Source: in-cyprus.philenews.com
Cyprus’s move to electronic-only social insurance payments, in force since August 3, has caused widespread disruption. Employers and self-employed people must now pay their social insurance contributions electronically through the SISnet online system run by the Social Insurance Services.
Access to the payment system now runs through CY Login, replacing the login details users relied on before. Both individuals and companies must set up a CY Login profile to access SISnet. CY Login handles user management and identification across a wide range of Cyprus government online services through a single access point, part of a wider push to unify access to state digital services.
Hardest hit: elderly employers
The changes are causing difficulties for both individuals and companies, but elderly people who employ domestic helpers are facing the biggest problems.
According to complaints received by philenews, most elderly people do not have a CY Login account and, as a result, cannot pay their social insurance contributions as they did before. Sources told philenews that elderly people are unfamiliar with digital payments and the internet. As a result, they are struggling to set up a CY Login account, since it also requires identity verification.
In cases where elderly employers cannot manage this themselves and hand the process to their children, the children are treated as account administrators and face difficulties verifying their parents’ identity, since the parents are the actual employers of the domestic helpers.
What worries those affected most is the risk of interest and penalties for late payment of social insurance contributions. In some cases, the penalty on social insurance contributions can reach 27%.
Businesses hit too
Beyond elderly people, employers, whether individuals or companies, are facing some disruption too. In both cases, account setup is done electronically. However, for companies, activating CY Login must be done through Citizens’ Service Centres.
Professional bodies say it can take up to two weeks from the day an account is created for it to be activated, which is causing concern about the risk of late payment of social insurance contributions.
Warnings over lack of notice
Those affected say the relevant services did not run a sufficient public information campaign to allow people to open a CY Login account in time.
They note that only three announcements were made about the change: one in May and two in July. The two July announcements were identical, one in Greek and one in English.
Those affected were told that, if they did not have a CY Login account, they should create one and complete identity verification, with either the person themselves or a representative able to log into the system to pay contributions.
May’s announcement gave guidance on setting up a CY Login account, on scrapping the old login process, on the option to appoint a representative, and on managing multiple employer registration numbers. A Labour Ministry spokesperson told philenews the situation is being monitored and ways to resolve the problem are being examined.