On the 21 October 2022, by means of Legal Notice 26 of 2022, the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Regulations, Subsidiary Legislation 452.126 (the ‘Regulations’) came into force in Malta, which seek to transpose the provisions of Directive 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union (the ‘Directive’). By means of the said Legal Notice, the ‘Information to Employees Regulations’ were repealed, and a number of new provisions and requirements were introduced by means of the Regulations.
Who do the Regulations apply to?
The Regulations are applicable to every worker in the EU who has an employment contract or employment relationship. The obligations set out in the Regulations are backdated, and shall apply to all employment relationships as of the 1 August 2022. Having said this, in terms of workers who are already in employment on such date, employers shall only be required to comply with Articles 5(1) and 7 of the Regulations and to provide or complement the documents referred to therein upon a request of the relative worker.
In terms of Maltese law, as provided under the Employment and Industrial Relations Act, Chapter 452 of the laws of Malta (the ‘Act’), the term ‘worker’ has the same meaning as that of ‘employee’, and refers to any person who has entered into or works under a contract of service, or any person who has undertaken personally to execute any work or service for, and under the immediate direction and control of another person, including an outworker, but excluding work or service performed in a professional capacity or as a contractor for another person when such work or service is not regulated by a specific contract of service.
Information to be provided to workers
Pursuant to Article 4 of the Regulations, the information set out in the Regulations shall be transmitted to workers in writing, either on paper, or in electronic form, provided that it can be stored and printed by the worker and provided that the employer retains proof of transmission or receipt.
In terms of the Regulations, employers are now required to inform workers of the essential aspects of the employment relationship which shall, as set out under Article 5 of the Regulations, include at least the following: (i) the name, registration number and registered place of business of the employer and a legally valid identification document number, gender, and address of the employee and the place of work; (ii) the place of work and, in the case that there is no fixed or main place of work, the principle that the worker is employed at various places or is free to determine his/her place of work, and the registered place of business of the employer; (iii) the title, grade, nature or category of work for which the worker is employed; (iv) a brief specification or description of the work; (v) the date of commencement of the employment relationship; (vi) in the case of a fixed-term employment relationship, the end date or the expected duration thereof; (vii) in the case of temporary agency workers, theidentity of the user undertakings, when and as soon as known; (viii) the duration and conditions of the probationary period; (ix) the training entitlement provided by the employer, if any; (x) the amount of paid leave to which the worker is entitled; (xi) theprocedure to be observed by the employer and the worker where their employment relationship is terminated, including the formal requirements and relative notice periods.
Most of the information outlined above must be provided to the worker by no later than 1 week from the relative employee’s first working day, whilst certain aspects of the employment relationship may be communicated to the employer at a later stage, which shall in no case exceed the period of 1 month from the employee’s first working day, as set out under Article 6 of the Regulations.
Prohibition of zero-hour contracts
Additionally, pursuant to Article 11 of the Regulations, zero-hour contracts, commonly referred to as ‘part-time casual’ contracts, which refer to contracts of employment or other work arrangements under which a worker is required to be available for work as and when needed by the employer, and where the employer promises payment on the basis of hours so worked without guaranteeing a minimum number of hours to the worker, are now prohibited, save for the limited exceptions outlined in said Article.
Workers’ right to parallel employment
The Regulations also set out the principle that employers may not prohibit workers from taking up employment with other employers outside the work schedule established with that employer, nor may employers subject workers to adverse treatment for doing so. The Regulations do, however, contemplate an exception to said principle, wherein it is provided that employers may indeed prohibit workers from taking up employment with other employers on the basis of objective grounds, such as (i) health and safety, (ii) the protection of business confidentiality, (iii) the integrity of the public service, or (iv) the avoidance of conflicts of interest.
Certain requirements in terms of the information to be provided to outworkers, and to workers required to work in a country other than Malta for a period exceeding 4 consecutive weeks, are also set out in the Regulations.
It is imperative for employers to ensure that all individuals hired after 1st August 2022 are provided with the information set out in the Regulations. Non-compliance with the Regulations shall be deemed to be an offence and persons found to be contravening any such provisions shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine of not less than €450.
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