In the case of Waldemar Galea v l-Universita' ta' Malta, decided by the Court of Appeal on the 25 th January 2019, it was held that due to the wording of the law in Chapter 452 (the Employment and Industrial Relations Act), cases of alleged unfair termination of fixed term employment contracts had to be decided by the normal civil courts and not by the Industrial Tribunal. Act LVIII of 2020, published on the 11 th December 2020, now establishes that the definition of 'unfair dismissal' in the Act includes also the termination by the employer of a fixed term employ...

This week (the week from Monday 16 th November 2020 until the 20 th November 2020) is anti-bullying week – a week meant to raise awareness against prejudice and bullying not only in schools but also at the workplace and cyber-bullying. Maltese employment law does not deal directly with bullying but with harassment, and this in connection with discriminatory treatment or with sexual harassment. Does this mean that unless there is discrimination involved, the employer is not bound to protect employees from bullying at work? The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration...

In a judgment delivered on the 30 th September 2020, the Court of Appeal confirmed a decision of the Industrial Tribunal ("the Tribunal") which had found that the relationship between the applicant and the defendant company was not one of employment. The applicant had instituted proceedings before the Industrial Tribunal following the termination of his contract. He alleged that notwithstanding what his contract stated, he should be deemed an employee and therefore termination could only take place for a good and sufficient cause. Since the company had terminated ...

In a judgment delivered on the 1 st July 2020 (case number 83/2019LM), the Court of Appeal considered the requirements of constructive dismissal. An ex-employee claimed that he had been forced to resign from his employment due to health problems which did not allow him to continue his job. Through his trade union, the employee requested the employer to provide him with alternative employment, but the company replied that none was available. After exhausting all his sick leave and a further period of unpaid leave, he decided to terminate his employment. The Tribuna...

On Monday 8th June 2020, the Maltese Government announced another financial aid package aimed at economic regeneration. Amongst the numerous measures put in place to assist businesses in recovering from the impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government announced an updated Wage Supplement Scheme which is to take effect from July 2020 up until September 2020. In terms of the said updated Wage Supplement Scheme, those businesses which operate in the areas of tourist accommodation, air transport, event organization, travel agencies and language schools will ...