Malta Employment Contracts: What the Law Requires in 2026

Employment contracts in Malta are governed mainly by the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Cap. 452) and the regulations made under it. Those regulations cover working time, leave, probation, fixed-term work, telework and the written statement that each employee must receive.

Two further layers can set minimum terms for particular groups. Wage Regulation Orders (WROs) apply sector by sector and fix conditions such as hours, overtime and extra leave. Collective agreements, where a union is recognised, can add more. A contract may always be more generous than these minimums, but any term that gives the employee less is replaced by the statutory or sectoral minimum.

For a foreign employer, the practical step is to confirm early whether a WRO covers the role. Where a sectoral order applies, it can change the leave, hours or overtime terms the contract must reflect, so check before the offer goes out.

A Malta employment contract, or a written statement of the main terms, must be given to the employee between the first day of employment and the seventh calendar day, under the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Regulations (S.L. 452.126). The EU directive behind these rules allows up to a month for some items, but DIER guidance says the full statement is due within seven days, and that is the safer deadline to work to.

The statement should cover at least:

• The identity of the employer and employee, and the place of work.
• The job title or a short description of the work.
• The start date and, for fixed-term contracts, the end date or duration.
• The length and conditions of any probation period.
• Gross wage, how often it is paid, and each element of pay.
• Normal hours of work, overtime arrangements and rest breaks.
• Annual leave and other paid leave.
• The notice period for each side, or how it is worked out.
• Any applicable collective agreement or Wage Regulation Order.

One clause deserves special attention. Malta requires COLA (€4.66 a week in 2026) and statutory bonuses (€512.52 a year in total) on top of the basic wage, and they are taxable. Many contracts quote a gross salary “inclusive of statutory bonuses and COLA”. If that is the intention, say so explicitly in the offer and the contract, or the employee may reasonably expect those amounts on top.

Getting the basics wrong has a cost. A 2025 amendment to Cap. 452 raised fines for first offences to between €2,000 and €5,000. Pay transparency is also changing. The EU Pay Transparency Directive had to be transposed by 7 June 2026, and salary ranges in job adverts are expected, but check the final Maltese rules before drafting adverts and pay clauses.

The standard employment contract in Malta is indefinite and full-time. Other forms are allowed, each with its own conditions:

• Indefinite contract: the default, with no end date. After probation it can only be ended for a good and sufficient cause, with statutory notice.
• Fixed-term contract: ends on a set date or event, subject to a 4-year limit on successive contracts.
• Part-time contract: pay and leave pro rata to full-time, with the national minimum wage applied at the same hourly rate. Part-time income can qualify for a 10% tax rate, subject to caps.
• Telework arrangement: working from home or elsewhere under the Telework National Standard Order (S.L. 452.104), with the employer providing equipment unless agreed otherwise.

The label on the document matters less than how the work is done. A person engaged as a self-employed consultant who meets five of the eight criteria in the Employment Status National Standard Order is treated as an employee anyway. Our guide to employee misclassification in Malta explains the test.

The default probation period in Malta is six months for an indefinite contract, and the parties may agree a shorter one. For technical, executive, administrative or managerial roles paid at least twice the national minimum wage, probation can run for one year. In 2026 the national minimum wage for adults is €229.44 a week, so that pay test means at least €458.88 a week.

During probation, either side can end the employment without giving a reason. Once the employee has more than one month of service, one week’s notice applies. This is the only stage at which an indefinite contract can end without a good and sufficient cause, so a proper review before the end date is worth diarising.

Probation is suspended during absences of two weeks or more, including sick leave, annual leave and maternity leave, and the end date moves back accordingly. For fixed-term contracts, probation is pro rata to the length of the contract, up to a maximum of six months.

State the probation length and end date in the contract. If the contract says nothing, the statutory default applies.

Fixed-term contracts in Malta can be renewed, but successive contracts with the same employer are capped at four years in total. After that, the employee is treated as indefinite unless the employer can show objective reasons for keeping the contract fixed-term.

Fixed-term employees must be treated no less favourably than comparable indefinite staff on pay, leave and other conditions, unless a difference is objectively justified. The fixed term is a way of setting the duration, and it does not allow lower terms.

Ending a fixed-term contract early carries a specific cost. After probation, the party that terminates before the agreed end date, other than for a good and sufficient cause, must pay the other half the wages for the remaining term. A clear end date and a realistic duration save money on both sides. For the wider rules on notice and exits, see our guide to terminating employment in Malta.

Beyond the statutory minimum, a well-drafted Malta employment contract usually adds clauses that protect the business and set expectations clearly. The most useful are:

• Intellectual property: computer programs and databases created in the course of employment belong to the employer under the Copyright Act (Cap. 415) unless agreed otherwise, but other copyright works need a written assignment. Inventions made in the course of employment belong to the employer under the Patents and Designs Act (Cap. 417).
• Confidentiality, which works alongside the Trade Secrets Act.
• Restrictive covenants: Maltese courts judge non-competes and non-solicitation clauses case by case for reasonableness, so limit their scope, area and duration.
• Working time: the 48-hour average limit applies unless the employee opts out in writing, and they can withdraw that opt-out later.
• Overtime: say whether senior salaries include overtime, since WRO overtime rates only apply to covered roles.
• Longer notice for senior staff, which the law allows for technical, administrative, executive and managerial posts.

For more detail on IP and restrictive covenants, read our guide to protecting IP when hiring in Malta.

Before a new employee starts in Malta, the employer must be registered with the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA) and hold a PE number, and it must file an FS4 for the new starter. Within four working days of the start date, the employer submits the engagement form through the Jobsplus Employer Online Services.

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals need no work permit, although they register their residence with Identità. A non-EU national needs a Single Permit tied to the employer and cannot start work until that authorisation is in place, so the contract start date should follow the permit rather than the other way round.

With Employer of Record Malta, our own Maltese company is the employer, so the PE number, FS4 and Jobsplus filing are already in place. We draft a contract that meets S.L. 452.126, reflects any WRO and states clearly how bonuses and COLA are treated, and it is usually ready within hours of receiving the details. For EU nationals, onboarding typically takes one to two days once we have what we need. See our overview of employing in Malta for the full picture.