When it comes to termination of employment, Maltese law caters for very specific rights and obligation for either party in an employment relationship, whether being it a definite or an indefinite contract of employment. While the employee under an indefinite contract is free to terminate the employment without specifying any reason, provided that the employee gives the due notice of termination to the employer, on the other hand, as soon as the probationary period is over, the main scenarios for which an employer may terminate a contract of employment are the following:

1. Redundancy – in such scenario, the employer is obligated by law to terminate the employment of the last person engaged in that class of employment. The only exception to this rule is when the last person engaged in this class of employment is related to the employer by affinity of consanguinity up to the third degree. In that event, the employer may terminate the employment of the person employed immediately preceding the last employee employed in the same class of work.

2. A good and sufficient cause – however such term is not defined under Maltese legislation, but if a dismissal is not deemed to be done on a good and sufficient cause, then it will be considered to be an unfair dismissal. Where a contact of employment is terminated on a good and sufficient cause the employer is not required to give any advance notice of termination, but, it has to satisfactory prove that there was a legitimate reason for such termination.

A settlement agreement in respect of termination of employment is a perfectly valid legal arrangement. This is triggered by the mutual agreement of both the employer and the employee to terminate an employment agreement, which is also a possibility for termination. In such scenario, the respective parties will negotiate the terms and conditions of the termination, which will eventually be set out on a settlement agreement binding equally on both parties.

The subsidiary legislation promulgated under the Employment and Industrial Relations Act, provides for the right of the information which must be given to the employee. Strictly speaking a contract of employment can be both written and also verbal, and where the contract is in writing the employer is bound to deliver to the employee a signed copy of the contract by not later than eight working days form the date of the contract.

Nonetheless, though the law does not strictly state that a contract of employment has to be in writing, it still regulates in a clear manner on what information the employee must get in writing and accordingly in those cases where no written contract of employment has been signed between the employer and the employee, and/or in those cases where the written contract does not cover all or some of the information required to be notified to the employee by law, the employer shall be bound to give or send to the employee a letter of engagement or a signed statement, by not later than eight working days from the commencement of employment and which shall include the minimum information stipulated by law.

The Immigration Act, Chapter 217 of the Laws of Malta provides that any individual who is a third country national, that is, who is not a citizen of an EU member state, of the EEA, or of Switzerland shall obtain an employment licence in order to be able to work legally in Malta.

Since 2014, any third country nationals who wish to reside and work in Malta can obtain an employment licence through the Single Permit Application. The employment license, also known as the work permit is issued vis-à-vis a specific employment with a specified employer and thus it cannot be used in relation to various jobs or different employments. Moreover, a work permit is usually valid for a maximum duration of one year, and required renewal thereafter. The grant or refusal of a work permit is subject to labour market considerations established by the Employment and Training Corporation.