Know Your Rights | Payment Of Wages

The rights of employees regarding the payment of their wages, as governed by Maltese legislation, are considered as safeguarded in relation to:

• what remuneration includes;
• how wages should be paid;
• whether wage deductions are permitted; and
• the payment of bonuses, among others.

The law overall aims to regulate the relationship between the employer and the employee, and affords protection of wages through several remuneration principles, especially by virtue of articles 11 to 25 of the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Chapter 452 of the Laws of Malta and hereinafter referred to as the "Act").

In this discussion, it is first important to point out that the Act directly defines wages as being the "remuneration or earnings, payable by an employer to an employee and includes any bonus payable under Article 23 other than any bonus or allowance related to performance or production".¹