Filenews 22 August 2024 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
Sanctions were imposed on businesses and employers by the District Courts for violations of labour law related to the safety and health of employees in the workplace.
The sanctions included fines and suspended prison sentences. The convicted persons include 15 natural persons as well as a number of legal persons.
According to data from the Department of Labour Inspection, in 2023 the trial of 22 cases for 95 violations of labour laws, concerning the safety and health of employees in the workplace and other persons affected by the execution of work, was completed. The fines imposed on the convicted persons totalled €210,000 compared to €232,000 in 2022 for the trial of 29 cases.
According to the data of the competent Department in Nicosia, most violations of the legislation have been recorded, resulting in total fines of €116,500. Specifically, the largest penalty imposed on offenders in Nicosia was €35,000 and the smallest €4,500. Meanwhile, a natural person in the capital was given a 6-month prison sentence, suspended for three years.
In Limassol, 8 offenders have been brought to court and sentenced mainly to financial penalties totalling €28,800. The largest fine imposed on violators in Limassol was €10,000 and the smallest €1,000. At the same time, a natural person was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for three years, while another person who violated the law was fined both €2,000 and eight months in prison.
In the Larnaca District, a total of 10 persons have been brought to court and fines of €37,800 have been imposed. One of the offenders was given a 45-day jail sentence while the largest fine paid was €11,000.
Besides, in Famagusta, 4 offenders have been convicted, three of whom were sentenced to imprisonment and one to a fine of €20,000. It should be noted that prison sentences were suspended. In addition, last year 16 new criminal prosecution files were drafted, which were forwarded to the representatives of the Legal Service for approval and forwarding.
At the same time, 78 notices of out-of-court settlement of offenses (extrajudicial fines) were issued for violations detected in preventive inspections, as well as inspections carried out in the context of accident and dangerous incident investigation, while in 2022 70 extrajudicial fines were issued. Most out-of-court fines in both 2022 and 2023 concern violations on construction sites. The amount of the out-of-court offense settlement for the 78 notices of 2023, amounts to a total of €131.400 compared to €113.000 for 2022 for the issuance of 70 notices.
