PARENTAL LEAVE RIGHTS IN CYPRUS:
What is Parental Leave?
Parental leave is the time parents and caregivers take off work to care for their children or a newborn baby. Parental leave rules differ by country and company, thus comprehending the regulations and resources at hand can help employees receive benefits and for companies to stay compliant.
It is a vital right for employees who are parents since it allows both mothers and fathers to be absent from work to care for and participate in the caring for of their child.
We have complied all of the required information for Cyprus since, as stated above, Parental Leave duration varies from country to country and from company to company.
The principal change brought about by the recently passed legislation pertaining to parental leave is that the Social Insurance Fund will now pay for 8 of the current 18 weeks of leave issued to every working parent for every child up to the age of 8 years.
Every employed parent with children under the age of 8 years old possesses the right to an individual leave of absence for a maximum of 18 weeks for each child under the rules and regulations. The eligibility of parental leave applies to all working parents, married or unmarried, with children under the age of eight years who have been employed by the same employer for over 6 months.
Working parents have the ability to request parental leave in ways that satisfy both their requirements and those of their employers, such as limiting the number of days they work each week.
Employers may decline a flexible form request for parental leave after considering both their own and the employees’ requirements. Employers must notify working parents in writing of their plan to reject a request and invite them to provide arguments within one week. Working parents who take parental leave are entitled to a parental leave allowance, which helps to compensate for some of their lost wages.
Furthermore, Parental Leave applies differently between mothers and fathers, and are split into 2 key categories known as:
Maternity Leave:
According to Cyprus and European law, a pregnant employee is entitled to up to 18 weeks of maternity leave. On November 5, 2021, the 12th amendment to the Law regulating Maternity Protection went into effect. According to the amendment, maternity leave is increased from 18 weeks to 22 weeks for working moms who have a second child, and it is increased to 26 weeks for a third child and any future children.
Nine of these weeks must be completed in a row and consecutively, beginning with the second week of pregnancy. Female employees who intend to adopt a child under the age of 12 and have notified the Department of Social Welfare Services of their intention to adopt are eligible to 16 weeks of maternity leave. According to the most recent change to the Law, the length of maternity leave is increased to 20 weeks for any second adoption and to 24 weeks for any third and subsequent adopted children. Concurrently, the employer must be given a six-week notice of the prospective adoption.
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Paternity Leave:
Paternity leave eligibility includes all new fathers, whether married or not to the child’s mother, are entitled to two weeks of paternity leave if taken between the week of the birth or adoption and up to two weeks following the conclusion of maternity leave.
The father’s marital status is no longer relevant to the right for Paternity Leave. As opposed to how it used to be, fathers were required to be legally married to be eligible to Paternity Leave, however that is no longer the case.
A written 2 weeks’ notice needs to be submitted, however, in the event of an early or unexpected birth, the formal notice needs to be submitted as soon as possible, preferably not too long after the birth.
Furthermore, the Law has created a new provision that increases the right to paternity leave rights and paternity allowance by the same number of weeks as any abandoned or remaining maternity leave and maternity allowance that the mother may have been entitled to. This only happens in the event that the mother passed away prior to, during, or after the child’s birth or during maternity leave. In addition, the law now allows a father to continue to be eligible to paternity leave in the case of the child passing away during childbirth.
In conclusion, Rideo Group has curated this article to notify all new working parents about their rights regarding parental leave.
Furthermore, do not hesitate to contact us for further information about maternity and/or paternity leave, regulations, and employment contracts so we can further assist you.
Disclaimer: Although we work hard to deliver accurate and timely information, kindly take note that rules and laws are subject to regular change. It is advised that you speak with our consultants to ensure sure that the information displayed here is accurate and up-to-date.
