Employment Newsletter Q3 – October 2020
Welcome to the third GVZH Employment Newsletter!
Amongst other topics, this newsletter will explain the concept of single source, which can have a significant effect locally. We will also tackle the definition of redundancy under Maltese law in view of the fact that the law does not specifically define redundancy and thus, we need to rely heavily on case law to establish what circumstances constitute a valid redundancy under Maltese law.
Another article will discuss the manner in which the Industrial Tribunal has been liquidating compensation for the past years and assess what factors are taken into consideration when compensation is being established following a decision of unfair dismissal. And lastly, we will also explain the importance of having an IT Security Policy in place for an employer, especially at this point in time, with several employees working remotely.
We hope you find this newsletter informative and useful.
Best regards
The GVZH Employment Law Team
The intent behind this newsletter is purely to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice.
The Concept of Single Source of Employment – Widening the Net for Equality of Pay?
The concept of Single Source of Employment is intimately linked with the notion of “equal pay for equal work”, a notion which is not only enshrined in our Constitution and which guarantees the constitutional right that women workers enjoy equal rights and the same wages for the same work as men, but is also regulated by the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (EIRA) which requires that employees in the same class of employment are entitled to the same rate of remuneration for work of equal value.
The Definition of Redundancy under Maltese Law
When terminating on grounds of redundancy, Maltese law states that an employer must always follow the last in, first out rule. Thus, the last person engaged within a class of employees affected by the redundancy should be the first to be made redundant. The only exception to the last in, first out rule is where the person who is last in, is related to the employer (not being a limited liability company or statutory body) by consanguinity or affinity up to the third degree, and thus, the employer may instead terminate the employment of the person next in turn instead.
Compensation Awarded by the Industrial Tribunal | How is this Changing and Why?
Maltese Legislation does not impose an obligation on the Industrial Tribunal (hereinafter ‘Tribunal’) to include its reasoning for why a certain decision was taken and why damages were liquidated at a certain amount. Over the years this has led to a lot of uncertainties since when one tries to analyse past cases of the Tribunal in order to attempt to identify a pattern in decisions, there appear to be no hard and fast rules upon which the decisions were taken.
The Importance of Having an IT Security Policy in Place
Organisations need well designed IT security polices to ensure the success of their cyber-security strategies and efforts. The lack of an IT security policy can result from various reasons, but more often than not, include limited resources to assist with developing policies, slow adoption by management, or a lack of awareness of the importance of having an effective IT security program in place.