Work Life Balance Fund
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Work Life Balance Fund

 

1.       What is the reason for the establishment of the Maternity Leave Trust Fund, and how will it be amended to reflect the Work- Life Balance entitlements?  

In July 2015, the Maternity Leave Trust Fund was established, and employers who had pregnant female employees and paid them fourteen weeks of maternity leave could get a reimbursement for the wage costs incurred during this period. 

 

This helped to eliminate possible discrimination against women since as  employers pay a minimum contribution for every employee irrespective of the sex, to remove any disincentive leading employers to employ a man instead of a woman. The criteria of choosing an employee is to be based on the individual skills of the candidate.

The Trust Fund is also used to compensate for adoption leave in terms of the Adoption Leave National Standard Order.

As from 2nd August 2022, this Trust Fund was adjusted so as to include  the Work-Life Balance entitlements set up by Legal Notice 201 of 2022. Thus the Maternity Trust Fund was adjusted to Work Life Balance Fund to include  reimbursement of wages during the paternity and parental paid leave in cases of birth and adoption and in the case of parental the benefits are extended to fostering too.  For more information on these benefits visit here​.

2.       Did this reform incur any extra payment in the contribution by the employee?

This is not the case. No employee pays any contribution for this system.

3.       How does the employer effect the payment for this system?

The Tenth Schedule of the Social Security Act determines the contribution due by each employer for each of his/her employees. This contribution goes into a special fund, which eventually is used to reimburse employers paying employees on maternity leave, and with recent amendments, fostering leave, parental/adoption leave and paternity/paternity-adoption leave. In order to ensure that this contribution is aimed for this objective, a new line features in the monthly return form that employers send to the Inland Revenue Department. This indicates the amount that the employer has paid for this special fund.

4.       Who controls payments of this fund?

In order to have  transparency, the Board of the fund is made up of three members representing the employers and one member representing the Unions.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Finance and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for Industrial Relations are ex-officio members. The Board ensures that employers pay their respective contribution and that from time to time revise the contribution rate as necessary.

5.       What is the rate of contribution?

When this measure was introduced, the Ministry of Finance had made an in depth analysis of the pregnancy rate and the number of women applying for maternity leave; the fertility rate; the wages and salaries that were being paid to women employees benefitting from this leave and the total amount of employees that include both men and women. This exercise was carried out among private sector employees only. From this analysis, it was established that the contribution rate had to be that of zero point three per cent (0.3%) of the basic salary. This contribution rate may be revised.

6.       What if an employer does not pay his/her respective contribution?

While employers are bound to pay those who apply for maternity leave, adoption leave, fostering leave, parental/adoption leave and paternity/paternity-adoption leave, no reimbursement is paid if it transpires that pay contributions were in actual fact not paid. Moreover, employers are subject to penalties and fines under the provision of the Social Security Act.

7.       Does this mean that the private sector is paying for those public sector individuals applying for these types of leave?

This fund is solely used to sustain the system for private sector employees ONLY. The Public Service and Public Sector Entities; Authorities, Agencies and Public Corporations are exempt from this scheme’s contribution. However, Public Service and Public Sector employees are nonetheless entitled to these types of leave. Furthermore, Government has continued to pay for those weeks leave that a woman is entitled over and above the fourteen weeks mentioned above. This payment is made to all employees irrespective whether women are public or private sector employees.

8.       Is this contribution paid for part-time employees whose social security contribution is not incurred in view of their being in another full-time employment?

Yes. The Employment and Industrial Relations Act and the Part Time Employees Regulations highlight the right that part-time employees have these types of leave paid on a pro-rata basis. This means that employers can apply for a reimbursement for this payment once the corresponding contribution is paid.

9.       Who may provide further information how to lodge a claim?

Kindly forward any queries in relation to payments under the work life balance fund to this email address: worklifebalancefund@gov.mt

In case of other general queries in relation to the work life balance legal notice and its applicability kindly use the following contact info:

Freephones 1575 (Employees) / 1576 (Employers)

Email address: info.dier@gov.mt


Guidelines to Employers for filling in Trust Claim Online Forms:

•             MaternityLeave Trust Fund Claim Form

•             Parental/AdoptionLeave Trust Claim Form

•             Paternity/ Paternity-Adoption Leave Trust Claim

•             FosteringLeave Trust Claim​


CONTACT INFORMATION:

 Contact Name
 
Department for Industrial and Employment Relations 
121, Melita​​ Street,
Valletta - Malta 
VLT 1121

 Telephone
1575 for Employees
1576 for Employers​​

 Email