Malta
Make employment in Malta easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in Malta, all in one easy-to-use platform.
- Capital city
Valletta
- Currency
Euro (€, EUR)
- Languages
English and Maltese
- Population size
514,564
Facts & Stats
- Capital city
Valletta
- Currency
Euro (€, EUR)
- Languages
English and Maltese
- Population size
514,564
- Ease of doing business
Easy
- Cost of living index
73.61 (25 of 139 nations)
- Payroll frequency
Monthly
- VAT - standard rate
18%
- GDP - real growth rate
4.9% (2019)
Malta is a popular destination for tourists from Europe and the world over. The country’s pristine waters, 15th century architecture, and rich history are all drawcards for a growing number of digital nomads and remote workers.
But for businesses looking to expand, Malta offers an industrialized economy with low corporate taxes, strong GDP growth, a high income, a bilingual population, a strong democracy (18th best), and a growing IT industry.
Grow your team in Malta with Remote
Looking to employ workers in Malta? Companies hiring in Malta must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.
Remote can employ your team in Malta on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Malta team. You can also pay contractors now in Malta with Remote.
Risks of misclassification
Malta, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Malta may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.
Employing in Malta
Employees in Malta enjoy protections against discrimination based on age, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, and race.
Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include the minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in Malta.
Minimum Wage
Maltese labor mandates a minimum weekly wage for all employees, as well as statutory increases employers must offer as an employee’s tenure increases. Here’s a breakdown of what employers should pay as the bare minimum.
18 and above: €181.08 (€724.32 per month)
17 years: €174.30 (€697.2 per month)
Under 17 years: €171.46 (€685.84 per month)
After working a year with the same employer, an employee earning the minimum wage will be entitled to an increase of €3 per week added to the base pay. After the second year, that grows to an increase of €6 per week or a €24 bonus on the employee’s monthly paycheck.
Employees earning more than the minimum wage will get similar increases, starting in the second and third years of their continued employment with the same employer.
Payroll Cycle
For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.
Onboarding Time
We can help you get a new employee started in Malta fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 4 working days.
Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.
For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.
Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.
14 Public holidays
Competitive benefits package in Malta
At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practicing “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).
Our benefits packages in Malta are tailored to fulfill the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Mental Health Support
Pension or 401(K)
Life and Disability Insurance
Taxes in Malta
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Malta.
10%
social security contribution
Types of Leave
Employees working a 40-hour week are entitled to 192 working hours (24 working days) off, plus 8 hours for every public holiday that falls on a weekend. The 192-hour base rate equals 24 days, calculated by 8 hours of work daily.
For example, for 2021 employees are guaranteed 216 working hours off plus 24 (8 working hours * 3) hours to cover for 3 public holidays that fall on weekends.
However, if the employee works below an average of eight hours daily, the basic holiday entitlement can be calculated by multiplying the number of working hours the employee puts in daily by 24.
Employees who’ve worked with an employer for less than a year will be entitled to paid vacation that’s equivalent to the length of time they’ve worked.
Employment termination
Termination process
An employee’s contract may be terminated for just cause (negligence, dishonesty, flagrant disobedience, etc.), redundancy, or when an employee reaches retirement age.
Notice period
Maltese labor law mandates that employees are informed in advance before having their employment so they can make appropriate arrangements to make the transition.
During probation period, an employee may be dismissed with one weeks’ notice if they have completed at least 1 month of employment. Notice periods follow a sliding scale from here:
1 month to 6 months: 1 week
6 months to 2 years: 2 weeks
2 years to 4 years: 4 weeks
4 years to 7 years: 8 weeks
More than 7 years: 8 weeks, plus 1 week for each additional year
Severance pay
There is no mandated severance pay specified under Maltese labor law.
Probation periods
Probation can last anywhere from a week to 12 months, provided it’s agreed upon in advance by both parties.