers[6]. The number of discouraged workers is of 19,800 in 2014[7].

Main sources of employment law

• Employment law in Cyprus is a mixture of statutes and case law, based on Article 25 of the Cypriot Constitution which guarantees the right to work.  The main statutory instruments are the Termination of Employment Law 1967, the Annual Paid Leave Law 1967, and the Social Insurance Law 1980.  Specific matters arising from the employment relationship are governed by specific statutes such as the Protection of Maternity Law 1997, the Equal Treatment at Work and Employment Law 2004 and the Safety and Health at Work Law 1996.  General contractual principles governing the employment relationship are derived from the Contract Law.

Contracts of employment

• No, employment contracts need not be in writing. Nevertheless, the Provision of Information to the Employee by the Employer Regarding the Terms of Employment Law 2000 obliges an employer, within one month from the commencement of the employment, to provide the employee with the substantive conditions governing the employment relationship.  The minimum information which must be provided includes details about the parties’ respective identities, the commencement date of the employment contract, the duration of annual leave and all the types of emoluments to which the employee is entitled.  This information must be in writing and signed by the employer.  The employer’s failure to fulfil its above obligation, although it does not affect the employment relationship, may subject the employer to financial sanctions.

Minimum employment terms and conditions 

• Employers must observe specific statutory minimum employment terms in relation to maximum hours of work per week (not more than 48 with a few exceptions for specific occupations), statutory minimum salary for certain occupations, annual and other leave (e.g., maternity and parental leave) and serving a valid (statutory) notice of termination.

Rules relating to trade union 

• The Trade Unions Law 1965 (as amended) provides for extensive protection and freedom for the registration of trade unions.  The trade union’s protection is supplemented by the Law on the Recognition of Trade Unions and the Trade Union Right to Provide Facilities for Recognition Purposes 2012, regulating the procedure to be followed in the event of the employer’s refusal to recognise a trade union and the Industrial Relations Code (‘IRC’), as established in 1977, laying out in detail the procedures to be followed for the settlement of employment disputes.

[1] Department of Registrar of companies and official receiver of Cyprus http://www.mcit.gov.cy/mcit/drcor/drcor.nsf/company_statistics_en/company_statistics_en?OpenDocument
[2] CIA World Factbook, Economy, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cy.html
[3] Eurostat, Employment (main characteristics and rates), https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cy.html
[4] Republic of Cyprus, Statistical service, Labour Force Survey 2014, http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/labour_31main_keyfarchive_en/labour_31main_keyfarchive_en?OpenForm&yr=2014380DDB90F3C58213004E0A12E623A895&n=2014
[5] Republic of Cyprus, Statistical service, Labour Force Survey 2014, http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/labour_31main_keyfarchive_en/ Republic of Cyprus, Statistical service, Labour Force Survey 2014,
[6] Republic of Cyprus, Statistical service, Labour Force Survey 2014,
[7] EU Labor Force Survey, Eurostat https://ycharts.com/indicators/cyprus_discouraged_workers