Working life country profile for Malta
This profile describes the key characteristics of working life in Malta. It aims to provide the relevant background information on the structures, institutions, actors and relevant regulations regarding working life.
This includes indicators, data and regulatory systems on the following aspects: actors and institutions, collective and individual employment relations, health and well-being, pay, working time, skills and training, and equality and non-discrimination at work. The profiles are systematically updated every two years.
‘Individual employment relations’ refers to the relationship between the individual worker and their employer. This relationship is shaped by legal regulation and by the outcomes of social partner negotiations over terms and conditions. This section looks at the start and termination of the employment relationship and entitlements and obligations in Malta.
Requirements regarding an employment contract
The EIRA defines a ‘contract of service’ and a ‘contract of employment’ as:
an agreement, (other than service as a member of a disciplined force) whether oral or in writing, in any form, whereby a person binds himself to render service to or to do work for an employer, in return for wages, and, in so far as conditions of employment are concerned, includes an agreement of apprenticeship.
This definition recognises a verbal agreement as enforceable by law. Legal Notice 267 of 2022 – Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Regulations – which repealed Legal Notice 421 of 2002 – Information to Employee Regulations – regulates the information that must be provided to employees on paper or by electronic means. The information provided must include, among other things, information on the organisation, the place of work, the job title and description, the date of commencement, the duration of employment, the duration and conditions of the probationary period, training entitlements, paid leave entitlements, procedures related to employment termination, remuneration, working time arrangements and applicable collective agreements. Related clauses also exist for outworkers, temporary agency workers and those working outside Malta.
The minimum working age is 16. The Director of Industrial and Employment Relations can issue an authorisation for the employment of minors under 16 years if (1) an exemption certificate, obtainable from the Directorate for Educational Services, is produced and (2) the employer has carried out a risk assessment to confirm that the work is not dangerous for the minor. Commencement of employment must be registered at Jobsplus.
Dismissal and termination procedures
Dismissal and termination procedures are regulated by Section 36 of the EIRA.
If the employment is terminated during a probationary period, one week’s notice applies if the length of service is longer than one month.
After the expiry of the probationary period, the notice period increases according to the length of employment, up to a maximum of 12 weeks after 10 years of employment. Longer periods may be agreed by the employer and employee in the case of technical, administrative, executive or managerial posts.
If, on their own free will, the employee fails to give notice or does not work all the notice period, the employee is obliged to pay a sum equivalent to half of the wages due for the notice period not worked. If the employer does not allow the employee to work all or part of the notice period, the employer is obliged to pay a sum equivalent to the full wage due for the notice period not worked.
If the employment is terminated due to a justified cause such as an illness, the notice period is waived.
When an employer terminates employment due to redundancy, the employee can refuse to work the notice period or part of it, and the employer still has to pay the employee a sum equivalent to half of the wages due for the notice period not worked. If the employer does not allow the employee to work all or part of the notice period, the employer is obliged to pay a sum equivalent to the full wage due for the notice period not worked.
Should a post made redundant become available again within a period of one year, the employer is obliged to offer the job to the redundant employee.
An employer can dismiss an employee for a ‘good and sufficient cause’, and if the cause is valid then the notice period is waived. If an employee feels that they were unjustly dismissed they can initiate proceedings in front of the Industrial Tribunal on grounds of unfair dismissal, by means of a referral in writing consisting of a declaration stating the facts of the case. The referral must be produced within four months of the effective date of the alleged breach.
If a fixed-term contract of employment is terminated after the expiry of the probationary period without good reason, the party that breaches the contract is liable to pay the other party a sum equal to half the full wages that would have accrued had the contract of employment remained in force.
In redundancy situations, the employer must follow the procedure of last in/first out in the same category, regardless of whether an employee is on an indefinite or fixed-term contract. This procedure does not apply in cases involving businesses that are neither a limited liability company nor a statutory body, if the next in line for redundancy is a blood relative of the employer up to the third degree.
If a contract of service is terminated after at least one month of employment, the employee has the right to ask the employer for a certificate stating the duration of the employment, the nature of the work or services performed and, if the employee so desires, the reason for the termination of the contract and the rate of pay. However, the employer is not obliged to state the reason for termination of employment if the employment was terminated during the probationary period.
In cases involving collective redundancies, the employer must follow the procedures set out in Legal Notice 428 of 2002 – the Collective Redundancies (Protection of Employment) Regulations.
The dismissal and termination procedures in the public sector are regulated by Legal Notice 66 of 2017)– the Public Service Commission Disciplinary Regulations – by the Public Service Management Code and by the Collective Agreement for Public Service Employees 2017–2024.
Parental, maternity and paternity leave
According to the 2020 report on family-friendly measures relating to the public sector issued by the Institute for the Public Services (2021), the use of parenthood leave increased in 2020 when compared with 2019 by 43.62%. More specifically, there was an increase of 40.33% in the first 14 weeks of maternity leave, an increase of 42.14% in the number of workers availing themselves of the additional 4 weeks of maternity leave, an increase of 122.73% in parent (paternity) leave and an increase of 32.06% in parental leave. The increase in maternity leave is of interest, as this had been decreasing year on year, which may have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in paternity leave, which was used exclusively by male workers, may indicate the increasing involvement of men in parental duties; however, a negligible number of men took up parental leave in both 2019 and 2020.
Statutory leave arrangements
| Maternity leave | |
| Maximum duration | 18 weeks, 6 of which have to be used immediately after the birth. Another 4 weeks are to be taken immediately before the due date, unless agreed otherwise between the employer and the employee. The employee can choose to take the remaining balance of entitlement in whole or in part, either immediately before or immediately after the mentioned periods. Fathers cannot avail themselves of maternity leave. This entitlement was granted also to employees who adopt a child with the enactment of Legal Notice 336 of 2016 – the Adoption Leave National Standard Order. Prior to such legislation, an employed adoptive parent was only eligible to unpaid leave under the Parental Leave Entitlement Regulations (2003). Legal Notice 156 of 2017 – Leave for Medically Assisted Procreation National Standard Order – grants up to 60 hours of paid leave to an employee undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment. An additional 40 hours may be taken by the other prospective parent. This leave can be used all in one stretch or split over a longer period of time, according to the duration of treatment, and is available for up to three IVF treatment processes. |
| Reimbursement | 14 weeks at the normal rate of pay, 4 weeks paid at the rate of €182.83 per week (in 2022), as established by the Social Security Act. |
| Who pays? | The employer is obliged to pay for the first 14 weeks of maternity leave. The employee may be entitled to payment for the remaining 4 weeks from social services if they fulfil the conditions set out in the Social Security Act. The Maternity Leave Fund was established in 2015, in order to deal with the disproportionate maternity leave expenses previously incurred by employers. The trust fund collects contributions from all employers equivalent to 0.3% of the basic salary of all their employees. Employers are refunded for 14 weeks of the salaries paid to employees who avail themselves of maternity leave. IVF leave is to be paid by the employer. |
| Legal basis | Legal Notice 439 of 2003 – Protection of Maternity (Employment) Regulations
|
| Parental leave | |
| Maximum duration | Both male and female workers have the individual right to take care of a child for a period of four months until the child reaches the age of eight years. Parental leave can be taken in fixed periods of one month each. Collective agreements may offer a better parental leave entitlement than that provided for in legislation (e.g. public sector employees are entitled to a maximum of one year’s parental leave for each child). In all cases, there are no mandatory periods for fathers. |
| Reimbursement | While previously unpaid, since 2022 this is paid per parent for a period of eight weeks, at the same rate established for the sickness benefit entitlement under the Social Security Act (€14.15 per day in 2022). |
| Who pays? | Paid by the government until the end of 2023; to be paid by employers from 2024. |
| Legal basis | Legal Notice 201 of 2022 – the Work–Life Balance for Parents and Carers Regulations |
| Paternity leave | |
| Maximum duration | Fathers or equivalent second parents have the right to paternity leave of 10 working days, to be taken immediately after the birth or the adoption of the child, without loss of wages. Collective agreements may offer a better entitlement than that provided for in legislation. |
| Reimbursement | Paid at the employee’s normal rate. |
| Who pays? | Employer |
| Legal basis | Legal Notice 201 of 2022 – the Work–Life Balance for Parents and Carers Regulations |
| Vacation leave | |
| Maximum duration | In 2022, employees with a 40-hour working week were entitled to 224 hours of annual vacation leave. This entitlement includes 32 hours in lieu of four public holidays that fall on weekends in 2021. Employees working less than 40 hours a week such as part-timers and those on a reduced hour schedule are entitled to pro-rata leave entitlement. |
| Reimbursement | Paid at the employee’s normal rate. |
| Who pays? | Employer |
| Legal basis | Legal Notice 247 of 2003 – Organisation of Working Time Regulations; Legal Notice 271 of 2018 – Annual Leave National Standard Order |
| Injury leave | |
| Maximum duration | 1 year |
| Reimbursement | Paid at the employee’s normal rate. |
| Who pays? | The employer pays the normal rate, less the full amount of any injury benefit to which the employee may be entitled under the Social Security Act. |
| Legal basis | Legal Notice 432 of 2007 – Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations |
| Marriage leave | |
| Maximum duration | Varies according to the relevant wage regulation order that regulates the specific sector of industry and collective agreements. Employees who are not covered by a wage regulation order or collective agreement are entitled to two working days paid at their normal rate. |
| Reimbursement | Paid at the employee’s normal rate. |
| Who pays? | Employer |
| Legal basis | Legal Notice 432 of 2007 – Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations |
| Jury service leave | |
| Maximum duration | For as long as necessary to attend the court for such service. |
| Reimbursement | Paid at the employee’s normal rate. |
| Who pays? | Employer |
| Legal basis | Legal Notice 432 of 2007 – Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations |
| Court witness leave | |
| Maximum duration | All working time during which employees in the hospital and clinics sector are required to attend court as witnesses in police cases. |
| Reimbursement | Paid at the employee’s normal rate. |
| Who pays? | Employer |
| Legal basis | Legal Notice 115 of 197 – Hospitals and Clinics Wages Council Wage Regulation Order |
| Quarantine leave | |
| Maximum duration | Any period of quarantine as may be determined by the Superintendent of Public Health or by any other public authority. |
| Reimbursement | Paid at the employee’s normal rate. |
| Who pays? | Employer |
| Legal basis | Legal Notice 432 of 2007 – Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations |
| Bereavement leave | |
| Maximum duration | Varies according to the relevant wage regulation order that regulates the specific sector of industry and collective agreements. Employees who are not covered by a wage regulation order or collective agreement are entitled to one working day paid at their normal rate. |
| Reimbursement | Paid at the employee’s normal rate. |
| Who pays? | Employer |
| Legal basis | Legal Notice 432 of 2007 – Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations |
Sick leave
The sick leave entitlement of an employee varies according to the relevant wage regulation order regulating the specific sector. If the type of activity of work does not fall under the remit of any wage regulation order, the sick leave entitlement of an employee is covered by Legal Notice 432 of 2007 – Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations – and amounts to two working weeks per year. Sick leave has to be covered by a medical certificate, which must be presented to the employer. If an employee remains sick and exceeds three continuous working days of sick leave, the employer will deduct the sickness benefit from the social security to which the employee may be entitled from the fourth day onwards (in the event of continuous sick leave). If an employee remains sick after having exhausted all the sick leave entitlement, they will only continue to receive the sickness benefit from the social security to which they may be entitled. The law does not specify the relationship between exhaustion of the sick leave entitlement and the termination of an employment contract. In all cases, if an employee feels that they were unfairly dismissed they can present the case in front of the Industrial Tribunal. If an employee’s contract is terminated for any reason and there are still pending payments including those relating to sick leave to be settled by the employer, the employee may register a claim with the DIER Investigative Unit to recover such payments.
Retirement age
In 2006, amendments to the Social Security Act raised the retirement age from 61 to 65 years for both sexes. A person can still retire at the age of 61 if they have paid 35 years of national insurance contributions and were born between 1952 and 1961. Those who were born between 1962 and 1968 must have 40 years of paid national insurance contributions, while those born after 1968 must have 41 years of such contributions to be able to retire at the age of 61. Notwithstanding, someone who chooses to retire at 61 cannot work and receive the state pension until they reach 65 years of age.
