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- The schemes are co-funded by the European Social Fund Plus and Cyprus under the “THALIA 2021-2027” Cohesion Policy Programme.
- Separate grants cover people with disabilities and former prisoners outside the electronic platform, while other categories are handled through the Grants Management Platform.
- Electronic-platform schemes target young people aged 15-29 not in education, employment or training, unemployed people over 50, inactive women, and unemployed women.
- Subsidies range from €48 to €52 per day worked, with eligibility, budgets, and employment targets varying by scheme and requiring recruitment before application.
A series of employment grants is being implemented by the Department of Labour to help unemployed people and vulnerable groups enter the labour market, by subsidising part of employers’ wage costs.
The schemes are co-funded by the European Social Fund Plus and the Republic of Cyprus under the Cohesion Policy Programme “THALIA 2021-2027”.
The employment grants are divided into two categories: schemes for which applications are submitted outside the electronic platform and schemes administered through the Grants Management Platform.
The schemes outside the electronic platform cover the employment of people with disabilities and the rehabilitation of former prisoners.
The electronic platform covers schemes targeting young people aged 15 to 29 who are not in employment, education or training, unemployed people over 50, inactive women under flexible working arrangements, and unemployed women.
Employment of people with disabilities
The scheme targets unemployed people with disabilities who are registered with the Public Employment Service before being hired. Their unemployment status must remain valid until at least one day before recruitment.
The scheme aims to employ 100 people with disabilities, with a further 28 places made possible through savings. Its budget is €2 million, with both full-time and part-time employment eligible.
The subsidy is €52 per day worked, up to a maximum of €22,360 per participant, for a period of 24 months.
Rehabilitation of former prisoners
A separate scheme supports the employment of people released from the Central Prisons of the Republic of Cyprus who are registered as unemployed with the Public Employment Service before recruitment.
The scheme aims to employ 200 former prisoners, with a total budget of €4 million. Both full-time and part-time employment are eligible.
The subsidy is €48 per day worked, up to €20,640 per participant, for 24 months.
Scheme for young people aged 15 to 29
The scheme for young people targets those aged between 15 and 29, including people aged up to 29 years and 364 days on the date of recruitment, who are not in employment, education or training.
Applicants must be registered as unemployed with the Public Employment Service, with their unemployment status valid until at least one day before or on the recruitment date.
The scheme has a budget of €6 million and aims to employ 700 young people under flexible working arrangements.
Unemployed people over 50
The scheme for unemployed people over 50 targets individuals who have reached the age of 50 by the recruitment date and are registered with the Public Employment Service.
The scheme aims to recruit 470 unemployed people into full-time positions, with a total budget of €4 million.
Inactive women
The scheme for inactive women targets women who are not employed, self-employed or registered with the Public Employment Service and who have not been seeking work during the previous 28 days.
For the purposes of the scheme, the 28-day period is determined based on the applicant’s active registration as unemployed with the Public Employment Service after the scheme was announced, namely from 5 September 2025 onwards.
The scheme aims to recruit 470 inactive women under flexible working arrangements, with a budget of €4 million.
Recruitment of unemployed women
A separate scheme targets unemployed women who are registered with the Public Employment Service on the recruitment date.
The scheme aims to recruit 815 unemployed women into full-time positions, with a total budget of €7 million.
Flexible working arrangements
Eligible flexible working arrangements include teleworking, where employees perform their duties exclusively from home or another location of their choice using information and communications technologies.
Alternating or hybrid teleworking, combining remote work with regular attendance at the workplace, is also included.
Flexible working hours allow employees to determine their starting and finishing times within the framework set by the employer, provided a core number of working hours is covered.
Other eligible arrangements include individual working-time accounts, compressed working weeks, part-time employment and job sharing.
Under job sharing, two people share the duties, rights, working hours and pay of a position at their request.
Steps before applying
Before submitting an application through the electronic platform, unemployed applicants must register with the Public Employment Service through the PES/CPS platform. They must also have a verified CY Login account linked to CPSWeb.
Employers must register the vacant position through the Public Employment Service platform. The position must then be approved by a Labour Office officer, who proceeds with matching it to an unemployed person.
The employer must then complete the CPS R215 referral and employer decision form. The recruitment must be declared to the Social Insurance Services through the ERGANI system, and the recruitment date must correspond with the date stated on the CPS R215 form.
A key requirement is that recruitment must take place before the application is submitted.
Required documents
Applications require a declaration of beneficial owners, known as UBO, and a single undertaking declaration.
Applicants must also submit the employee’s personal details, including an identity card, Pink Slip, Yellow Slip or Alien Registration Certificate (ARC) number, together with proof of eligibility where required.
Self-employed employers must provide a copy of their identity card.
Applications are submitted electronically through the Department of Labour’s grants platform.
Employers must also provide certificates confirming the settlement or regulation of outstanding debts to the Social Insurance Services and the Tax Department.
Subsidy of up to €8,600
For schemes administered through the electronic platform, the subsidy amounts to €48 per day worked, up to a maximum of €8,600 per participant.
The subsidy period is 10 months. After this period, employers must retain the employee in the position for a further two months.
Eligible employers
Employers established in the Republic of Cyprus are eligible, provided they have not reduced their workforce in the same occupation.
Each employer can receive a subsidy for up to five people per call.
Employers cannot receive a second subsidy for the same person during the same programming period.
The schemes do not subsidise the recruitment of company shareholders or directors, spouses or first- and second-degree relatives, or people who worked for the same employer during the previous eight months.
Payment process
After receiving the approval and inclusion letter, beneficiaries must complete an authorisation for payments through the FIMAS system.
Where the authorisation carries a handwritten signature, it must be sent by post or delivered by hand to the Treasury of the Republic in Nicosia.
Employers can subsequently submit their subsidy payment requests electronically every four months.
Beneficiaries’ obligations
Beneficiaries must keep records for five years and comply with all legislation of the Republic of Cyprus, particularly the minimum wage decree.
They must also comply with the scheme’s publicity requirements, including displaying posters and using European Union logos.
Beneficiaries are additionally required to cooperate with the competent authorities during on-site inspections.
Also read: Unemployment falls to lowest level since 2008 – 540,130 employed
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