Hire Employees in Malta

Your own entity is a Malta limited company. English is an official language and the working language of business, which removes the translation and governing-language questions that complicate most European markets.

An Employer of Record inverts the sequence: the Maltese entity issues written particulars within eight working days, files the Jobsplus engagement, applies the correct Class 1 category and administers the statutory bonuses, while you direct the day-to-day work.

Malta hosts substantial gaming, fintech, aviation and maritime activity, and employer cost is the lowest of any EU market in this guide for well-paid roles.

Malta is the cheapest EU market in this guide for well-paid roles, because social security caps at a fixed weekly amount rather than a percentage. Employer Class 1 is 10% of basic weekly wage but stops at €55.93 a week, about €2,908 a year at most. On a €30,000 salary that is 9.7% of gross; on €60,000 the same absolute figure is under 5%.

The system is therefore markedly regressive at higher incomes, which is a genuine advantage for senior hiring and worth stating plainly rather than discovering.

The ceiling depends on the employee's date of birth, not just their salary. Those born on or after 1 January 1962 cap at €55.93 a week; those born earlier cap at €47.41. Payroll needs the birth year captured at onboarding to select the right Class 1 category.

Two cost elements sit outside the contribution table and are routinely omitted. Malta pays two statutory government bonuses and a weekly cost-of-living adjustment on top of base pay, so annual cost exceeds twelve times monthly salary. And sector Wage Regulation Orders set enhanced minimums on leave, sick pay and overtime above the general statute.

Break-even rule of thumb: EOR fees begin to exceed the running cost of a small Maltese entity somewhere between 15 and 20 employees. Model both before committing, see EOR vs Entity for the full comparison, and plan any later migration so employees keep seniority.

Employer social security caps at €55.93 a week, about €2,908 a year at most. Class 1 is 10% of basic weekly wage but stops at that ceiling, so on a €30,000 salary it is 9.7% of gross and on €60,000 the same absolute figure is under 5%. The system is markedly regressive at higher incomes, which is a genuine advantage for senior hiring.

The ceiling depends on the employee’s date of birth, not just their salary. Those born on or after 1 January 1962 cap at €55.93 a week; those born earlier at €47.41. Payroll needs the birth year captured at onboarding to select the correct category.

Two cost elements sit outside the contribution table: Malta pays two statutory government bonuses and a weekly cost-of-living adjustment on top of base pay, so annual cost exceeds twelve times monthly salary.

Malta’s ceiling is set by the employee’s year of birth, and it is low enough to change the economics of senior hiring. Employees born from 1962 onward cap at €55.93 a week; those born earlier cap at €49.04. Either way the annual maximum is about €2,908 per party, which means someone on €30,000 and someone on €90,000 cost the employer exactly the same in social security. The effective employer rate falls from 10% at the threshold to roughly 3.2% at €90,000. Malta is cheap for senior roles, and this is why. Two things narrow the base further: contributions run on the basic wage only, excluding bonuses, overtime and allowances; and the employer’s 0.3% Maternity Leave Fund levy is capped alongside Class 1. Note that statutory government bonuses of €512.52 a year sit outside the quoted gross, and that social security is not deducted from taxable income here, tax and SSC are computed independently, unlike most of Europe.

Four representative profiles, costed with the 2026 contribution rates above. Salaries are illustrative market midpoints, not GX operating data, use them to see how the on-cost percentage behaves as pay rises, not as a salary benchmark for a specific role. For real market data on your roles, ask for a costing.

Because the main charges are capped, the on-cost percentage falls sharply above the ceiling. Model a senior hire explicitly rather than scaling the junior figure, the error runs in your favour but it distorts the comparison against uncapped markets.

Four representative profiles costed on 2026 statutory rates. Salaries are illustrative market midpoints, not GX operating data.

Payroll runs monthly in euros through the Final Settlement System. Tax is withheld provisionally against the employee’s FS4 declaration and reconciled on the annual return, so a mid-year rise or a second job can leave a balance to settle.

Income tax is charged on full gross emoluments, with social security not deducted from the tax base. That is the opposite of most of Europe and the point most often misconfigured, it makes Maltese gross-to-net steeper than a European default would predict.

Three tax computations are available, Single, Married and Parent, and from 2026 four new parental bands widen the zero-rate threshold for qualifying children. Retirement pension income became fully exempt at 61 and over, up from 80% in 2025.

Thresholds and ceilings are uprated periodically, so a figure correct in January may not hold later in the year. Where a row below is flagged, published sources disagreed and the conflict is recorded rather than resolved.

Thresholds move on a local cycle that does not always fall in January, so a figure correct at the start of the year may not hold through it. Where a row below carries a flag, published sources disagreed and the conflict is recorded rather than resolved, there are 2 such rows on this page.

The sections that follow set out contracts and probation, working time, leave, termination and immigration in that order. Where an entitlement comes from a collective agreement rather than statute it is marked as such, because that distinction determines whether it is negotiable.

Written particulars must be provided within eight working days of starting, and the Jobsplus engagement form filed.

Probation is six months by default, or one year for technical, executive, administrative and managerial roles above a prescribed salary threshold. During the first month either party may terminate without notice or reason, which makes that first month a genuine assessment window.

Sector Wage Regulation Orders set enhanced minimum conditions on leave, sick pay, overtime and allowances above the general statute, so the applicable order needs identifying before an offer rather than after.

Forty hours a week is standard, with a 48-hour average maximum under the Working Time Regulations. Overtime rates come from the applicable Wage Regulation Order, and the statutory default is time and a half.

Overtime is where payroll disputes usually start. Record hours from day one even where the role is salaried and the expectation is that overtime will not arise, reconstructing records after a complaint is far harder than keeping them.

Overtime is where payroll disputes usually begin, and the burden of proving hours worked generally sits with the employer. Record hours from the first day even for salaried roles where overtime is not expected, reconstructing a record after a complaint is considerably harder than keeping one.

Public holidays sit on top of the annual leave entitlement. Where a holiday falls at a weekend, practice varies, some markets move it, some grant a substitute day and some do neither, so check the position before assuming a day in lieu.

The 14 dates below are the statutory position. Employers in many markets grant more by policy or collective agreement, and sector agreements sometimes add local or patronal days that do not appear in a national list.

Malta observes 14 paid public holidays in 2026. Dates that fall at a weekend and any substitution rules are set out below; entitlement is separate from annual leave.

Maternity: 18 weeks. 14 weeks employer-paid and the balance at a flat state rate, funded through the Maternity Leave Trust Fund. Paternity: 10 working days. Paid, following EU work-life balance rules. Parental leave: 4 months per parent until the child is 8. Two months paid at a flat state rate. Sick leave: By Wage Regulation Order. The applicable sector order sets the entitlement, commonly a fortnight at full pay.

Statutory bonuses: Two a year, plus weekly COLA. Paid to all employees on top of base salary.

The question that matters for budgeting is who funds each entitlement. Where the state or a social insurance fund pays, the employer carries administration but not cost; where the employer pays, it is a direct charge that headcount models routinely omit. Both patterns appear above.

An indefinite contract may be terminated only for good and sufficient cause, redundancy, or on reaching retirement age. Notice runs from one week under six months of service to twelve weeks beyond ten years.

There is no general statutory severance payment in Malta, which is unusual in the EU. Redundancy obligations centre on the last-in-first-out principle within the class of work, and on the employee's right to be re-engaged if the post is restored within a year, not on a lump sum. Notice or pay in lieu is the cost.

Probation is six months by default, or one year for technical, executive, administrative and managerial roles above a prescribed salary threshold. During the first month either party may terminate without notice or reason.

Unfair dismissal claims go to the Industrial Tribunal, which may award compensation or, less commonly, reinstatement.

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals need no permit. A third-country national needs a single permit combining work and residence authorisation. Allow two to four months.

The Key Employee Initiative offers accelerated processing for senior and highly specialised roles, with a target turnaround measured in days rather than months where the criteria are met, a material advantage for time-sensitive senior hires.

The Nomad Residence Permit covers remote workers employed abroad and does not create a Maltese employment relationship, so it is not an alternative to employing someone locally.

A cross-border hire may not attract local contributions at all. Under EU Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009 a worker moving within the EEA is subject to one state’s social security system at a time. A posted worker stays in the home system for up to 24 months under Article 12, and someone working across two or more states follows a single state determined by a 25% activity test under Article 13. Where a valid A1 portable document is held, the host state cannot charge contributions. The certificate is declaratory rather than constitutive, the right legislation applies either way, but without it a host state can assess retroactively with penalties, and enforcement is aggressive in France, Belgium and Austria. Residual local charges are not always nil, so confirm the specific position rather than assuming zero.

There is no general statutory severance payment in Malta, which is unusual in the EU. Redundancy obligations centre on the last-in-first-out principle within the class of work and on the employee’s right to be re-engaged if the post is restored within a year, not on a lump sum. Notice or pay in lieu is the cost.

An indefinite contract may be terminated only for good and sufficient cause, redundancy or on reaching retirement age, with notice running from one week under six months of service to twelve weeks beyond ten years.

Practical controls: capture date of birth to select the Class 1 ceiling, tax full gross without deducting social security, budget the two statutory bonuses and the cost-of-living adjustment, identify the applicable Wage Regulation Order, and file the Jobsplus engagement before the start date.

Work backwards from the start date. For an EU national, a week or two is realistic. A third-country national needs a single permit, adding two to four months, with the Key Employee Initiative offering an accelerated route for senior and specialised roles.

Confirm before making an offer: the candidate's date of birth, since it selects the Class 1 ceiling; which Wage Regulation Order applies to the sector; and that the annual budget includes the two statutory bonuses and the cost-of-living adjustment rather than twelve times salary alone.

Income tax is charged on full gross emoluments, with social security not deducted from the tax base, the opposite of most of Europe, and the point most often misconfigured. Written particulars are due within eight working days of starting, and the Jobsplus engagement form must be filed.