Domestic Workers

Employing a Domestic Worker

Domestic workers in Cyprus comprise a significant part of the islands’ workforce and are among the most vital groups of employees. They work for private households and take up tasks such as general cleaning, marketing & cooking, washing and ironing clothes, taking care of children, the elderly or unable members of a family, gardening, driving for the family, and taking care of household pets.  Even though a substantial number of men work in this sector, it remains a highly feminized sector where 80% of all domestic workers are women.

Domestic workers in Cyprus today are mainly hired from Asia. Up to the late 1980’s a plethora of local Cypriot women would take up domestic employment, but since the late 80’s onwards where Cyprus’ development spiked, a factor which brought about a new era of Cypriot women pursuing careers, the need of additional workforce in the domestic sector was deemed necessary and the island opened its doors to foreign workforce empowering both women and men to pursue careers in both business and trade while securing the uninterrupted welfare of their home and family.

Specifically, Domestic Workers today may take up the following responsibilities. Household Responsibilities

• Maintaining the cleanliness and neatness of the house in general
• Managing household chores such as cleaning & tidying of bedrooms, cleaning common areas, cleaning washrooms, sweeping, vacuuming and mopping, washing dishes, washing & ironing clothes, cleaning windows and taking out the trash.
• Preparing meals for the family
• Running errands and shopping for groceries
• Caring pets
• Caring the garden and household plants

Family Responsibilities

• Looking after children and provide for their everyday needs according to their age
• Arrange for the children’s transportation to and from school & activities
• Babysitting at the absence of the parents
• Accompanying the family on various activities (e.g. field trips, shopping, journeys, holidays)

Domestic workers can provide invaluable support to families who wish for their children to be raised in the comfort and security of their own home as it can be equally important for children to be cared for in a safe and familiar environment. The assistance of a domestic worker in this respect enables parents to spend more quality time with their children, unencumbered by household chores and other errands.

Caring of the elderly or unable

• Providing daily support to self-sustained elders
• Supporting elders in daily needs
• Providing needed daily care to dependant elders
• Caring the unable and challenged

This specific assistance needed by many Cypriot households tends to be a very sensitive issue to approach and finally decide on the right hire.  Accounts need to be taken on the present condition of the employers and the possible future condition so as to correctly disclose any and all information to the worker thus leading to a successful hire.

We at CRS go to great lengths in personally interviewing all our candidates thoroughly coupling this with professional teams abroad with whom we collaborate and take into careful consideration the employer needs. We do this to help

our clients receive a good understanding on who they are likely hiring thus minimizing the risk of a failed hire. Successful hires will lead to a happy and productive environment at home. Additional to the aforementioned, our support towards our clients and their employees has proven to prolong the employment duration and leading to real relationships being established between the both.

Determining Eligibility & Employment Criteria

The Council of Ministers having updated the employment criteria for domestic workers as of 18 July 2022, these include families with or without children, elderly and unable employers and include provisions for financial criteria for all categories.

Visit this  page  to view the comprehensive employment criteria for domestic workers

Processing and Timeframe

Similar to all other migratory employment a set of supporting documents need to be prepared and submitted with a relevant application to the Department. The Department will then review & approve the application and issue the Entry Permit which will enable the worker to travel to Cyprus and assume their responsibilities. While the specific requirements with reference to the documentation that should be provided may differ based on the particulars of each case, standard documents that should be prepared typically involve:

1. a clear criminal record of the worker from their origin
2. a medical examination of the worker conducted in abroad and Cyprus following the specific guidelines
3. School Diploma indicating pass marks in the English language
4. a signed copy of the employment contract

Processing time will differ according the country of origin of each worker and an indicative timeframe leading to the arrival of the worker varies from 1-3 months.

The information provided by CRS is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional or formal legal advice. You should not act or refrain from acting based on any information provided above without obtaining legal or other professional advice.