When enforcing a foreign judgement the court must apply the law restrictively
The court cannot go outside the parameters of the law when it is deciding whether to enforce a foreign judgement in Malta. This was held…
LEAVE
In each calendar year, an employee is entitled to 192 basic hours of vacation leave plus additional hours for public holidays that fall on weekends. If such average normal hours (excluding overtime) is below or exceeds 40 hours per week, the vacation leave entitlement in hours should be adjusted accordingly on a pro rata basis.
Though it is the employee’s right to choose when to apply for leave, the application for leave has to be approved by the employer before an employee can proceed with leave. The employer may approve or refuse an application for leave, taking into consideration the exigencies of work.
The employee should seek to utilise his/her vacation leave entitlement during the same calendar year when it is due. If not applied for, the employee cannot claim payment. It is only possible to carry forward up to 50% of the annual leave entitlement to the following year if there is an agreement with the employer.
How much vacation leave is an employee entitled to in 2025?
In 2025, Maltese employees working a 40-hour week will have a total of 22 hours of paid annual vacation leave, which is equivalent to 28 days. This includes the basic 192 hours plus an additional 32 hours for public holidays that fall on weekends.
Urgent Family Leave
Employees are also entitled to 32 hours of paid leave per year for urgent family leave. This leave is deducted from the employee’s leave entitlement in the following manner:
- The first 16 hours shall be deducted from the annual leave entitlement of the employee;
- The remaining 16 hours shall be deducted from the annual sick leave entitlement of the employee.
Such urgent leave may be taken in cases of sickness or accident to members of the immediate family of the employee.
Sick Leave
The amount of sick leave entitlement due to employees varies according to the relevant sector of industry. The applicable amount of sick leave entitlement is provided in the relevant Wage Regulation Order that regulates the specific sector of industry; or where the sector is not covered by a Wage Regulation Order, an employee is entitled to two working weeks of sick leave annually (calculated in hours).
Injury Leave
Employees are entitled to a maximum period of one year injury leave on full pay, unless the full amount of any injury benefit to which such employee may be entitled in terms of the Social Security Act, if s/he is injured during the actual discharge of his/her duties and not due to contributory negligence on her/his part or to any contravention of safety rules laid down by the employer. During such time, vacation leave and bonuses continue to accrue.
Maternity Leave
A pregnant employee is entitled to maternity leave for an uninterrupted period of eighteen (18) weeks.
Is maternity leave fully paid by the employer?
Only the first 14 weeks of maternity leave are fully paid by the employer. The remaining 4 weeks are optional and they are not paid by the employer. However, if the employee chooses to avail herself of the four weeks optional maternity leave, or part thereof, the employee can apply for the Maternity Leave Benefit in terms of the Social Security Act to which the employee may be entitled.
On termination of maternity leave, the employee has the right to resume work in the post formerly occupied on the commencement of the maternity leave and if such post is no longer available, to a related post.
An employee is entitled to time off without loss of pay or any other benefit, in order to attend antenatal examinations, if such examinations have to take place during her hours of work.
The employer has the obligation to secure the health rights of female employees who have newborns in accordance with the law. If there are risks at work that could jeopardise the employee’s health and safety and/or the pregnancy, such employee is entitled to special maternity leave as long as the risk exists.
Nonetheless, a female employee who resigns from employment without good and sufficient cause within six months from the date she resumes work after availing herself of maternity leave, she shall be liable, to pay the employer a sum equivalent to the wages she received during such maternity leave.
Paternity Leave
With the introduction of the Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers Regulations, fathers and equivalent second parents are now entitled to 10 working days of fully paid leave that is to be taken on the occasion of the birth or the adoption of the worker’s child.
Parental Leave
Both female and male employees may avail themselves of four months each of parental leave which has to be taken until the child has attained 8 years of age. However, only the first two months of parental leave is paid on grounds of child birth, adoption, fostering or legal custody, at the same rate established for the sickness benefit entitlement.
For more information about leave entitlements, feel free to contact any of our Team Members in our Employment Law Department at Mifsud & Mifsud Advocates.
