Nicosia, Cyprus. The department of public administration and personnel has issued a circular outlining conditions, procedures and responsibilities for hybrid working across the public sector, effective April 2.
Scope and implementation
The circular sets out steps to be taken by heads of departments and employees, covering eligibility, approval procedures, equipment requirements, supervision and circumstances under which working from home may be interrupted.
It follows the issuance of an implementation manual providing technical and operational guidance to services and staff, and is linked to the 2025 law regulating remote work in the public service, which enters into force on April 2 following a council of ministers decision in December.
Eligibility criteria
According to the circular, signed by the department’s director Elena Economidou-Azina, a basic condition for working away from the office is that an employee’s duties, or part of them, can be carried out remotely, taking into account their nature and the technological means required.
This assessment is made by the relevant head of department.
Employees working on a shift system are excluded, while the council of ministers may decide to exempt other categories.
Eligibility is limited to staff who have completed at least one year in their current post, as well as contracted employees who have completed at least one year performing their current duties.
Equipment and system requirements
To make working from home possible, services must provide employees deemed suitable and interested with the necessary equipment and software.
Approval may be granted only where the employee has a service laptop, remote access to the work phone via Cisco Jabber and access to official email through Microsoft Office 365.
In addition, the Office Automation System eOASIS must be installed within the service to allow secure access to correspondence and official documents, unless an employee’s duties do not require it.
Limits during the initial phase
During the initial phase, employees whose duties require specialised information systems beyond eOASIS will not be able to work remotely, as upgrades to the public service’s technological infrastructure are required for document and data security purposes.
How will the new eligibility and equipment requirements affect your ability to work remotely?
