Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1474369
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 JULY 2022 12 OPINION Higher quality of life for our families SOME days ago, the Govern- ment announced that by way of a legal notice, various new rights shall be introduced into Maltese law as from the 2nd of August of this year. Amongst these rights, one finds the introduction of Carers' leave – a concept which previously was not present in Maltese law, Parental leave – which was present, but which will now be extended, and Pa- ternity leave – which was also already present, but which will now be improved. These legal introductions came about as a result of the Work- Life Balance Directive, based upon a co-decision by the Eu- ropean Parliament as well as the Council. The Government of Malta always spoke in favour of the Directive at the European level. In fact, on the 13th of June of 2019, Malta, together with the majority of EU member states, voted in favour of the said Direc- tive. In total, six Member States voted against the Directive or abstained. In other words, the Government of Malta's position has always been clear in that it stands with ensuring the intro- duction of new rights for our families. Arguably, the most significant of these new rights is parental leave, which at present stands at four months unpaid. As of the 2nd of August, however, this leave will be split into two, with two months being paid at the National Parental Leave Rate and the other two months be- ing unpaid. Parents will be able to utilize this leave until their child reaches eight years of age, with 50% of the leave being taken until the child is four, 25% being taken from the age of four to six, and the rest being taken when the child is six to eight. It is also important to note that the two months of unpaid Parental Leave can be transferred from one par- ent to another. When it comes to paternity leave, it should be noted that as things stand, Maltese employees working in the public sector cur- rently have five days of paterni- ty leave. On the contrary, in the private sector, this leave is of one or two days, depending on the sector in which the concerned workers are employed. As a re- sult of these legal introductions, paternity leave will rise to ten days, meaning that while public sector employees will be gain- ing five additional days of leave, those in the private sector will be gaining a maximum of nine days of paternity leave. Further to this, it is also observed that paternity leave shall be paid in full, according to the employee's salary. On the other hand, as already stated, carers' leave, which so far has not been present in Maltese law, will now be introduced by way of these legal changes. In to- tal, five days of unpaid leave will be given to all Maltese employ- ees for the purpose of the said leave being taken so that the em- ployees get to take care of people living in the same household in case of illnesses or health prob- lems. Lastly, all working parents will also get the right to ask for flex- ible working arrangements until their child reaches eight years of age. This right is also significant since flexibility can work won- ders when it comes to balancing work and private responsibili- ties, and the Government fully encourages employers to be con- siderate of these requests when productivity will not be affected. Given the global turbulence hailing from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the war in Ukraine, the Government fully recognizes that businesses will need all the necessary help to transition into bearing the re- sponsibility of these new rights. For this reason, it was decided that the Government shall be taking up all expenses relating to these measures until the end of 2023, with the private sector then taking up its share of the burden as from the 1st of Janu- ary of 2024. As Parliamentary Secretary Andy Ellul stated last week, this is only the beginning. As the world progresses, so too will the rights of workers. The Govern- ment, which has a history of pro- moting the rights of employees, will also look forward to such improvements taking place on a European as well as on a global level. We also look forward to when the global economic pace starts reigniting, for times of prosperity are ripe for increasing worker's rights. Dr Brendan Zerafa is a Policy Consultant at the Parliamentary Secretariat for Social Dialogue Brendan Zerafa Given the global turbulence hailing from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the war in Ukraine, the Government fully recognizes that businesses will need all the necessary help to transition into bearing the responsibility of these new rights