Malta has amended its labour legislation to give more protection to workers who are often constrained to register as self-employed persons and thus, losing the rights that Maltese law lays down to protect workers, including the right to paid leave and payment of social security contributions, among others. As the labour law stood prior to the amendments, employers could recruit workers for long-term services on a self-employed basis.
Through Legal Notice 44 of 2012, Malta has removed the grey areas between employment and self-employment by enlisting eight criteria against which a self-employed person must be considered to be an employee. If five of the eight criteria are fulfilled, a person must be engaged on a full-time indefinite contract and entitled to conditions comparable to those of full-time employees:
- Worker depends on one single person for whom the service is provided for at least 75% of his income over a period of one year;
- Worker depends on the person for whom the service is provided to determine what work is to be done and where and how the assigned work is to be carried out;
- Worker performs the work using equipment, tools or materials provided by the person for whom the service is provided;
- Worker is subject to a working time schedule or minimum work periods established by the person for whom the service is provided;
- Worker cannot sub-contract his work to other individuals to substitute him/herself when carrying out work;
- Worker is integrated in the structure of the production process, the work organisation or the company’s or other organization’s hierarchy;
- The worker’s activity is a core element in the organization and pursuit of the objectives of the person for whom the service is provided, and
- The worker carries out similar tasks to existing employees, or, in the case when work is outsourced, he performs tasks similar to those formerly undertaken by employees
By way of exception, a person may apply for an exemption and request the Director of Labour to exempt him from being considered as an employee but rather as a self-employed worker.
