Filenews 9 September 2025 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
The legal framework that will govern teleworking in the public sector has not yet been locked and civil servants demand the granting of a teleworking allowance. This request was raised during yesterday's session of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, which examined the relevant bill.
Before the Committee, on behalf of PASYDY, it was reported that a discussion began between the social partners on the granting of a teleworking allowance, in the implementation of the legal framework applied by the private and wider public sector. According to the representative of PASYDY, there is no similar discussion about the granting of an allowance to public sector employees, adding that "we want it to proceed for the public sector as well".
This particular position caused some surprise to the MPs, although they did not take a position on it. Therefore, after the adoption of the legislation soon, the next issue for which there will be a lot of discussion is this allowance. But without having clarified whether the State is willing to concede it.
This issue is also expected to be the subject of discussion in the Joint Personnel Committee. Although the trade unions are in favour of the bill, reservations have been expressed about the determination by the Council of Ministers of the number of days that public officials will telework and the exclusion of specific categories of employees from the new institution.
The right of employees to disconnect employees from teleworking was also put on the table. In particular, a representative of PASYDY expressed her satisfaction with the flexible forms of work, as they will contribute, she said, to the modernization of the public sector. As he mentioned, the bill ensures the basic principles of teleworking, equal treatment of employees, the right to disconnect, while it is voluntary. There are also provisions for safety and health when teleworking.
On the part of EQUALITY, it was emphasized that the right to disconnect from teleworking, as applied in the wider public sector, should be explicitly defined in the bill. However, Cyprus will apply the mixed model, which is in force in other European Union member states, i.e. civil servants to work both from the office and teleworking.
The conditions
According to the representative of the Department of Public Administration and Personnel (TSDP), those affected will only be able to telework from their place of residence, pointing out that teleworking will be controlled based on the work produced by the employee. It is noted that the number of days during which employees will work remotely but when the implementation of the law will begin will be determined by the Council of Ministers.
It is recalled that the original bill included a provision that provided that employees would work up to 100 days with the method of teleworking. Along the way, this provision was removed, leaving the specific competence to the Cabinet. The representative of the TSDP said that initially teleworking will be applied conservatively and referred to the conditions that must be met in order for someone to be able to work remotely.
As he explained, a basic condition for the implementation of teleworking is that the employee's duties are compatible with the possibility of teleworking, pointing out that those who work with the shift system will not be able to work with this method. Another condition, he said, provides that the employee must have the necessary technological means, i.e. an official computer and the necessary systems. He also said that the connection will be done securely and they will have access to the office automation system, i.e. business files. According to the bill, teleworking will be voluntary and after the head of the department agrees. At the same time, he noted that teleworking will not be implemented immediately, until the required training of the staff is done and service computers are provided. Today, 3,150 civil servants have an official computer.
It is worth mentioning that PASYDY prefers that teleworking be implemented in 2026. It is noted that teleworking is part of the flexible forms of work, which also provide for a reduction by two hours in the working hours of specific categories of employees and the implementation of flexible hours in the state machine.
Party positions
The chairwoman of the Finance Committee and DIKO MP Christiana Erotokritou stated that teleworking will contribute to the modernization and proper functioning of the Public Sector. However, he wondered how the productivity performance of workers will be measured.
DISY MP Savia Orfanidou expressed DISY's satisfaction with the bill, as it will have added value to the goals it has set to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the public sector.
AKEL MP Andreas Kafkalias said that AKEL raised questions in relation to the protection of personal data, employees and citizens.
ELAM MP Sotiris Ioannou stated that there should be no phenomena of abuse of the institution.
DIPA MP Elias Myrianthous, wondered if the infrastructure and equipment for teleworking exists.
DIPA MP Alekos Tryfonidis said that some reservations have been expressed about the elimination of a specific number of teleworking days and teleworking time in general and the assignment of the responsibility for determining the time to the Council of Ministers.
