In a judgment delivered on the 4 th of April 2022 (case number 108/2019), the Civil Court, First Hall, was required to delve into issues of company law, employment law and contract. The focal point of this judgment was the Director's Service Agreement entered into by the plaintiff, a natural person, and the defendant companies by which agreement the plaintiff was entrusted with the management of the defendant companies as director, head of the institution and chief financial officer. The issue that arose related to the interpretation of the contractual clauses whi...

In a decision delivered on the 23 rd of March 2022, case number 3833/CC, the Industrial Tribunal emphasised the importance of disciplinary proceedings in termination of employment cases. The employee had been dismissed on the spot following an argument with one of the company's directors. The Tribunal stated that in cases where the accusations against the employee will lead to the termination of employment, the principle of ' audi alteram parte ' should always be respected and that thereby the employee should be given an opportunity to defend his position. There m...

This article was written by​ Dr Christine Calleja and Tessa Borg Bartolo ​ In a recent judgment, 67/2020 LM, the Court of Appeal dealt with a case where an employee was claiming to have been unfairly dismissed by his employer on account of a medical condition - Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. The employee had been diagnosed with this condition by a professional in the field after multiple warnings were given to him by his employer in this regard. The employer had brought to his attention the numerous occasions in which he was found sleeping while at work, as well as oth...

This article was written by​ Dr Petra Attard and Dr Martina Bonnici The legislation currently regulating whistleblower protection in Malta is the Protection of the Whistleblower Act , Chapter 527 of the Laws of Malta (the ''Act ' ') which came into force on the 15 th September 2013. While the Whistleblowing Directive EU 2019/1937 (the "Directive") has not yet been transposed into Maltese law, Bill 249 of 2021, titled An Act to Amend the Protection of the Whistleblower Act (the "Amending Act"), published on the 15 th November 2021 seeks to amend the Act in order to...

This article was written by​ Dr Christine Calleja & Tessa Borg Bartolo A landmark judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union ('the CJEU') in joined cases C-804/18 and C-341/19 was decided on the 15 th July 2021 relating to the employer's ability to enforce certain conditions on employees in order to present a neutral image at the workplace. The facts of the cases involved individuals in Germany who were instructed by their respective employers not to wear the traditional Islamic headscarf (hijab) at their place of work. After the decisions of ...