Almost everyone who is going to live in Cyprus for a long time, raises the question: “What is the situation with staff in Cyprus?” In fact, not only big businesses, but ordinary working people just want to, or in some circumstances had to deal with a third party for the decision of daily household tasks: cleaning the house or apartment, babysitting, hiring a driver, gardener, and other professionals.
Cleaning services in Cyprus
This type of service is quite popular among both visitors of the island, and the locals. Almost all working Cypriots prefer to give this work to outsourcing and not to spend their weekends on the tidying of their homes. It is possible to consider several options:
- hiring a service for general cleaning;
- an agreement on cleaning 1-2 times a week;
- hiring a permanent person for full time job.
The cost of local or Russian-speaking staff will be around 7 to 10 euros per hour. Cheaper services are given by domestic workers from the Philippines and Vietnam (around € 5 per hour), but also the quality of cleaning will often be similar.
If you plan a weekly cleaning of your house or apartment, it is advisable to agree on a certain day for a “visit”. In this case, you can slightly reduce the price. Thus, the cost of cleaning an apartment area of 150-200 square meters will cost around 50-60 euros. However, it does not depend on the number of hours and the composition of the specified services. As a rule, the cost of cleaning does not include ironing, payment of this service must be agreed in advance.
The most convenient way for the employer to conclude is a contract for a permanent job. For example, the daily cleaning of a certain number of hours. In this case, the cost of services will depend on the individual agreements, but the average amount will be 500-800 euros per month.
Driver services in Cyprus
Not less popular is the services of a driver. Many people often resort to this service when it is necessary to transport children to school or kindergarten, as well as to accompany them to different sections. Some parents are working and there is no way to drive or get their child out of school at the right time, others do not have their own vehicle (mostly this applies to visitors to the island who live here for a short time). In addition, not all parents want to get up early or interrupt their daily activities to pick up their child from school.
It is not difficult to find a driver in Cyprus. Many people use the services of taxi drivers, who will follow regular orders, such as daily delivery to school and back, with a reduced cost of services and do not working on the meter. It all depends on the specific arrangements, but the average daily delivery to school and back at a distance of 5-15 km will cost 200 to 500 euros per month.
Babysitting in Cyprus
Probably it is hard to find a good nanny everywhere. And Cyprus is no exception. Perhaps in some situations it is more appropriate to invite a familiar nanny from your country and pay for her work, including accommodation, meals and efforts to obtain the permanent residence permit if you plan to leave the children with a babysitter. Or search for a babysitter available, or governess in place, thus getting rid of a number of the above problems, but accept the fact that the approach to child-rearing can not always quite meet your expectations.
The price range for babysitting services in Cyprus are high, the cost of services depends on the level of qualification of the nanny, the age and number of your children, the amount of work (permanent, one-time, round the clock), and many other factors.
On average, the cost for an English-speaking nanny will be around 600-800 euros per month for an 8-hour working day.
You can also hire a Filipina nanny, and then the cost of the services will be 450 euros per month plus accommodation. Registration takes place through a contract with a recruitment company.
Gardening and maintenance of swimming pools in Cyprus
If your house has a swimming pool, then you definitely need the services for cleaning and maintenance. Typically, for a one-time visit they clean the swimming pool and make measurements of water parameters. In winter, only one visit per week is necessary, in the season (May to October), it is desirable that pool is cleaned twice a week, because otherwise the water can “bloom.” The average price for the services of cleaning swimming pools in Cyprus is 20-50 euros per visit, depending on the city, the company and the services which you will apply for. In winter, some resort to the conservation of their pools; they are filled with a special composition and the water is “frozen.” Then you will be relieved from the cost of cleaning the pool in the winter.
As Cypriots are very attentive to green spaces, it is a very popular service to call the gardener. If you have a site with flowers and trees covering about 10 acres, gardeners come 1-2 times a week, trim the grass and branches of trees to give them a certain form, if necessary, pollinate plants, but do not have the full care of your plants. In this case, the cost of their services will be comparable to the cost of services for cleaning the pool.
Chef services in Cyprus
Due to the developed system of restaurants, as well as delivery services and takeaway (”take-out”), the demand for this kind of services is low enough. Generally, Cypriots do not employ such staff, in the case of large domestic events they prefer to go to a restaurant or use the services of a catering service. Therefore, if necessary, the cooking can be done by a maid or the nanny, but the work should be arranged and paid for separately also. Therefore, the prevailing stable prices for the services of cooks in Cyprus does not exist.
Guard services in Cyprus
Cyprus is among the countries with a high level of safety and low crime rate. Therefore, individuals who hire guards here are extremely rare. If, however, such need arose, it private licensed agencies that are authorized to carry out security activities and the right to bear arms are suitable for this task.
Guard agencies in Cyprus are subject to strict licensing and must meet stringent requirements, so there are not many, and the staff is selected very carefully.
Summing up on our review, we will try to answer the question: “Should you bring your staff with you from your country, or hire in Cyprus?” Perhaps, if you do not have any special requirements for your employees, the housekeeper, driver, gardener and pool cleaner, you can easily hire on the spot. With the choice of a nanny, however, the situation is more complicated. On the one hand, finding a babysitter in Cyprus, you will be relieved of a large number of problems (difficulties in obtaining a permanent residence permit, the need to ensure its housing, etc.). On the other hand, it is likely that a nanny, who would correspond to your expectations, would be a rare finding. So think about this thoroughly, so that the consequences of a wrong choice are not laid on your shoulders.
