Employment and Industrial Relations Law

Higher Fines Imposed on Employers for Unregistered Employees

02 May 2016

2 min read

On the 12th of April 2016, Employment minister Evarist Bartolo and the head of the Employment and Training Corporation, Clyde Caruana, announced a white paper aiming to amend the Employment and Training Corporation Act. Among the proposals included in this white paper is a higher fine for employers caught employing unregistered workers.

Two public consultation documents have been made available online and will be open until the 18th of May.

The fine for each unregistered employee will be rising from €58 to €500, while the court fine will increase from €1,000 to €2,000 per employee. Minister Bartolo said: “The fines are meant to act as deterrents to precarious jobs and they seek to create a level playing field both for foreign and Maltese employees facing unfair competition.” He added that the scheme has the aim of safeguarding the dignity of workers regardless of race, ethnicity and religious background.

The ETC conducts around 25 inspections daily, and most of the time, half of the employees are found to be unregistered. Mr Caruana also announced that inspections will soon start being carried out in the evenings and on weekends, and the number of inspectors is expected to double from eight to sixteen.

He added that people who are registered as unemployed are entitled to work for up to 240 hours a year without being struck off the register.

For further information about how GVZH Advocates can help you with your Employment/Industrial Relations requirements kindly contact us here.

 


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