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Employment and Industrial Relations

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Employers Beware before ‘Spying’ on Employees! Employment and Industrial RelationsNews

Employers Beware before ‘Spying’ on Employees!

In a case decided last year, in the famous case of Barbulescu v Romania, the ECHR had found that there had been no breach of the employee's right to privacy when his employer dismissed him over private messages sent at work on the Yahoo messenger system set up by the same employer for work purposes. The employee's private online exchanges were being monitored and recorded by his employer. Personal use, such as that made by the employee, was in violation of the employer's internal regulations. The employer had proceeded to terminate his employment with the local Romanian county court, and…
Christine Calleja
5th September 2017
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Confirmed: Employers Should Not Use Consent as a Legal Basis for Processing Employee Personal Data Employment and Industrial RelationsTelecoms, Media & Technology

Confirmed: Employers Should Not Use Consent as a Legal Basis for Processing Employee Personal Data

On 8 June 2017, the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party ("WP29") adopted Opinion 2/2017 on data processing at work ("the Opinion") ​ . This authoritative document complements previous WP29 publications on similar issues ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​. The Opinion now takes into account new technologies that affect the processing of employees' personal data at work. Moreover, the Opinion takes into account both the Data Protection Directive (Directive 95/46/EC) that is still in force at time of writing – transposed into Maltese legislation via the present Data Protection Act ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ – as well as the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") that will enter…
Claude Micallef Grimaud
22nd August 2017
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New Leave Entitlement: Medically Assisted Procreation in Malta Employment and Industrial Relations

New Leave Entitlement: Medically Assisted Procreation in Malta

On the 30th May 2017, new Regulations came into force – Leave for Medically Assisted Procreation National Standard Order (S.L. 452.114).The Regulations grant a period of paid leave to employees who undergo the process of medically assisted procreation. The prospective parents shall be entitled to 100 hours of leave with full pay between them, which leave is to be paid by the employer. The entitlement to one hundred hours of leave for medically assisted procreation with full pay shall be granted for every process of medically assisted procreation, up to a maximum of three processes. The 'receiving person' shall be…
Christine Calleja
22nd June 2017
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Limiting the applicability of post-termination restraints on employees in Malta Employment and Industrial Relations

Limiting the applicability of post-termination restraints on employees in Malta

The First Hall of the Civil Court delivered a judgment on the topic of post-termination of employment restrictive clauses, in the names of Cutrico Services Ltd vs Josef Penza (23rd February 2017). This judgment highlights the importance of careful drafting of employment contracts, in particular as regards restraints on the employees, since these can easily be considered as being against competition. The defendants's employment contract had contained a restrictive clause which provided that he was not, for his own account or for that of any other person, firm or company, solicit or interfere or endeavour to entice away from the…
Christine Calleja
28th April 2017
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New Business Hours Regulations in Malta – Express Consent of Employee Required to Work on Sundays Employment and Industrial Relations

New Business Hours Regulations in Malta – Express Consent of Employee Required to Work on Sundays

In line with the new Business Hours Regulations (Subsidiary Legislation 441.08), which have come into force as of January 2017 and which allow shops to open on Sundays (subject to the opening times established in the same Regulations), the Wholesale and Retail Trades Wages Council Wage Regulation Order (Subsidiary legislation 452.63) has also been amended.Amongst other changes in the working times and periods of rest, an important introduction in the Wholesale and Retail Trades Wages Council Wage Regulation Order is that contained in regulation 6A which provides that employees covered by the Wage Regulation Order shall only be obliged to work…
Christine Calleja
10th March 2017
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New Rights for Adoptive Parents – the Adoption Leave National Standard Order Employment and Industrial RelationsNews

New Rights for Adoptive Parents – the Adoption Leave National Standard Order

​On the 10th October 2016, new Regulations came into force, giving new rights to employees who have adopted a child, analogous to maternity leave. Prior to the Regulations, employees who adopted a child were only entitled to unpaid parental leave.The Adoption Leave National Standard Order (Subsidiary Legislation 452.11) provides that an employee who is the parent of an adopted child is entitled to an uninterrupted period of eighteen weeks' adoption leave, corresponding to the eighteen weeks' maternity leave. Similarly, also to maternity leave, only the first fourteen weeks are to be paid leave by the employer. If both parents are…
Christine Calleja
21st February 2017