This chapter contains what you need to know about sickness benefit in Cyprus.

In what situation can I claim?

Sickness benefit is payable to employees and self-employed and to voluntarily insured persons working for a Cypriot employer overseas, aged between 16 and 63, who are incapable of working.

Persons who do not satisfy the insurance conditions for receiving the statutory pension at 63 are entitled to receive benefit up to the required date, but in no case after the age of 65.

What conditions do I need to meet?

The conditions for payment of the sickness benefit are that the insured person:

• is not working because of illness and is not receiving the full wage or salary from their employer during the period of the illness;
• has actual insurance equal to at least 0.50 of the insurance point and for at least 26 weeks to have elapsed since the insurance commenced, and
• to have actual or assimilated insurance equal to at least 0.39 of the insurance point in the relevant contribution year.

To requalify for sickness benefit following exhaustion of the entitlement, the insured person must have worked and paid contributions on earnings equal to not less than 26 times the weekly amount of the basic insurable earnings after the date on which the benefit ended. In addition he/she must have worked for a period of 13 weeks since the date on which the benefit ended.

What am I entitled to and how can I claim?

• The spouse (regardless of gender) is deemed to be dependent if receiving wages or benefits of smaller value than the increment for a dependent person;
• The benefit is not paid if the employee concerned is receiving his/her wages in full. If receiving a reduced wage, the sum of the benefit and the reduced wage paid must not exceed the full wage.

Sickness benefit is paid for a period not exceeding 156 days for each period of discontinued work. If the incapacity to work is not permanent, the benefit payment period may be extended to a maximum of 312 days.

Incapacity to work because of illness must be certified by a doctor from the first day of the illness. During the course of the illness the claimant may be required to undergo further examinations by a medical adviser. To receive the benefit, an application form, accompanied by the required certificates, must be submitted within 21 days of the start of the illness. There is a waiting period of 3 days for employees, whereas the waiting period for the self-employed is 9 days. In the event of an accident or hospitalisation, the self-employed are dealt with in the same way as employees.

Jargon busters

• Basic insurance: includes the insurable earnings for each year up to the amount of the basic insurable earnings i.e. up to one point.
• Supplementary insurance: includes insurable earnings for each year above the amount of the basic insurable earnings.
• Insurance points: the result arrived at by converting real and assimilated insurable earnings to insurance points.
• Relevant contribution year: in relation to benefits, this means the last contribution year before the benefit year which includes the date on which the insurance conditions attached to the benefit must be satisfied (i.e. the relevant contribution year is 2021 for the first half of 2023 and 2022 for the second half of 2023).
• Benefit year: the period of time which commences on the first Monday of July each year and ends on the last Sunday before the first Monday of July in the following year.

Forms you may need to fill in

• https://www.gov.cy/gr/hlektronikes-yphresies/koinoniki-pronoia-kai-kratiki-enisxysi/epidomata-kai-wfelhmata/epidoma-astheneias

Know your rights

The links below define your rights legally. They are not European Commission websites and they do not represent the Commission's views:

• Social insurance legislation;
• Guide to sickness benefit and incapacity pension.

European Commission publication and website:

• http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=849&langId=en.

Who do you need to contact?

Social Insurance Services

• Headquarters
• Leoforos Vyronos 7
• 1465 Nicosia
• CYPRUS
• http://www.mlsi.gov.cy/sid