Malta

The labour market in Malta

Each labour market has some peculiarities. It may be tricky for foreigners to fully understand the payment methods, the taxes and other benefits related to them. In TalentUp, we are starting a series of different blog articles, one for each country. This article analyses the labour market in Malta.

General data about the Maltese labour market

Payroll taxes in Malta

Social Security contributions are made by the employer and the employee and are used for funding unemployment, pension, maternity/paternity leave, and sickness or injury.

Both employers and employees (and self-employed) pay a 10% contribution to social security if the annual salary goes up to 26,831€. If the salary is over that amount, there is a flat rate per week of 51.6€. Which represents 2,683.2€ every year.

Once contributions are paid, employees need to pay an income tax that varies depending on their gross salaries. 

The income tax depends on whether the taxpayer is single, married or a parent. In all three cases, it is 35% when salaries are above 60k€.

Example of net salary in Malta

As a reference, we use the average salary of a software engineer. In Malta, on average, software engineers earn 48,000€ annually.

The employer contributes 2,683.2€ to social security, and the employee contributes 2,683.2€.

After paying the income tax, the employee has a net salary of 37,143.25€, coming from a gross salary of 48,000€.

Unemployment regulation in Malta

The amount of notice required is dependent on the length of service and reason for termination, as follows:

A definite contract needs to have a duration. Its maximum duration is 12 months.

Different kinds of leaves in Malta

The annual paid leave is 24 days. And 14 public holidays.

The employer pays for the first 10 days of sick leave. And from there, they are paid through Social Security.

There is also bereavement leave, marriage leave, court witness leave, jury service leave, injury leave, and birth leave.

Paid parental leave

Maternity leave in Malta is 18 weeks and starts 4 weeks before the expected due date, and an employee must take a minimum of 6 weeks after the birth. The first 14 weeks are paid at a 100% rate by the employer. After that, Social Security pays for it.

There is no paternity leave in Malta. However, parents are entitled to 4 months of paid paternal leave for the birth of a child, adoption, fostering, or general care until the child reaches the age of 8.

Other common Maltese benefits

How to employ a Maltese worker

The moment you start employing people to your business, you are required to present an Employer Registration Form to the IRD. Ensure that you address your application to the Employment Section of the IRD. Once you are done filling out and submitting this application, you will receive an employer’s PE Number.