The provisions of Termination of Employment Law (24/1967) regulate and define the rights and obligations of employers and employees in case of termination of employment. According to Section 3 of the Law, an employee whose employment is terminated unlawfully after he/she has completed minimum 26 weeks of continuous employment with an employer, is entitled to compensation. In addition to this, an employee can be compensated in case he/she terminates his/her employment due to the behaviour of the employer against him/her. However, an employee is not entitled to compensation if he/has attained the pensionable age before terminating his/her employment.
Section 5 provides that an employee cannot claim compensation if:
- The termination of employment occurred as a result of redundancy, Act of God, war, political rising, extreme weather conditions, etc.;
- The employment is terminated at the end of fixed-term contract;
- The employee fails to carry out his/her tasks efficiently;
- The termination of employment occurred due to employee’s fault.
- The employee has committed a criminal offence during his/her employment, without the knowledge and consent of the employer;
- The employee’s behaviour caused serious problems in the employer-employee relationship;
In addition, section 6 provides that the following circumstances do not constitute valid reasons for termination of employment and the employer is obliged to pay compensation[1]:
- Union membership or participation in union’s activities outside working hours or, with the consent of the employer during working hours or membership safety committee under the Safety at Work Law;
- Quest tenure as representative of workers or current or past operations in that role;
- Filing a complaint or participating in proceedings against an employer for being involved in violation of laws and regulations or recourse to a competent administrative authority;
- Race, national origin, social origin, ethnicity, colour, sex, marital status, religion, political orientation;
- Pregnancy and Maternity/Parental leave;
- Leave on grounds of force majeure;[2]
The amount of compensation:
The amount of compensation is determined by the Industrial Disputes Courts, following an application submitted by the employee.
The amount of compensation cannot be:
- lower than the redundancy payment to which the employee would receive in case his/her employment was terminated as a result of redundancy;
- higher than the wages of two years;
For the determination of the compensation, the Court takes into account the following criteria:
- The remuneration of the employee;
- The period of employment;
- The loss and restriction of career prospects;
- The age of the employee;
- The conditions of employee’s dismissal;
Contact us and submit an application for unlawful dismissal:
Filing an application for unlawful dismissal requires professional legal assistance. The employment lawyers of Michael Chambers & Co. LLC will review your case thoroughly and provide you with a custom-made legal support. If you wish to speak to one of our lawyers, then please contact us: info@chambers.law
Related Article: Termination of Employment in Cyprus.
