All countries have laws in place to protect workers and promote fairness in the workplace. Employee protections in Cyprus are grounded in both national legislation and European Union directives, which together create clear rules around employee rights and employer responsibilities. These laws aim to ensure that all employees are treated fairly, protected from discrimination and harassment, and that their personal data is handled responsibly.
In this section, we’ll take a closer look at some key areas of employee protections in Cyprus including anti-discrimination laws, whistleblower protections, rules around data privacy and workplace monitoring, and requirements for pay equity. Whether you’re running a small business or managing a larger organisation, understanding and complying with these laws is essential to building a respectful and legally compliant workplace.
Whistleblowers play an important role in society by calling out wrongdoing witnessed in the workplace. This helps to identify and penalise people and organisations engaging in crimes such as fraud or corruption. For this reason, many countries in the world have strict legal protections for whistleblowers — and Cyprus is no exception. Read on for everything you need to know about whistleblowing in Cyprus.
Cyprus has established a comprehensive legal framework to protect whistleblowers through the Protection of Persons Reporting Breaches of Union and National Law of 2022 (Law 6(I)/2022). This legislation aligns with the EU Whistleblowing Directive and ensures robust protections for individuals reporting misconduct in Cyprus.
The law requires employers in the public sector and private entities with 50 or more employees to establish internal reporting mechanisms for whistleblowers. It also provides for both:
Protection from retaliation for whistleblowers in Cyprus
In addition, this law protects whistleblowers from any form of retaliation, including:
Any retaliation measure, including dismissal or a material change in circumstances, is considered invalid unless the employer can prove it was done on other grounds. Whistleblowers that have experienced retaliation may also be entitled to remedies including reinstatement, compensation, and interim relief measures.
Not all workplace disclosures are covered under whistleblowing legislation in Cyprus. The law is designed to apply to breaches of both EU and national law, including:
While whistleblowers are usually employees, they can also be other individuals associated with a company. For example, Cyprus’ whistleblowing law also applies to:
The employment relationship inevitably involves processing a certain amount of employee data — and most countries have strict laws in place to keep that data safe and secure. Read on for everything employers need to know about data protection in Cyprus.
Employers in Cyprus should understand the main data protection regulations that apply to their employees. The primary legislation governing data protection in Cyprus includes:
The Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection is the independent supervisory authority responsible for monitoring and enforcing data protection laws in Cyprus.
Employers in Cyprus should adhere to the following principles to keep their employees’ data safe and ensure compliance with the applicable data protection laws:
Depending on the nature of your business and the scope and extent of your data processing activities, you may also be required to:
Employee monitoring and surveillance is an important facet of data protection and privacy in Cyprus — and there are certain rules that employers must be aware of.
First, monitoring or surveillance methods must be necessary and proportionate. While CCTV recording may be permissible, the focus should be on protecting assets or employee health and safety, not monitoring employee performance or behaviour.
There are also strict limitations on the use of biometric systems such as face recognition or fingerprint scanning. While these can be used for security purposes (e.g. to restrict access to high-security areas), they cannot be used to track attendance or monitor employees’ arrival and departure times.
Employers in Cyprus can choose to engage temporary agency workers if they need additional help or manpower on a short-term basis. However, there are specific rules that apply to the use and treatment of temporary agency workers — read on for what you need to know as an employer.
Temporary agency workers are workers who are employed by a temporary work agency and then leased out to user companies. In Cyprus, these arrangements are governed by the Temporary Agency Work Law of 2012, which implements the EU Directive on Temporary Agency Work. This law aims to ensure the protection of employees working through temporary labour agencies through several key rights.
Temporary work agencies in Cyprus also need to fulfil certain conditions in order to lease out employees to user companies. For example, they need to obtain a specific licence and deposit a bank guarantee amounting to EUR 100,000 with the competent authorities.
The Temporary Agency Work Law of 2012 grants temporary agency workers in Cyprus the right to equal treatment concerning basic working and employment conditions. This means that they should receive the same terms and conditions as if they had been directly recruited by that company to occupy the same position. Workers must also be given access to the same shared facilities as permanent employees.
As well as guaranteeing equal treatment with permanent employees, Cyprus’ law on temporary agency workers sets certain other restrictions on the use of temporary labour agencies.
First, assignments with user companies must initially be for a maximum of four months, with the possibility of renewal. Workers engaged through temporary labour agencies must also be informed about any vacancies that exist within the user company and must not be prohibited from being hired into a permanent position.
Employees in Cyprus are entitled to a workplace free from discrimination and harassment, as mandated by national laws aligned with European Union directives.
There are several anti-discrimination laws in Cyprus. The main pieces of legislation that employers should be aware of include:
Cyprus’ anti-discrimination laws specifically prohibit discrimination on the basis of the following characteristics:
In 2025, the Cypriot government implemented a new law to protect employees from harassment in the workplace, including sexual harassment. This law defines harassment as any unwanted behaviour with the purpose or result of insulting a person’s dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, humiliating, or aggressive environment.
Under this law, employers in Cyprus have several responsibilities, including:
Employees who experience discrimination or harassment in Cyprus can file complaints with the Office of the Commissioner for Administration and Human Rights (Ombudsman). They may also pursue legal action through the courts, which can award them remedies such as compensation or reinstatement if they have been dismissed.
Employers in Cyprus are subject to national and EU regulations aimed at ensuring equal pay for equal work. A forthcoming EU Directive on pay transparency will also introduce new obligations.
Cyprus adheres to the principle of equal pay for men and women for equal work or work of equal value. This is enforced through the Equal Treatment of Men and Women in Employment and Vocational Training Law.
Under this legislation, employers in Cyprus must ensure that pay structures are based on objective, gender-neutral criteria. This includes transparency in salary scales, promotion pathways, and job classifications. Employers should also avoid practices that could lead to indirect discrimination, such as basing pay decisions on salary history.
A new EU directive was passed in 2023 and will be transposed into law in Cyprus by June 2026 at the latest. This law will introduce several new requirements for Cypriot employers, including:
Understanding what you can and can’t do as an employer is one of the biggest challenges of hiring in Cyprus. Get it wrong, and you could face legal action and damage to your reputation.
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