Cyprus moves to regulate remote working while protecting employee rights

Parliament is moving ahead with a bill to regulate remote working in the public sector, with safeguards set to be built into the new framework.

The House finance committee examined the issue on Monday, with trade unions voicing concerns about how decisions will be made.

Pasydy’s representative noted that the Council of Ministers will decide the number of remote working days without prior consultation. In the wider public sector, she said, such decisions are only taken after dialogue with unions.

Officials from the department of public service and staff clarified that the original draft of the bill had set the number of remote working days at 100, but this provision was later scrapped.

They assured that consultation with unions will take place before the Cabinet sets any limits, adding that semi-state organisations already operate with a mixed remote working model.

The debate also touched on maternity, paternity and parental leave.

Disy argued that not counting these days towards remote working limits creates unequal treatment, since affected employees could end up with fewer days of remote work.

In response, officials said the matter would be reviewed with the Legal Service to avoid distortions, underlining that remote working is a new institution rather than a guaranteed right.

Another issue raised was the “right to disconnect.” Equality pressed for it to be clearly enshrined in law, warning that employees should not face discrimination for logging off outside working hours.

Meanwhile, the department of public administration and personnel gave examples of supervisors sending tasks at midnight.

The department responded that the remote working manual already makes clear staff are not required to reply outside official hours and suggested supervisors schedule emails for the morning instead.

The Finance Ministry also promised consultations before exempting categories of employees from remote working, and said it will correct a provision requiring civil servants to wait one year after their appointment before they can work remotely.