Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers

Legal Notice 201 of 2022, ‘Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers Regulations’, was published on 13 July 2022 and came into force on the 02 August 2022.

These regulations lay down the new Work-Life Balance Directive and the new minimum requirements for paternity leave, parental leave and Carers’ leave and flexible working arrangements for workers who are parents or carers. By means of these regulations, parents will now maintain a better work-life balance while also ensuring that both parents are equally involved in the care of their child and have equal treatment in the workplace.

Paternity Leave

Paternity leave of ten (10) working days will be granted to fathers or equivalent second parents on the occasion of the birth or the adoption of a child. Such paternity leave will be paid in full by the employer, irrespective of the period of employment and applies regardless of the employee’s family or marital status. Paternity leave must be taken immediately after the birth or adoption of their child.

Parental Leave

Both male and female workers are now entitled to four (4) months each of parental leave entitlement for the birth, legal custody, adoption or fostering of a child until the child has turned eight (8) years of age. The first two (2) months out of the four months will be paid at the rate of the sickness benefit deduction which constitutes to €21.85 per working day of parental leave in 2022. The remaining two months out of the four months will be considered as unpaid. Payments will be processed by the Social Security Department as follows:

  • 50% before the child has turned 4 years of age
  • 25% until the child is aged between 4 and 6 years of age
  • 25% until the child is aged between 6 and 8 years of age

Parents may benefit from this new entitlement if they have been in continuous employment for a period of at least twelve (12) months. The employee can request such leave by notifying his employer in writing at least two (2) weeks before the start date of the parental leave period being requested. This leave can be taken in intervals of two weeks each, unless agreed otherwise. With the introduction of the Work-Life Balance Regulations, the last two (2) months of the parental leave can now be transferrable between the parents and any remaining parental leave can be transferrable between one work-place and the other in cases of change in employment or change in employer.

Carers’ Leave

Employees who are taking care of relatives or other persons in their household are now entitled to five (5) days per year of carers’ leave of which is unpaid. In order to be eligible, the worker must provide medical proof to show that the relative or other person living in the same household, suffers from an illness and is in need of care by the person to whom carers’ leave is requested.

Flexible Work Arrangements

This Legal Notice also introduces new flexible working arrangements to employees who have children up to the age of eight (8) years and who act as carers. Employees may request to work remotely, flexitime and work on reduced hours. These may be limited in duration and employers must provide feedback to the employee within two (2) weeks of the request and any reason for refusal must be provided. The employee can also request to go back to his original working conditions once the terms of the flexible work arrangements have ended, if agreed by the employer.

Any party who fails to comply or breaches such provisions of the Work-Life Balance Regulations shall be guilty of a criminal offence and will be liable to a fine (multa) of not more than two thousand Euro (€2000).

3a’s Summer Event

Following an absence of two years, the much awaited 3a summer event was once again held for the 3a team and their families. On Friday 29 July, the team got together at Ferretti for a few hours of good food and cold drinks to beat the summer heat.

The younger ones were entertained by professional entertainers during the evening, while the employees and their families got to catch up after such a long time. During the evening, as customary, the Directors also presented the long service awards.

This time, it was Luana Bonnici’s turn, as she recently celebrated her tenth anniversary with the company. Congratulations to Luana for her long journey of growth and development with 3a Malta within the Accountancy Unit.

Grants available for Malta’s Recovery and Resilience Plan

The Digital Intensification Grant, SME Digitalisation Grant and the Renovation of Private Sector buildings Grant Schemes are now available for business through a series of open calls managed by the Measures and Support Division (MSD).  These schemes are funded through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to support digitalisation investments and energy efficient projects by eligible businesses through non-repayable Grants to part-finance initial investments in the case of SMEs, or for initial investment in favour of a new economic activity in the case of large enterprises.

Scheme 1: Digital Intensification Grant Scheme

This scheme is intended to those businesses planning to invest in digital technologies and other related processes in their company in particular hardware, software (off-the-shelf or custom made), digital solutions and installations including training costs aiming to improve the efficiency, productivity, and customer experience.  There are various economic sectors which are eligible but proposals within the Manufacturing and Tourism (including culture) sectors shall be given priority.

Budget: €10,000,000

Timeframe:  Scheme operational until 31 December 2023 subject to availability of funds and investments must be concluded by 30th June 2026.

Maximum Grant Value and Aid Intensity: The maximum grant value under this scheme is set at €200,000 with aid intensity ranging from 10% to 30% depending on the applicant’s size and the location of the investment.  Gozo applicants shall benefit with a higher aid intensity of 5%.  Large companies which do not operate in the indicated Malta’s regional aid map will be ineligible to participate.  If the applicant has more than one digitalisation investment project, the total maximum amount of assistance would still be €200,000 per undertaking.

Scheme 2: SME Digitalisation Grant Scheme

This scheme is aimed to support Digitalisation Investment by SMEs, in various economic sectors through non-repayable Grants to part-finance investment in digital technologies and related processes and implementation.  The Grant will assist businesses to finance the hardware, software and digital solutions to improve their efficiency, productivity and customer experience by enhancing new digital capabilities and digitalised processes such as product and process design and engineering, end-to-end procurement, supply chain/distribution and after sales.

Budget: €5,000,000

Timeframe:  Scheme will be operational until 31 December 2023 subject to availability of funds and investments are to be concluded by 30 June 2026.

Maximum Grant Value: Maximum funding is capped at €50,000 per digitalisation investment in digital technologies, part-financing eligible costs up to 50% for investments in Malta and 60% for investments in Gozo.

Eligible Expenditure: This Grant schemes will support eligible applicants investing in tangible and intangible assets including e-Commerce Website, Digital Solution (including necessary hardware and software) and related training costs.  Applications need to include a Systems and Process Review.

Scheme 3: Renovation of Private Sector Buildings Grant Scheme

This scheme is aimed to improve the energy efficiency, reduce energy demand, lower carbon emissions and limit energy waste through the retrofitting of private sector buildings.  The improvement of the existing building will upgrade the energy performance of the commercial building assets for their ongoing life.

Budget: €20M with annual thresholds of €10M

Timeframe:  Scheme will be operational until 31 December 2023 subject to availability of funds and investments are to be concluded by 31 December 2025.

Maximum Grant Value aid intensity:  The grant that an applicant can receive is of €300 per m (capped at €1M per undertaking).  The aid shall depend on the set aid intensities as follows:

Eligible Expenditure: Reducing energy used for heating, cooling, ventilation, hot water and lighting are eligible including systems for the above energy use.  An Energy Performance Certificate issue before and after the renovation will be required.  The building renovations undertaken are to lead a reduction of Primary Energy Demand of at least 30%.  For construction works the economic operators need to ensure that at least 70% (by weight) of the non-hazardous construction and demolition waste shall be prepared for re-use and recycling.  An assessment and evaluation process is carried out.

The deadline for all three schemes is 30th September 2022. Should you require assistance with your application you may contact our advisory team on [email protected]