The establishment and operation of private employment agencies is regulated by the Private Employment Agency Law No. 126(I)/2012.
Any legal or natural person who acts as a mediator for employment of persons available for work, for the purpose of either direct or indirect pay / fee / material gain / other charges or without charge, need to obtain a Licence for the operation of such an establishment from the competent authority which is the Director of the Department of Labour of the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance.
Eligibility Criteria
According to the above law, in order to obtain a Licence to operate a Private Employment Agency the following conditions must be fulfilled by the applicant:
(a) Citizenship
· In the case where the agency is managed by a natural person, the person must be a citizen of the Republic of Cyprus or a Member State of the European Union.
· The person responsible for the operation of the Agency must be a citizen of the Republic of Cyprus or a Member State of the European Union.
(b) Legal Status
In the case where the agency is managed by a natural person, the person must be incorporated according to the relevant legislation of the Republic, must have registered offices in Cyprus and must not have been under compulsory liquidation or winding-up order.
(c) Criminal situation / other criteria
The person responsible for the operation of the Agency, the Directors in case of Company or the partners in case of Partnership,
· Must not have been sentenced for a serious offence as mentioned in the article 6 of the Law including an offence in violation of the provisions of the Aliens and Immigrations Laws and Regulations.
· Must not have been employed in certain Governmental Departments in Cyprus the last 2 years according to the article 6 of the Law.
· Must not perform the parallel activities described in article 20 of the Law.
(d) Qualifications and relevant experience
The person responsible for the operation of the Agency must hold one of the following:
a) A recognized diploma, degree or university title in one of the subjects mentioned in the article 8 of the Law.
b) A recognized diploma, degree or university title in subject other than those mentioned in the article 8 of the Law and Master degree in one of the subjects mentioned in the article 8.
c) A recognized diploma, degree, university title or master degree in subject other than those mentioned in the article 8 and has attended a training program related to employment / labour law organized by the competent authority.
d) A secondary education certificate and relevant experience, has attended a training program related to employment / labour law organized by the competent authority and passed the relevant examination.
When the Agency is dealing with the recruitment of managerial / professional personnel then the person responsible for the operation of the Agency must hold a university degree as mentioned in a-c above or in case of (d) have three (3) years of relevant experience in the placement of managerial / professional personnel.
Payable Fees
According to the Private Employment Agencies Regulations of 2012, the payable fees are:
- For the application for the first issue of a licence €100
- For the first issue of the licence €300
- For the renewal of the licence €300
- For a copy of a licence €100
The authorization procedure is carried out within three (3) months. The period starts from the time of submission of all documents.
Obligations and Supervision
Τhe application for a licence must be submitted before commencing business.
The licence is issued according to the given form and is valid for a three-year period from the date of issue. The licence can be renewed only if the required conditions continue to exist.
The licence’s holder must notify in writing (within one month) the competent authority for any substantial change in the information provided (change of address, change of the person responsible for the operation of the Agency...).
In case of refusal, the applicant is entitled within (30) days from the day he/she is informed about the decision, to apply in writing to the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, requesting a review of this decision.
A Private Employment Agency must keep appropriate records as defined in Regulations and is obliged to the following:
· The licence to operate as a Private Employment Agency must be posted in a conspicuous place of the establishment.
· A sign with the Private Employment Agency’s name and licence number must be posted in a conspicuous place outside the building.
· The Private Employment Agency’s licence number must be posted in case the agency maintains a website on the internet.
The competent authority may ask any Private Employment Agency to submit within a specified time:
a) The number of the employees that the agency offered its services for recruitment during the last year according to
· Nationality
· specialty
· education level
· categories as unemployed or not, sex, age
· type of employment contract
· duration of labour contract
b) The number of employers to whom the Agency offered its services during the last year, according to economic activity e.g. agriculture, animal husbandry, construction, trade, services, private households
Restrictions in the activities of the Private Employment Agency
The Private Employment Agency is not allowed to:
a) Promote applicants without written instructions of good faith from the employer
b) Provide wrong information as regards the terms and conditions of employment and the qualifications of the applicant
c) Promote the employment of a person in a workplace in which its current employees are on strike.
d) Promote the employment of young persons (under 18 years of age)
Protections of Wages
The employer of the Private Employment Agency shall not impose any charge on the employee for the purpose of job search, placement and maintenance of employment.
Administrative and Criminal Sanctions
Any person who violates or disobeys specific provisions of the Law according to article 29, is guilty of a criminal offence and is liable to imprisonment not exceeding (1) year or to a fine not exceeding €10.000 or both penalties.
Moreover when the competent authority finds that the Agency violates or disobeys the provisions of the Law, it may impose an administrative fine not exceeding €2.500 and/or suspend the operation of the agency.
The competent authority may also revoke a licence in case:
· the person responsible for the operation of the office or any of the Directors in case of company or any of the Partners in case of partnership, has been convicted for an offense as mentioned in the article 6.
· the owner of the licence is declared bankrupt
· the owner of the licence has prepared a forged document
· the owner of the licence has died
· during inspection is found that the provisions of the licence are violated and the owner of the licence cannot or refuses to comply with the suggestions of the competent authority.