How to Hire an Employee in Malta: A Step-by-Step Guide

The first decision when you hire an employee in Malta is which organisation signs the contract and appears on the payslip. A company with no presence in Malta has two workable routes: set up a Maltese private limited company and register it as an employer, or use an Employer of Record that already holds those registrations.

A Maltese limited company needs authorised share capital of at least €1,164.69, with at least 20% paid up, plus a director, a shareholder, a company secretary and a registered office in Malta. Registration with the Malta Business Registry usually takes 5–10 working days once due diligence is complete. After that come the tax and employer registrations, a bank account and an annual audit, so the first payroll is often several weeks away.

With Employer of Record Malta, our own Maltese company is the legal employer. We issue the contract, report the engagement and run payroll, while you manage the person’s day-to-day work. For a first hire, or a small team you want in place this quarter, that is usually the faster path. If you expect a large operation that will trade locally, our comparison of an EOR and your own Maltese company sets out the trade-offs.

• Own entity: full control, local trading, but set-up time, audit and ongoing admin
• Employer of Record: no entity, hires in days, a monthly fee per employee
• Either way, the employee gets the same rights under Maltese law

An employer in Malta needs a PE number from the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA) before it can pay anyone. The PE number is the employer’s reference in the Final Settlement System (FSS), the scheme through which income tax and Class 1 social security are withheld from wages and paid over each month.

The employer also needs an account on the Jobsplus Employer Online Services portal. Jobsplus is the public employment service, and every engagement and termination is reported through it. A company employing staff directly will usually register its beneficial owners with the Malta Business Registry at incorporation and deal with VAT registration at the MTCA as well.

When you use an EOR, these registrations already exist under the EOR’s own company. Nothing is filed in your name, and you do not need a Maltese tax number to start. That is the main reason an EOR hire can move from signed offer to first day in a matter of days, where an entity hire tends to wait for paperwork.

The right-to-work check in Malta depends on nationality. EU, EEA and Swiss nationals need no work permit. They register their residence with Identità, and the employer files the Jobsplus engagement form in the normal way.

Non-EU nationals, known as third-country nationals, need a Single Permit issued by Identità’s Expatriates Unit. The permit is tied to one employer, and the person cannot start work until the employment is authorised. Since 1 August 2025 the first application costs €600, and most roles need a labour market test: the vacancy must be advertised for three weeks within the two months before the application.

Some routes are quicker. The Key Employee Initiative covers roles paying at least €45,000 a year and has a processing target of 5 working days from a complete application. The Specialist Employee Initiative applies from €30,000. Since 1 March 2026, applicants still abroad must also hold a Pre-Departure Course certificate, and tourism and hospitality workers need the Skills Pass.

Set the start date once the permit timeline is clear. Our guide to hiring non-EU workers in Malta covers quotas, exemptions and renewals in more detail.

A Maltese employer must give the employee a written statement of the main terms between the first day and the seventh calendar day of employment. Under the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Regulations (S.L. 452.126), that statement covers the probation period, pay, hours, leave, notice periods and any collective agreement that applies. Most employers simply put all of this in a signed contract before day one.

Probation is six months by default for an indefinite contract, unless the parties agree a shorter period. Technical, executive, administrative and managerial roles paid at least twice the national minimum wage can have a one-year probation. During probation either side can end the employment without giving a reason, with one week’s notice once the first month has passed.

Fixed-term contracts are allowed, but successive fixed-term contracts cannot run beyond four years in total without an objective justification. After that the employee is treated as indefinite. Ending a fixed-term contract early after probation costs the terminating party half the wages for the rest of the term, so fixed terms suit genuine projects better than trial periods.

Also check whether a sectoral Wage Regulation Order applies. These orders under the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Cap. 452) can set higher pay, different hours and extra leave. Our article on Malta employment contracts goes clause by clause.

You register a new employee in Malta by submitting the Jobsplus engagement form within four working days of the start date. The form goes through the Jobsplus Employer Online Services portal. A matching termination form is due within four days when the employment ends, under the Employment and Training Services Act (Cap. 594).

On the tax side, the employer completes an FS4 for the new starter. The FS4 notifies the MTCA of the new starter under the employer’s PE number. The employee’s tax status, whether single, married or parent, decides which rate table is used for withholding, so collect it before the first payroll.

• Signed contract or written statement, within 7 calendar days of the start
• Jobsplus engagement form, within 4 working days
• FS4 on engagement, so FSS withholding starts correctly
• Residence registration with Identità for employees moving to Malta
• Bank details and tax status for the first payslip

Treat these dates as fixed. A 2025 amendment to the Employment and Industrial Relations Act raised first-offence fines to between €2,000 and €5,000, so small administrative slips can become costly.

Pay in Malta must meet the national minimum wage, which is €229.44 a week for workers aged 18 and over in 2026, or any higher rate in the applicable Wage Regulation Order. On top of basic pay, every employee receives the cost of living adjustment (COLA) and the statutory bonuses. Many offers state that the gross salary is inclusive of these, and it is sensible to say so in writing.

The standard working week is 40 hours. Average weekly hours cannot exceed 48 over a 17-week reference period unless the employee opts out in writing, and the employee needs 11 hours of rest a day. Rest periods cannot be replaced with extra pay.

Annual leave is 192 hours for a full-time employee, which is 24 days on a 40-hour week. Public holidays that fall on a weekend add to that, so the total for 2026 is 216 hours, or 27 days. Malta has 14 public and national holidays. Where no Wage Regulation Order sets sick leave, the minimum is two working weeks a year on full pay. Maternity leave is 18 weeks, and the second parent gets 10 working days of paid leave after a birth or adoption.

Payroll in Malta runs through the Final Settlement System. Each pay run, the employer withholds income tax and the employee’s 10% Class 1 social security contribution, adds its own matching contribution and the Maternity Leave Trust Fund levy, and pays the total to the MTCA with the monthly FS5.

The FS5 and payment are due by the end of the month after the month in which wages were paid. Quarterly filing is not an option. After the year ends, each employee gets an FS3 annual statement and the employer files the FS7 reconciliation, both due by 15 February.

None of this is unusual for an experienced payroll team, but it is detailed and date-driven. Our guide to Malta payroll walks through each form. If you would rather hand the whole process over, an EOR runs it for a flat fee from €499 per employee per month, and you can see what is included on our pricing page.

From the employee’s point of view, a well-run first month builds trust quickly. A correct payslip, the right tax computation and a clear explanation of COLA and bonuses do more for retention than most welcome packs.