Our Locations
Malta
Interested in expanding or employing workers in Malta?
For a long time, Malta has been considered an attractive business destination due to its political and economic stability. It is also strategically located between Europe and Africa and offers a highly experienced and skilled workforce.
Expanding into Malta
Key facts
Contract Types
In Malta contracts can be Fixed Term or Indefinite. Fixed Term contracts can be for a minimum of 6 months. If a Fixed Term contract is renewed there can be no new probation period. Fixed Term contracts can generally be for a maximum of 4 years including all renewals. A new Fixed Term contract should be provided within 12 days of expiration of the old contract, or the employee will be deemed to be on an indefinite contract.
Probation
For Fixed Term contracts between 6 and 15 months, the probation period is 2 months for every 6 months of the contract’s duration. Over 15 months, the probation period is 6 months. For executive positions where the salary is at least double the minimum wage, probation can be 12 months.
Working Hours
The normal working week is 40 hours, 8 hours per day
Overtime
Generally, overtime arrangements are covered by the Wage Regulation Order (WRO). If there is no WRO then payment of 150% of usual salary is due. Overtime is limited to 2 hours per day and must be approved. Total hours cannot exceed 48 hours per week or 250 hours per year. There is no regulation governing overtime rates except that it must exceed salary by 10% and should be agreed in the contract between the employer and employee. The number of hours worked should be stated on the payslip. The entitlement to overtime hours is worked over a 4-week average, i.e. over 4 weeks hours must average above 40 per week in order to qualify for overtime. For senior positions the contract can specify that salary includes all overtime.
Other
Employees are entitled to government bonuses (approximately Euro 500 pa) and cost of living increases as may be announced from time to time by the government. A 13th month salary is common.
Should the employer want to perform background checks, the employee must be informed.
Non-compete clauses are allowed in Malta so long as they are reasonable and limited in scope, and the employer is not obliged to provide compensation in return.
Tax rates valid for: 2024
Corporation Tax: 35%
Consumption Tax: 18%
Employers’ Social Security: 10%
Employees’ Contributions: 10%
Capped at EUR 53.23 per week for those earning over 27,679
Income Tax Rates
- Up to 9,100 EUR – 0%
- 9,100 to 14,500 EUR – 15%
- 14,500 to 19,500 EUR – 25%
- 19,500 to 60,000 EUR – 25%
- Over 60,000 EUR – 35%
The above rates are for single employees; the rates are different for married employees and for those with children.
Notice
In Malta all contracts can be terminated for reasons of gross misconduct, or for business or personal reasons. Notice must be given in writing and the reasons explained. The notice period will vary according to the length of service:
- Less than 1 month – no notice required
- 1 – 6 months – 1 week
- 6 – 24 months – 2 weeks
- 2 – 4 years – 4 weeks
- 4 – 7 years – 8 weeks
- Over 7 years – 1 additional week per year of service up to 12 weeks
Payment in lieu of notice is allowed. Should the employee be required to work his notice and chooses not to, then he is entitled to only 50% of the salary which would have otherwise applied for that period.
During Probation
1 week notice is required after 1 month of employment.
Severance Pay
There are no provisions for severance pay under Maltese law. However, it is common for a severance payment to be agreed. Accrued and unused leave should always be paid out.
National Public Holidays: 14
New Year’s Day – 1st January
Day Given in Lieu
Feast of St Paul’s Shipwreck – 10th February
Day Given in Lieu
Feast of St Joseph – 19th March
Day Given in Lieu
Good Friday – 29th March
Day Given in Lieu – N/A
Freedom Day – 31st March
Day Given in Lieu
Labour Day – 1st May
Day Given in Lieu
Sette Giugno – 7th June
Day Given in Lieu
Feasts of St Peter and Paul – 29th June
Day Given in Lieu
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – 15th August
Day Given in Lieu
Feast of Our Lady of Victories – 8th September
Day Given in Lieu
Independence Day – 21st September
Day Given in Lieu
Immaculate Conception Day – 8th December
Day Given in Lieu
Republic Day – 13th December
Day Given in Lieu
Christmas Day – 25th December
Day Given in Lieu
Annual Leave
All leave entitlement is based on a 5-day working week. Public holidays falling on a Sunday are not included. The number of days quoted are working days unless stated otherwise.
Paid legal entitlement (working days)
In Malta all employees are entitled to 24 days per year in addition to public holidays. Leave is calculated in hours (192 hours based on an 8 hour day). Holidays are prorated in the first year of employment. When public holidays fall at the weekend employees can take a day in lieu.
Carry over permitted
Up to 50% of leave may be carried forward to the following holiday year if there is an agreement with the employer. Leave cannot be paid out so employers should make every effort to encourage their staff to take their entitlement.
Timings
The holiday year starts on January 1st.
Payment in lieu allowed
Payment cannot be made for 20 days of holiday except in case of termination.
Sick
Sick leave is usually covered by the WRO in place and is typically 15 days, paid by the employer. Where there is no WRO in place, employees are entitled to 3 days fully paid sick leave per year before being entitled to sick benefit from the Social Security. Leave continues to accrue whilst on sick leave. Social Security funded sick pay can extend up to 156 days, or 468 days in 2 years with medical dispensation.
Maternity
New mothers are entitled to 14 weeks of maternity leave, 8 weeks before the birth and a minimum of 6 weeks after the birth paid by the employer. For a further 4 weeks employees can take leave and claim Eur 192.73 per week from the government. Leave continues to accrue during maternity leave, as do public holidays.
Pregnant employees are also entitled to paid time off to attend ante natal appointments.
An employee should return to work for a minimum of 6 months after maternity leave else she could be liable to repay the maternity pay.
Paternity
New fathers (or other second parents) are entitled to 10 day’s paid leave immediately after the birth.
Parental
Up to 4 months’ paid parental leave may be taken until the child is 8 years old. This is available for new parents as well as adopting parents, fostering parents or for general care. 2 months’ pay is funded by Social Security for each parent at the same rate as for sick leave.
Study
Employees with at least 5 years’ service may request a maximum of 11 months unpaid leave to attend an educational establishment.
Marriage
Two working days if the WRO does not specify otherwise. Up to 15 days of paid leave is often given.
Bereavement
Employees are entitled to paid leave of 1 working day for the death of a spouse or second degree relative, unless the WRO specifies more.
Other
Other types of leave will be agreed in the WRO and employees have a right to continuous or discontinuous leave of up to two years for serious, documented family reasons.
Medical
Malta has a well-regarded free public health system. Nevertheless, some competitive employers will offer private medical insurance to cover costs of items such as dental and optical services.
Other
Items such as gym membership, funding for courses and therapy allowances are increasingly offered in Malta.
We make expansion in Malta simple
Employing people compliantly across international borders can be challenging but we make it simple, bringing down barriers and making light work of the complexities. We offer the full range of compliant global expansion solutions so that wherever, whenever and however you want to employ people, we can support you.
EOR Services
Employ people compliantly in 180+ countries – without setting up new entities. We’ll shoulder responsibility as Employer of Record (EOR), making sure all your international employment is fully compliant.
We can also take care of your global HR from multi-country payroll to onboarding and offboarding.
Payroll Solutions
Getting global payroll right is one of the hardest challenges for any business expanding into new countries. We can shoulder this burden, freeing up valuable in-house resource to focus on growing your business.
Consider us an extension of your HR team, ready to answer all your questions large and small.
Global Mobility
Mobilise your people across borders with ease. Relocating to work abroad can feel daunting. But with Leap29 at your side, your employees can feel safe and supported.
We’ll guide your employees through the complexities of working in another country, helping them settle in fast.
Entity Services
Follow the opportunities to grow your business – wherever they take you.
We lighten the load of establishing and managing foreign entities and can help you solve all your entity challenges from running compliant, accurate multi-country payroll to local accounting and financial reporting.
PEO Solutions
Employ international talent wherever and whenever you need it – and enjoy the peace of mind of knowing you’re fully compliant. Our Professional Employer Organisation (PEO) services allow you to focus on growing your business while we handle compliance, multi-country payroll and your global HR.
Support & Advisory
The help you need to make your global growth effortless – trusted guidance and advice on your expansion challenges large and small.
HR Support
When you’re employing people in lots of different countries, answering just a simple query can take a disproportionate amount of time for your in-house HR team. Our HR Support service reduces this burden, saving you time and money and giving you the confidence of knowing your employees are well looked after, whatever their location.
Contractor Payroll
Enjoy compliant contractor payroll that meets all local requirements for tax, social security and employment legislation. We understand the importance of compliant contractor payroll to the success of your business and will pay your contractors on time, every time.
Start hiring today – and onboard within hours.
Pricing
Budget confidently with transparent, competitive fees and no hidden costs.
Want us to shoulder employer liability and take care of your global HR through our EOR solution? No problem. Just want global payroll? You can have that too. Pick the solutions that your individual business needs.
We’re a people business with employee management software, not a software business that works in employee management!
At Leap29 we offer access to the latest technology and software to easily and effectively manage your employees from anywhere in the world.
Our bespoke online portal LeapForward helps ensure a smooth onboarding process, manages monthly payroll and easily facilitates additional bonuses and expenses. By streamlining your processes through our online portal, it will help you attract and retain great talent and take the pain out of payroll management.
Integrated fully with our global EOR services, LeapForward comes at no additional cost to you but is guaranteed to save you time and money whilst simplifying your employee management procedures.
Malta
Expansion Resources
Interested in finding out more about employing or expanding your business in Malta?
Check out our additional resource pages below.
Our Recruitment Services
A global recruitment partner you can trust
We solve global recruitment challenges for businesses large and small. Whether you’re building out a new team, expanding into another country or looking for a confidential executive level hire, you can trust us to deliver.
Need 80 contractors in Brazil? Looking for just one very special permanent hire? Want us to take care of your global HR? It’s all in a day’s work at Leap29.
Whatever and wherever your mandate, we can help.
Permanent Recruitment
Connect with great permanent talent to drive your business forward. We help you find both key strategic hires to lead organisational growth and project specialists to deliver on deadlines and budgets.
Workforce Management
Reduce the complexity of managing workers in different countries and save yourself time, energy and money.
Local expertise, global reach
Employ people compliantly in 180+ countries – with or without your own foreign entities. We can help you set up and manage foreign entities – or act as an Employer of Record. We can also help with multi-country payroll and all your HR management. Wherever, whenever and however you want to employ people, we can help.
180+
Talk to an expert today
Contact us today to see how Leap29 can be the trusted partner that supports your global expansion.