Cyprus redundancy procedure for employers: notice, fund and rehire

Confirm a section 18 business ground before selecting names

Section 18 of Law 24/1967 treats a worker as redundant where employment ends because the employer ceases, or intends to cease, the business or business at the place of work, or for listed operational reasons. The official gov.cy service identifies modernization, organizational change that reduces necessary headcount, changed products or skills, department closure, marketing or credit difficulties, lack of orders or raw materials and contraction of work. Write a concrete business case rather than a generic statement that the company wants to 'restructure'.

Define which work disappears, changes or is moved, when and why. Map current roles to future work and check whether substantially the same job will continue under a different title. A redundancy label does not convert a dispute about one employee's conduct into a business ground. If a role remains and another worker is immediately hired to perform it, the facts may challenge the claimed reason. Keep forecasts, board decisions and organizational charts that were genuinely used when the proposal was made.

Separate site closure from a proposed relocation. Section 18 recognizes cessation at the employee's place of work, but the Industrial Disputes Court may examine whether continuing at a new place could reasonably be expected of the employee. Analyze travel, terms and practical impact rather than assuming every office move creates a redundancy. The law's category is a legal conclusion drawn from the actual operational change, not the heading on a dismissal letter.

For an individual dismissal based on performance or conduct, use the separate notice and payment guide.

Basis and guidance: Cyprus Termination of Employment Law 24/1967, current text, sections 9 and 16–22; Gov.cy: Redundancy Payment, grounds and exclusions

Document alternatives and suitable work before dismissal

A business should identify vacancies, retraining possibilities, reduced hours or redeployment before finalizing the affected list. Section 20 of the termination law and the gov.cy redundancy page describe circumstances in which an employee can lose Fund payment, including unreasonable refusal of a suitable alternative offered before termination and specified continuation or related-company transfer situations. This does not mean any role anywhere is suitable. Compare pay, skills, location, status and working conditions with the employee's actual circumstances.

Make offers in writing with enough detail to evaluate them: role, employer, start date, location, pay, hours, reporting line and training. Record the worker's response and reasons. If an alternative is genuinely suitable, the Fund may assess the effect of an unreasonable refusal, but the employer should not tell the employee that the claim is automatically rejected. The competent Social Insurance Services decide the Fund application. Avoid manufacturing an unsuitable offer only to defeat a payment.

Where several employees perform interchangeable work and fewer posts remain, document why particular positions or people are affected. Check objective role requirements and any collective agreement or consultation obligation. Protected characteristics, pregnancy and protected leave must not drive selection. A file with a genuine business contraction but arbitrary or discriminatory selection remains exposed. Explain the business decision and individual selection separately.

For the ordinary employer notice calculation that still applies, read Cyprus dismissal notice.

Basis and guidance: Cyprus Termination of Employment Law 24/1967, current text, sections 9 and 16–22; Gov.cy: Redundancy Payment, grounds and exclusions; Cyprus Collective Redundancies Law 28(I)/2001, current consolidated text

Give the Minister at least one month's proposed-redundancy notice

Section 21(1) requires the employer to notify the Minister of a proposed redundancy at least one month before the affected employment is expected to end. The official employer obligations page identifies Notice of Redundancy Form Y.K.A. 608 for this step. It is an employer notice, separate from the dismissal notice delivered to the worker and separate from the worker's later Fund application. Build the month into the project timetable before sending final end-date letters.

Section 21(2) calls for the expected number of affected employees, business branches, occupations, and where possible names and family responsibilities, plus the reasons for redundancy. Use the prescribed current form and check where and how it must be submitted. Keep the submitted copy and receipt. If the plan changes materially, review whether the authority needs updated information. An internal spreadsheet or board minute is not the statutory notification.

The statutory one-month ministerial notice is not a universal substitute for every other timetable. An employee may be due a longer individual notice period based on continuous service or contract. A collective programme may have additional consultation and authority notification requirements. A project manager should maintain separate date columns for proposal, representative consultation if applicable, Y.K.A. 608, individual letters, termination and Fund-claim documents.

If the business plan is still contingent on a financing decision, describe the proposal honestly rather than presenting a conditional scenario as a completed closure. Conversely, do not wait until every selection detail is fixed if that would make timely notification impossible. The authority needs a meaningful expected number, affected branches and reasons. The employer should retain the version sent and a change log as the consultation or redeployment process develops. Those records help explain any difference between the original forecast and the final dismissals.

For individual notice bands and payment in lieu, consult the notice checklist.

Basis and guidance: Cyprus Termination of Employment Law 24/1967, current text, sections 9 and 16–22; Ministry of Labour: Employer obligations, Y.K.A. 608; Social Insurance Services: Termination of Employment Guide

Screen separately for the Collective Redundancies Law

Law 28(I)/2001 applies to defined collective dismissals for reasons unrelated to individual employees. Its threshold test looks at a 30-day period and the employer's usual headcount: at least ten dismissals in an undertaking with more than 20 but fewer than 100 workers, at least ten percent with 100 to under 300, or at least 30 where there are 300 or more. The statute also has a rule for counting certain other employer-initiated terminations if there are at least five dismissals. Calculate carefully rather than looking only at one day's letters.

If the threshold may be reached, apply the collective-law information, consultation and authority processes from the start. The purpose of consultation includes exploring ways to avoid or reduce dismissals and mitigate consequences. Do not make the decision effectively irreversible and then hold a meeting described as consultation. Seek transaction-specific advice for timing, employee representatives, group structure and any exception, including fixed-term contracts ended before their stated expiry.

The collective threshold is not the gateway to ordinary redundancy duties. A single genuine redundancy can still require the section 21 ministerial notice and the worker's individual notice. Conversely, filing Y.K.A. 608 for a large programme does not by itself discharge the collective consultation requirements. Keep two checklists so a company does not assume one form satisfies both regimes.

For the individual separation and payment route, see the dismissal notice guide.

Basis and guidance: Cyprus Collective Redundancies Law 28(I)/2001, current consolidated text; Cyprus Termination of Employment Law 24/1967, current text, sections 9 and 16–22; Ministry of Labour: Employer obligations, Y.K.A. 608

Serve individual notice and reconcile final employment pay

Redundancy does not erase the section 9 dismissal-notice floor. Calculate each employee's continuous service and any longer contract or collective-agreement term. Give the required written notice or analyze statutory payment in lieu under section 11. A worker with several years of service may have notice running beyond the one-month ministerial lead time; schedule the proposed termination accordingly. Preserve the delivery record and the employee's last working day.

The final payroll should separate ordinary wages, statutory or contractual notice pay, untaken annual leave, any applicable thirteenth salary or provident-fund entitlement, and employer-specific severance promises. The Redundancy Fund is a separate public payment route, and the employer should not tell the employee it has already paid the Fund amount unless that is the actual arrangement. Section 17 has rules concerning interaction with other direct redundancy payments and fund arrangements; ask payroll and legal advisers to assess the particular agreement.

Provide a dismissal letter that accurately explains the operational ground and dates. The employee may need it for the Fund application. Avoid a letter that says 'mutual agreement' when the employer actually removed a position, or 'poor performance' when the reason was budget contraction. The documents sent to the Minister, employee and Social Insurance Services should be consistent. Preserve the evidence behind the reason and selection for any later review.

For the detailed notice ladder and payment-in-lieu rule, read notice and final-pay steps.

Basis and guidance: Cyprus Termination of Employment Law 24/1967, current text, sections 9 and 16–22; Social Insurance Services: Termination of Employment Guide; Gov.cy: Redundancy Payment, grounds and exclusions; Ministry of Labour: Redundancy Fund application documents

Give the worker a correct Redundancy Fund claim pack

Section 16 of the termination law sets a 104-week continuous-employment threshold for a redundancy payment from the Fund, subject to its other conditions. The gov.cy Greek service says an employee before pensionable age who meets the threshold and is dismissed for redundancy may claim. The worker, not the employer, submits Form Y.K.A. 600 with the relevant supporting documents; the official service gives a three-month deadline from dismissal. Tell the employee the route and deadline, but do not guarantee eligibility or amount.

The Social Insurance Services submission page lists the employer's dismissal letter, application Y.K.A. 600 and other case-specific documents. The service may send a questionnaire to the employer after the claim; respond with consistent facts and preserve copies. Fund processing and any appeal are separate from the employer's obligation to pay earned wages and notice. The employee should not have to wait for a Fund decision to receive undisputed employment pay.

Fund eligibility can be affected by suitable alternative work, transfers, service length, pensionable age and other statutory qualifications. Do not quote an unverified projected Fund amount from a spreadsheet. The official decision is made after an application and evidence review. If a worker is short of 104 weeks, the company still must assess its own notice, pay and lawful-reason duties; absence of a Fund claim is not permission to ignore them.

Give employees a plain-language handover note identifying the agency, form, submission window and documents the company will provide. Record who supplied the letter and when, because a missing letter can delay a time-sensitive claim. If a Fund questionnaire asks for the operational explanation, answer using the same facts supplied to the Minister and employees. Where the employer disputes an employee's claim, state the evidence accurately; the employer should not treat the questionnaire as an opportunity to rewrite the commercial history.

For how employer-paid notice is calculated separately, see the notice guide.

Basis and guidance: Cyprus Termination of Employment Law 24/1967, current text, sections 9 and 16–22; Gov.cy: Redundancy Payment, grounds and exclusions; Ministry of Labour: Redundancy Fund application documents; Ministry of Labour: Redundancy Fund decision process

Track the eight-month priority if the same work returns

Section 22 says that if an employer that declared workers redundant wishes, within eight months of the redundancy, to increase its workforce in the same type or specialty, it gives priority to affected redundant employees while taking the business's operational needs into account. That duty should be built into recruitment controls, not remembered only if a former worker complains. Record the redundancy date, role family, contact details and rehire window in a controlled register.

Before advertising a similar vacancy, compare its actual duties with the redundant role and check the pool of affected workers. Contact appropriate former employees in a documented, fair manner and explain the proposed terms. A superficially changed title does not eliminate the need to assess whether the work is of the same type or specialty. The section also allows operational needs to be considered; record why a person was or was not suitable instead of assuming an absolute right to any new position.

The rehire register should not become an uncontrolled store of personal data. Keep only what is needed to manage the statutory window and related claims, restrict access and set a retention review. A company that announced permanent role removal but immediately recruited the same role should examine both the original section 18 business case and the section 22 priority. The two questions are linked but not identical.

For company record-keeping principles in another context, see record-retention guide.

Basis and guidance: Cyprus Termination of Employment Law 24/1967, current text, sections 9 and 16–22; Gov.cy: Redundancy Payment, grounds and exclusions

Test three redundancy plans before issuing letters

A small firm closes one product team because orders have fallen. It records the order data and future organization, checks internal vacancies, sends Y.K.A. 608 to the Minister at least a month before expected termination and gives each affected worker the correct individual written notice. An employee with 140 weeks' service receives information about Y.K.A. 600 and the three-month claim window. The company keeps its own final-pay calculation separate from the Fund decision.

A larger employer plans 12 role removals in 30 days with 80 usual employees. It cannot treat those as 12 unrelated individual letters; the collective-law threshold may be met. It begins representative consultation and authority steps under Law 28(I)/2001 while also managing the ordinary section 21 notice and individual rights. It logs any other employer-initiated terminations that count toward the statutory threshold rather than splitting announcements across teams to disguise the programme.

A company makes two technicians redundant after a workshop closure, then wins a new contract six months later and needs technicians again. It checks the section 22 priority pool before recruiting externally, compares the new skills and terms with the old positions and documents offers or reasons for a different selection. If the new work is essentially unchanged, it also revisits whether the original business case was honestly framed at the time.

Basis and guidance: Cyprus Termination of Employment Law 24/1967, current text, sections 9 and 16–22; Cyprus Collective Redundancies Law 28(I)/2001, current consolidated text; Ministry of Labour: Employer obligations, Y.K.A. 608; Gov.cy: Redundancy Payment, grounds and exclusions

Primary sources and scope

Sources checked: October 8, 2026. This guide concerns the Republic of Cyprus. Examples are hypothetical, not client case studies. Check current official requirements before making a filing.

• Cyprus Termination of Employment Law 24/1967, current text, sections 9 and 16–22
• Gov.cy: Redundancy Payment, grounds and exclusions
• Cyprus Collective Redundancies Law 28(I)/2001, current consolidated text
• Ministry of Labour: Employer obligations, Y.K.A. 608
• Ministry of Labour: Redundancy Fund application documents
• Ministry of Labour: Redundancy Fund decision process
• Social Insurance Services: Termination of Employment Guide