- Concerns retail trade businesses employing from 1 to 49 people.
- Unemployed individuals receiving unemployment benefits for at least one month will benefit. These individuals will be placed in businesses for a one-month period for practical training purposes while receiving unemployment benefits.
Employers hiring unemployed individuals will receive a subsidy amounting to 50% of the paid salary, for a period of six months, with a maximum amount of €3,000 per application (total grant amount), with the obligation of the employer to retain the employee for an additional two months without subsidy.
The subsidized individual must:
- a) Be registered as unemployed at the Public Employment Service Offices and be receiving unemployment benefits, provided they have been entitled to unemployment benefits for at least one month as of the start date of their internship.
- b) Be placed for a one-month internship (minimum 25 hours per week).
Only employers who:
- a) Belong to the retail trade sector (with an Employer Registration Number in the NACE categories 4511, 4519, 4532, 4540, and 4711-4799) and employ from 1 to 49 people as of December 2013.
- b) Have not received any subsidy in the past from co-financed schemes during the 2007-2013 Programming Period for the employment of the same individual who will be included under this Scheme.
- c) Employ individuals belonging to the target group as defined in the Scheme, who are citizens of the Republic of Cyprus or citizens of any other Member State of the European Union or third-country nationals legally residing in the Republic and having the right of free access to the labor market in the Republic.
- d) Have not carried out layoffs of employees from December 11, 2013, until the submission of the application. Any reduction in personnel is not justified unless the position(s) remained vacant due to voluntary resignation, retirement due to age, or legal dismissal due to disciplinary offense.
- e) Do not cover businesses/employers who will employ individuals who are spouses or related by first or second degree of blood or by affinity with the employer.
- f) The employer commits not to reduce their workforce during the entire implementation of the Public Funding Agreement, i.e., for a period of eight (8) consecutive months after the end of the internship.
- g) The employer has not been convicted of an offense related to the violation of the Minimum Wage Decree in the last three (3) years, i.e., since February 2011, nor has been convicted of illegal or undeclared work in the last three (3) years. It is noted that if during the subsidy period of an employer it is found that they employ illegal and/or undeclared workers, in both cases the subsidy will be terminated and the amount received will be returned with interest to the Managing Authority.
- h) The salary of the subsidized individual must not be lower than that provided for in the Decree on Minimum Wage (i.e., €870 for the professions of Clerks, Nursing Assistants, Assistant Nursery Nurses, Salespersons, Caretakers, School Assistants, Guards, and Cleaners). Regarding professions not covered by the Decree, the Managing Authority accepts salaries according to operational/individual contracts.
Expressions of interest may be submitted to the respective District and Local Employment Offices (Public Employment Service) for the one-month internship from Monday, February 24, 2014, to Monday, March 31, 2014.
Applications (once the first month of internship is completed) may be submitted on the special form available on the Department of Labor’s website and delivered from Tuesday, April 2, 2014, to Wednesday, April 30, 2014, by direct deposit at the respective District and Local Employment Offices (Public Employment Service) before the above deadline.