A contract for a domestic worker in Cyprus isn't optional paperwork you can improvise. For a third-country worker it's the legal basis of the permit itself — and you don't draft it from scratch, because the government publishes the official contract with the pay, hours, leave and obligations already set out. This guide walks through what that contract says, in plain English, and flags the details stale guides still get wrong.
Why the contract matters
When you employ a third-country national as a live-in domestic worker, the signed Contract of Employment (form MDW3) is one of the documents you submit with the entry-permit application. The permit is granted on the terms in that contract — so the contract and the permit are the same deal, and its terms can't be pushed below the legal minimums. That's the whole hiring process, from income criteria to timing, in our step-by-step hiring guide.
For an EU citizen or a live-out worker there's no MDW3 permit contract — but a written agreement still protects both sides, and the official contract is a good template for what to cover.
What the official contract says
The official Contract of Employment for Domestic Workers sets the terms below. Treat them as the floor, not the ceiling — many families pay and offer above the minimum, and the going rates are in our salary guide.
| Clause | What the contract says |
|---|---|
| Pay | At least €460 a month gross, from which Social Insurance and GESY contributions are deducted, plus 15% for food and 10% for accommodation when the worker lives in |
| Working time | 6 days a week, 7 hours a day (day or night as required); the employer must keep a record of hours — so one rest day a week |
| Annual leave | 24 working days of paid annual leave |
| Sick leave | 30 days on full pay; the first 3 days are unpaid unless the worker is hospitalised in a private clinic |
| Public holidays | 9 named public holidays on full pay |
| Accommodation & food | A private room and food provided (the 10% / 15% deductions above are the only ones allowed for these) |
| Medical cover | Primary and secondary medical care, including transport of mortal remains; cost shared 50/50 with the worker |
| Insurance | Employer's Liability Insurance is mandatory |
| Bank account | The employer opens a Euro bank account in the worker's own name and pays the salary into it monthly |
| Repatriation & fees | The employer signs a declaration to cover return costs, and can never deduct permit, first-arrival travel or agency fees from the worker's pay |
Stamp duty is now zero
One recent change worth knowing: stamp duty on employment contracts was abolished from 1 January 2026. A contract drawn up and signed on or after that date carries no stamp duty at all; before then, each copy was typically liable to a €2.00 fixed duty. It's small money, but it's exactly the sort of detail out-of-date guides still get wrong — if a source is still telling you to stamp the contract, it hasn't been updated for 2026.
EU and live-out hires
If you're hiring an EU or EEA citizen, or taking someone on live-out, there's no MDW3 permit contract to file — EU citizens have free access to employment and simply register. But put the arrangement in writing anyway: pay, hours, duties, leave, notice period and start date, at a minimum. The domestic-worker norms — a weekly rest day, paid leave, clear hours — make a sensible baseline even where they're not strictly mandated. And remember that social insurance still applies to an EU domestic worker: you register the employment and pay the contributions just the same, which we cover in the hiring guide.
Changing employer
A permitted worker isn't bound to one household forever, and the rules cut both ways. A domestic worker may change employer at most twice — three employers in total — unless the new employer is a relative up to the second degree, or is over 75, in which case the cap doesn't apply. To move, the worker needs the signed release document from the previous employer along with a detailed statement from the Social Insurance Services.
Some situations don't count as a "change" at all, and so don't use up the cap: the employer's death, the employer moving into a nursing home or rehabilitation centre, the employer emigrating, a criminal offence by the employer against the worker, or a decision of the Department of Labour Relations in the worker's favour.
If something goes wrong
The contract sets out how the relationship can end: by mutual release (after which the worker has one month to find new work), on one month's notice by either side under the Termination of Employment Laws, immediately only on the narrow grounds in section 5 of that law, after prolonged sick absence, or through a labour dispute. However it ends, the Migration Department must be told promptly and given the worker's final Social Insurance statement, so the permit can be cancelled cleanly.
For a genuine dispute over pay or treatment, the Department of Labour Relations is the official channel — and, as above, a decision there in the worker's favour is one of the grounds that doesn't count against their change-of-employer limit. If you're at the start of all this rather than the end, you can post a job free and set your terms out clearly from the beginning.