Social Security - Unemployment Benefits

An insured person may claim unemployment benefit for days when he is unemployed, able to work and willing to accept suitable employment. He is not considered to be unemployed:

• when he is unable to work because of sickness,
• on Sundays,
• when on leave,
• on days on which he works in an additional occupation that he pursued along with his former usual employment and from which he receives earnings equal to at least 1/12 of the basic insurable earnings amount,
• on any day for which the employer pays his earnings.

Conditions:

• at least 26 weeks must have passed between the day when the person became insured and the day on which he became unemployed, and in that period the person must have paid contributions on earnings totalling at least 26 times the weekly basic insurable earnings amount; and
• the person must have been paid or credited with insurable earnings in the previous contributions year totalling not less than 20 times the weekly basic insurable earnings amount.

When an employed person becomes unemployed, unemployment benefit is paid from the fourth day of unemployment. In the case of a voluntary contributor who was working abroad for a Cypriot employer, the benefit becomes payable after the first 30 days of unemployment. The benefit is payable for 156 working days in each period of interruption of employment.

Unemployment benefit is made up of a basic benefit and a supplementary amount.
In order to claim benefit the unemployed person must attend in person at the nearest social insurance office and sign the unemployment register. He must attend regularly to sign the register on days stipulated by the social insurance office.

An unemployed person loses entitlement to unemployment benefit for up to six weeks if he:

• was to blame for losing his job or left the job voluntarily without good cause,
• refuses or fails to submit an application for suitable work or to accept an offer of suitable work,
• fails to take advantage of a suitable employment opportunity,
• refuses or neglects without good reason to comply with instructions issued by the Director of Social Insurance to attend vocational training classes.

Further Information

• For further information contact the Social Insurance Services (Tel. +357 22 40 16 00 or via the website).

Text last edited on: 12/2007

Source: European Union
© European Communities, 1995-2008
Reproduction is authorised.