Employment and labour law can become very delicate and complicated matters.
Employers
Employers should be aware of the rights and obligations of employing people because any disputes can be time consuming and costly. Some of the services we offer under umbrella include the drafting of contracts of employment, employment policies, human resource policies, health and safety policies, negotiating employment terminations, resolving employment related issues, obtaining work permit for foreigners, transferring employment contracts, advising in dispute resolution, discrimination, wrongful discharge, defamation, settlements, drafting of data and privacy protections, whistleblowing scenarios, and other specialised services related to employment and labour law issues.
Employees
If on the other hand you are an employee, we are available to be of assistance for various scenarios you can encounter such as employment discrimination, harassment on the workplace, redundancy scenarios, unfair dismissals, rights for claims and so on.
Premature termination of employment or unfair dismissal can only happen on a good and sufficient cause or redundancy. Examples that are not considered to be ‘good and sufficient’ causes are the following:
• Getting married
• Going on maternity
• Becoming a member of a trade union
• Joining religious groups
• Employer no longer having the confidence of the employee
• Disclosing information to a public regulating body regarding alleged illegal activities being committed by the employer.
Our team has assisted various employees for unjust dismissals before the Industrial Tribunal as well as out of court settlements by negotiating compensation. If you have been dismissed in an unfair manner you have four months’ time to appeal at the Industrial Tribunal from the day of dismissal.
Another type of scenario we encounter from our clients is underpayment by the employers. In this case, the employee has a time frame of one year from termination of employment to reclaim the correct amount. In such cases one can lodge a claim with the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER) claiming the outstanding amount. This will be investigated ex-officio. A solemn declaration needs to be prepared together with documents supporting your claim for the investigation to be done. Our lawyers can assist with the preparation and lodging of the claim.
Explore our articles here about employment in Malta and employment terms explained.
At Sciberras Advocates, we are able to handle any issues pertaining to employment and labour law, recognising the importance of this sector in business.