Leave Entitlement

​Leave entitlement is an essential right in any contract of employment offering employees the opportunity to take time off work for personal and other valid and reasonable reasons and promoting an overall better work-life balance. The Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Chapter 452 of the Laws of Malta – as the ‘Main Act’) also regulates certain leave provisions and must also be considered in this regard.

​Below is a summary of the different leave entitlements for employees in Malta.

Annual Vacation Leave

Regulated by Annual Leave National Standard Order, S.L. 452.115

An employee who works a forty (40) hour week is entitled to one hundred and ninety-two (192) hours of paid annual leave every year. If Public holidays fall on the weekend, these are added to their vacation leave.

Employees should ensure to take their annual leave entitlement each year, since they cannot claim payment for any leave not applied for, unless there is written agreement between the employee and the employer stating otherwise. Moreover, in the absence of any written agreement, leave may not be carried forward to the following year. On the other hand, should there be a written agreement in place, it is only possible for the employee to carry forward up to fifty per cent (50%) of the annual leave entitlement to the following year.

Sick Leave

Regulated by the Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations S.L. 452.101

Employees who are unable to work due to a form of illness are entitled to paid sick leave. The length of sick leave entitlement may vary depending on the job type and industry. Usually, unless the sector of work is covered by a specific Wage Regulation Order (‘WRO’), an employee is entitled to two (2) working weeks of sick leave annually, to be calculated in hours. In occasions of sickness, employees are required to provide a medical certificate by their medical practitioner to their employer to support their absence due to illness.

Maternity Leave

Regulated by the Protection of Maternity (Employment) Regulations S.L. 452.91

Female employees who are pregnant are entitled to eighteen (18) weeks of maternity leave. Note however that the first fourteen (14) weeks are paid by the employer but the weeks beyond the first fourteen (14) weeks are not paid by the employer. Moreover, if ante-natal examinations have to take place during the employee’s hours of work, she is entitled to time off without loss of pay or any other benefit. During maternity leave, the employee is entitled to receive a maternity allowance from the government, equivalent to the average weekly wage. The employer is required to keep the employee’s job open during maternity leave and should not discriminate against them in any way.

Maternity leave which shall be availed of as follows:

1. Six (6) weeks are to be taken compulsorily, immediately after the date of delivery;
2. Four (4) weeks are to be availed of immediately before the expected date of delivery, unless agreed otherwise between the employer and the employee;
3. The remaining eight (8) weeks balance of entitlement is to be availed of, in whole or in part, either immediately before or immediately after the above periods, as the employee may request.

Parental Leave

Regulated by the Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers Regulations, S.L. 452.125

Both male and female employees, as parents, have the right to be granted paid parental leave for a period of 4 (four) months, upon which 2 (two) of them are paid for at the same rate established for the sickness benefit entitlement under the Social Security Act, until the child has attained the age of 8 (eight) years. Parental leave is paid as follows:

1. fifty per centum (50%) of entitlement will be paid, where the child or children for whose care parental leave was granted has or have not attained four (4) years of age;
2. twenty-five per centum (25%) of entitlement will be paid, where the child or children for whose care parental leave was granted has or have attained the age of four (4) years but has or have not yet attained the age of six (6) years; and
3. twenty-five per centum (25%) of entitlement will be paid, where the child or children for whose care parental leave was granted has or have attained the age of six (6) years but has or have not yet attained the age of eight (8) years.

The employee must give a 2 (two) week notice period prior to applying for such parental leave in writing. An employer might temporarily postpone such parental leave on justified grounds related to the place of work. The leave applicant must be given notice of such postponement including its reasons within 2 (two) weeks of receipt of the worker’s notice.

Paternity Leave

Regulated by the Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers Regulations, S.L. 452.125

All employees who are equivalent to second parents are entitled to take paternity leave from work to provide care following the birth or adoption of a child. The paternity leave period is ten (10) working days, and employees can take this leave without any loss of wages. This right shall not be subject to a period of work qualification or to a length of service qualification, meaning that employees are entitled to take paternity leave regardless of how long they have worked for their employer.

Carers’ Leave

Regulated by the Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers Regulations, S.L. 452.125

Carers’ leave in Malta is a legal entitlement that provides employees with the right to take time off work to care for a relative or else a person living in the same household, who is ill or in need of care and support. This leave can be taken for a maximum of five (5) working days per year. Unless there is a written agreement with the employer, these five (5) days of leave shall be unpaid. During the leave period, employees are entitled to social security benefits, paid by the government. Additionally, employers are prohibited from terminating an employee’s contract or taking any adverse action against them for taking carer’s leave.

Urgent Family Leave

Regulated by the Urgent Family Leave Regulations, S.L. 452.88

Employers are required to provide every employee a total of fifteen (15) hours of paid leave per year for urgent family reasons. Part-time employees are entitled to pro rata urgent leave. This leave must be deducted from the employee’s annual leave entitlement. Urgent circumstances covered would include accidents to members of employee’s immediate family, sudden illness or sickness requiring the presence of the employee and presence during births and deaths of members of the employee’s immediate family. Moreover, immediate family includes husband, wife, children, and family relation up to the first degree.

Adoption Leave

Regulated by Adoption Leave National Standard Order, S.L. 452.111

An employee who is the parent of an adopted child, not being their natural offspring, is entitled to an uninterrupted period of eighteen (18) weeks adoption leave for the process of adoption. It commences on the day on which the child passes into the care and custody of the adoptive parent or parents by means of a judgment of a court of law in the country of origin.

An employee on adoption leave is entitled to the first fourteen (14) weeks of adoption leave with full wages, and any additional adoption leave beyond the fourteen (14) weeks, shall be unpaid, unless agreed otherwise by the employer and employee, without prejudice to any relevant benefit in respect of any period of adoption leave which goes beyond fourteen weeks in terms of the Social Security Act to which the employee may be entitled if he chooses to avail himself of adoption leave beyond the paid fourteen weeks.

In  the  case  of  a  single  parent,  adoption leave shall also be enjoyed  by  that parent.

In the case of more than one parent, it depends if one or both parents are in employment:

1. If only one parent is in employment, on the date of  adoption  of  the  child, adoption leave shall  be  enjoyed only by that parent;
2. If both parents are in employment, whether with different employers or with the same employer, on the date of adoption of the child, then each parent shall  be  entitled  to  such  part  of  the  adoption leave as they may agree in writing.

Any employee who  intends  to  avail  himself  of  the adoption leave shall notify the employer in writing of the date when he intends to avail himself of such entitlement. This notification shall include a written  statement  by  the  employee’s accredited adoption agency certifying  that  a  court date has been set for the hearing of the adoption case in the country of origin. The notification shall be given to the employer at least two (2) weeks before the adoption  leave  begins,  in  so  far  as  is  reasonably practicable.

Medically Assisted Procreation/IVF Leave

Regulated by Leave for Medically Assisted Procreation National Standard Order S.L. 452.114

Employees who undergo in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment are entitled to a special type of leave amounting to one hundred (100) hours of leave with full pay per couple, independent from any other type of leave, with sixty per cent (60%) of the hours going to the receiving parent and the remainder going to the other prospective parent. This is designed to provide employees with time off work to undergo IVF treatment and to recover from the procedure. Employees are entitled to a maximum of three (3) cycles of IVF treatment. The entitlement applies to both men and women, and the employee must inform the employers in writing, at least two (2) weeks in advance and provide a medical certificate to support their absence.

​Prospective parents who undergo in-vitro fertilisation or medically  assisted  procreation,  are entitled to special leave of one hundred (100) hours of leave  with full pay, by the employer, between the couple, independently from other types of leave entitlements. This applies for procedures done either in Malta or outside Malta.

1. If both prospective parents are in employment, the prospective  parent  who is the receiving person shall be entitled to sixty (60) hours of leave, while the other prospective parent is entitled to forty (40) hours of leave. They may take it at the same time, irrespective of whether they are employed with the same or different employers.
2. If only one of the prospective parents is in employment, then the hours of leave shall be enjoyed depending on whether the employed prospective parent would be acting as the receiving person (and therefore would be entitled to sixty (60) hours) or not (entitled to forty (40) hours instead).

Birth Leave

Regulated by the Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations S.L. 452.101

The law stipulates that, unless not regulated by a specific WRO, the employee is entitled to one (1) working day of birth leave i.e on the day of birth of the child.

Bereavement Leave

Regulated by the Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations S.L. 452.101

In the case of the death of a close family member, all employees are entitled to take paid bereavement leave. The specific entitlement may differ depending on the WRO that applies to the employee’s sector. For employees in work activities that are not regulated by any WRO, and there is no written agreement between the employer and the employee stating otherwise, one (1) working day of paid bereavement leave is permitted.

However, note that bereavement leave is only allowed for the death of certain relatives, these being the employee’s spouse, parent, child, or sibling, unless otherwise provided for a different rule set out in the WRO.

Marriage Leave

Regulated by the Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations S.L. 452.101

Employees have the right to take paid marriage leave in accordance with the relevant WRO that applies to their specific sector. The duration of the leave entitlement may differ depending on the specific regulations in place. For employees who work in activities that are not subject to any WRO, two (2) working days of marriage leave are permitted.

Injury Leave

Regulated by the Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations S.L. 452.101

This form of leave is designed to provide employees with time to recover and return to work safely after suffering an injury, if the employee suffers personal injury caused by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment. The length of injury leave entitlement varies depending on the severity of the injury, but can last up to one (1) year on full wages, less the full amount of any injury benefit to which the employee may be entitled under the Social Security Act if they are injured during the actual discharge of their duty and not due to contributory negligence on their part or to any contravention of safety rules laid down by the employer. Commonly, employees are required to provide a medical certificate to their employer to support their absence due to injury.

Jury Service Leave

Regulated by the Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations S.L. 452.101

Every employee has the right to take jury service leave, allowing them to take time off work on full pay to attend court for this purpose and to fulfil their civic duty. The amount of time off granted is for as long as necessary and will depend on the duration of the court proceedings, and employees must provide their employer with reasonable notice and proof of their status as a juror.

Quarantine Leave

Regulated by the Minimum Special Leave Entitlement Regulations S.L. 452.101

Every employee is entitled to quarantine leave for any period of quarantine as may be determined by the Superintendent of Public Health or other public authority in the case of a pandemic outbreak or other similar national or worldwide health hazard.