Scheme for the Employment of the Unemployed – Target Group “Long-term Unemployed”

The Scheme involves providing incentives for the hiring of individuals who:

1. a) Are registered as unemployed with the Public Employment Service offices on the date of application submission. b) Must be citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, or third-country nationals legally residing in the Republic with the right to free access to the labor market.

The following individuals cannot join the Scheme:

1. a) Shareholders of the business/organization.
2. b) Self-employed individuals seeking to subsidize themselves.
3. c) Individuals related by first or second-degree kinship, either by blood or marriage, to the employer. This means that individuals connected as spouses, children, parents, or siblings cannot participate in the Scheme in an employer-employee relationship.

For the above exceptions, the employer is considered the shareholder/owner of the business.

Main Terms for Grant Provision

1. The Scheme covers ONLY unemployed individuals and not those already employed or underemployed. Additionally, the person covered (candidate for employment/hiring) must have been registered as unemployed at a District or Local Employment Office (Public Employment Service – PES) for more than six (6) consecutive months before the hiring date.
2. The hiring must represent a net increase in the number of employees in the business compared to the previous month before the application for participation in the Scheme, in the same profession as that of the application for participation in the Scheme. Any reduction in staff during the above period is not justified unless the position(s) became vacant due to voluntary departure, retirement due to age, or lawful dismissal due to disciplinary offense.
3. The employer must not have received any subsidy in the past from co-financed Schemes during the Programming Period 2014-2020 for the employment of the same individual who will be included in the Scheme. Also, the same individual (candidate for employment) must not have worked for the same employer in the eight months preceding the hiring date.
4. The employer must commit not to reduce the business’s staff during the entire implementation of the Public Funding Agreement, i.e., 12 months, in the same profession as that of the employee to be subsidized. Any reduction in staff during the above period is not justified unless the position(s) became vacant due to voluntary departure, retirement due to age, or lawful dismissal due to disciplinary offense.
5. The employee included in the Scheme must be employed on a full-time basis (i.e., their working hours must be the same as those of the other employees in the business) for twelve (12) months, of which ten (10) months are subsidized and two (2) months without subsidy. It is understood that in case of employment termination before the completion of the period covered by the Public Funding Agreement due to voluntary departure, retirement due to age, or lawful dismissal due to disciplinary offense, the employer will receive a proportional reduction in the grant.
6. The employer cannot be subsidized for the same individual, for the same period, for the same type of expense (e.g., salary) by different entities.
7. The grant is subject to the condition that the beneficiary maintains records through which it can be verified that the grant provided meets the conditions set by the Scheme.
8. It is noted that the Ministry does not accept in any case employment terms where the subsidized individual’s salary is lower than that provided by the Legislation for minimum wages, which has been set at €870 since April 2012, even if the specific profession is not included in those regulated legislatively regarding remuneration. The above also applies regardless of Collective Agreements, where applicable, concerning salary and other employment terms. For professions specified in the Minimum Wage Decree (Clerks, Nursing Assistants, Childcare Assistants, Salespersons, Caregivers, School Assistants, Guards, and Cleaners), after six months of continuous service with the same employer, the salary must be adjusted to €924.
9. The employer must not have been convicted of an offense related to the violation of the Minimum Wage Decree, nor convicted for illegal or undeclared work in the last three (3) years, i.e., since June 2012. It is noted that if during the validity period of the Public Funding Agreement the employer is found to employ illegal or/and undeclared workers, the Agreement will be terminated, and the grant received from the Managing Body must be returned with interest, based on Regulation (EC) No. 794/2004, as amended or replaced.
10. The maximum number of hires under the Scheme per employer/business cannot exceed five (5).

Businesses/organizations included in the Scheme are provided with a grant covering 60% of the individual’s wage cost for a period of 10 months, provided that the employment lasts at least 12 months, with a maximum amount of €6,000.