Access to Employment (A2E)

Subsidy payable to enterprises located in Malta or Gozo for every new employee who falls within a certain disadvantaged target group. The aim of the scheme is to encourage enterprises to employ those persons considered to be more challenged amongst jobseekers and inactive persons.

Addictions Community Service

Sedqa’s Addictions Community Team provides support to individuals experiencing addiction-related difficulties, along with their significant others. Service includes tailored guidance, motivation-focused interventions, and personalised rehabilitation plans.

Aftercare Service

Providing guidance and support aimed at children over the age of 18 and who have been in alternative care, i.e. foster or community care, through their transition into adulthood.

Agency for Community and Therapeutic Services (ACTS)

ACTS helps families, individuals and communities in achieving their social and therapeutic goals. Various services are in place to aid those in challenging life situations, such as poverty, social exclusion or family break ups. 

Aġenzija Għall-Ħarsien Tat-Tfal

Agency providing an investigative service, analysing reports of children who are being abused or at risk of abuse.

Aġenzija Sapport

The national service provider in the disability field, providing support to disabled persons and their families through effective and efficient services, promoting inclusion within the community, independent living, and acquisition of skills to improve their employment opportunities.

Aim Learn Master Achieve (ALMA)

EU initiative under the remit of Jobsplus, whereby individuals aged between 18 and 29 who are not in employment, education or training, are eligible to three months of intensive training towards enhancing their life skills, personal development and employability. Applicants are also offered two months of work placement abroad, fully covered together with a cash allowance.

Benefits in Kind

Benefits granted in the form of goods and services.

Benniena

Service aimed at minors and pregnant mothers, in particular those suffering from social difficulties, or addictions, among other cases.

Bridging the Gap

Jobsplus scheme to help disadvantaged or vulnerable clients during the transition period between unemployment and employment. Clients are placed in a work exposure period with a potential employer, where the employer is allowed to evaluate the client’s performance, prior to any proper employment.

Carer at Home Scheme

Financial assistance for senior citizens to employ a carer to help them with their day-to-day tasks, so that eligible citizens can continue to live within their own residence.

Cash Benefits

Social cash benefits may be income-substituting benefits such as unemployment cash benefits or pensions, and/or income-supplementing cash benefits such as housing benefits and child allowances.

Child Care for All

The free child scheme launched in April 2014 and is open to parents or guardians who are both either employed or in education.  A list of childcare centres registered under the scheme may be accessed here.

Child to Parent Violence

Aid provided to families in cases when a child or children are abusive towards their parents, or who is deemed to be their primary caregiver.

Community Inclusive Employment Scheme

Aiding persons struggling to enter the labour market due to socio-economic difficulties, such as a disability or being a former substance abuser.

Directorate for Alternative Care

Forming part of the FSWS, the directorate aims to protect the wellbeing of children in out of home care, vulnerable youths and young adults. Their goal is to ensure each youth’s journey towards adulthood is achieved in a safe, nurturing and stable environment.

Domestic Violence Unit

Consisting of a team of professionals offering support to victims of domestic or gender based violence. A risk assessment is conducted to determine the level of risk the individual is facing. Services also include emotional and legal support together with the formation of a safety plan in times of need.

Embark for Life

Service aimed at addressing the needs of youths, between the ages of 15 and 25, who, for various reasons, struggle to find or maintain employment and are at risk of social exclusion. Through this service, young people are supported in their bid to live as independently as possible within their communities and improve their standard of living. The service is provided to youths who have experienced difficult realities, including addiction, mental health issues and brushes with the law.

Employment Support Services for Migrants

Open to refugees, migrants granted subsidiary or humanitarian protection, and Asylum Seekers. Services include guidance and upskilling to enhance the employability of eligible migrants.

ESA 2010

The European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA 2010, or simply ESA) is an internationally compatible accounting framework for a systematic and detailed description of a total economy, its components and its relations with other total economies.  ESA 2010 is fully consistent with the revised worldwide guidelines on national accounting, the System of National Accounts (SNA 2008, or simply SNA; these guidelines have been produced under the joint responsibility of the United Nations, the IMF, the Commission of the European Communities, the OECD and the World Bank).

ESSPROS

The European System of integrated Social Protection Statistics (ESSPROS) was developed in the late 1970s in response to the need for a specific instrument of statistical observation of social protection in the EU Member States. 

Foundation for Social Welfare Services (FSWS)

Responsible for the provision of various services tackling social issues, such as family welfare, alcohol and substance abuse.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Gross Domestic Product (at current market prices unless otherwise specified) is the total output produced within a country during a reference period. 

Headstart programme

A six-month programme offered by the Lino Spiteri Foundation (LSF) that helps persons with disabilities to strengthen their work and social skills, hence enhancing their employment prospects and ability to integrate within the labour market.

Home Based Therapeutic Service

Forming part of ACTS, single persons or families in Malta are provided with psychotherapy, family therapy and counselling services to, among others, help strengthen the family context to ensure the well-being and safety of children.

Home Care Help Services Scheme

Support towards senior citizens and persons with special needs to aid one to live independently by performing light domestic chores and shopping.

Homeless Service

Social workers take on cases of individuals who are either homeless or at risk of becoming. Each case is assessed to identify the reasons leading to the applicant being homeless. Following evaluation, the person is placed in a homeless shelter if deemed necessary.

Households

A household consists of individuals living together and sharing the household economy.

Independent Community Living Scheme

Financial package offered by Agenzija Sapport to disabled persons to help them live more independently or provide greater assistance in more intense situations. Services provided by a live-in carer are also covered under this scheme.

Intake and Family Support Service

Social workers provide a first contact for clients to identify the type of assistance one requires, following which they may take on the case themselves or refer the individuals to a more specialised service that better meet their needs. Family workshops, offering support and teaching individuals new skills to meet the needs of the family, are also organised under this service.

Intercept Project

The project targets individuals between the ages of 25 and 29, choosing 300 people from Malta, Italy and Lithuania within this age-group Not in Education, Employment and Training (NEETS). The chosen candidates will be given training in the form of a 3-month paid internship in green businesses.

Job Bridge Programme

Youths dealing with a disability, and who have successfully completed their compulsory education objectives, can enrol in this pre-employment programme opening them up to several job experiences to acquire key skills in three main areas (employability, social and independent living).

LEAP2ENTERPRISE

Initiative organised between Malta Enterprise, FSWS and Jobsplus to assist vulnerable individuals wanting to set up their own sustainable business or income generating activity.

Mature Workers Scheme

Tax deductions available to employers who employ persons between the ages of 45 and 65, and who have been registering on the unemployment register (part 1 or 2) for the previous six months prior to employment.

Meals on Wheels

Ready cooked meals delivered to persons over 60 years of age or in possession of a valid EU Disability Card who are unable to prepare a meal for themselves.

Means-tested Social Benefits

Social benefits are broken down between means-tested and non means-tested benefits.  Means-tested social benefits are social benefits that are explicitly or implicitly conditional on the beneficiary’s income and/or wealth falling below a specified level. Most means-tested benefits are targeted at low-income households; and in principle means-tested benefits may be granted under all functions.

National Commission for Persons with Disability (KNPD)

Provides the following services to persons with disability and their families:

(a) Special Identity Card (SID) – Offered to persons with disability to help them play an active role in society. Holders of the card can apply to a number of different services aimed at people with a disability, such as free transport to and from state hospitals and free entrance or reduced fees to various organised activities.

(b) Blue Badge (aka Blue Sticker) – Given by the Commissioner of Police on the recommendation by the KNPD to persons entitled to the SID and have severe and permanent mobility restrictions. Can also be granted people with a temporary lack of mobility expected to last more than one year. Owners of the Blue Badge are entitled to have the vehicle they are travelling with parked in public parking spots reserved for persons with disability. As of March 2022, this service has been taken over by Aġenzija Sapport.

(c) VAT Refund – SID owners may request compensation for items purchased for the specific intention to be used by people with disability. The amount compensated is equivalent to the amount of the VAT paid.

(d) Sonia Tanti Independent Living Centre (STILC) – First independent living centre, which forms part of the KNPD and provides persons with disability and their families with advice, information and training to achieve, regain or maintain their independence mainly by owning the means to one’s own mobility.

NPISH

These are ‘non-profit institutions serving households’ which comprise all resident non-profit institutions that provide most of their output to households free or at prices which cover less than 50 per cent of production costs, except those which are controlled and mainly financed by the Government.

Non Means-tested Social Benefits

Eligibility to these benefits is independent of the applicant’s earned income or capital, instead being based on alternative criteria such as meeting the minimum contribution conditions or satisfying residency status.

Pensions

The purpose of pensions is to guarantee all citizens a certain level of income in connection with old age, disability, early retirement from the labour market or loss of provider.  The various types of pensions available in Malta are listed hereunder:

Age Pension: Payable to citizens of Malta over 60 years of age, whose number of contributions fall below that required for a Contributory Retirement Pension and provided that his/her weekly means fall below the benchmark established by the Social Security Act.

Decreased National Minimum Invalidity Pension / Increased Invalidity Pension / National Minimum Invalidity Pension: is payable to those deemed permanently incapable for full-time or regular part-time employment but are recipients of a service pension.

Decreased National Minimum Pension: Payable to a person who is entitled to a service pension and his service pension together with the rate of retirement pension or increased retirement pension applicable in his/her case is less than the rate of national minimum pension in his/her case. Such a person shall be entitled to the National Minimum Pension reduced by his service pension.

Increased Retirement Pension: Applies to cases where the sum of a person’s service pension together with the rate of retirement pension applicable in the case are lower than two-thirds of the person’s pensionable income.

Injury Pension: Payable if injury or disease caused or contracted while at work is considered to cause a loss of physical or mental faculty calculated between 20 and 89 per cent. Rates awarded vary according to the degree of disability. Where the degree of disablement is assessed at 90 per cent or over, the person concerned is automatically awarded an Invalidity Pension at the full rate.

Invalidity Pension: Payable to persons deemed permanently incapable for suitable full-time or regular part-time employment. There are various rates according to different conditions.

National Minimum Pension/Increased National Minimum Pension: Payable to a person who is not in receipt of a service pension from an employer.  The rates applicable are four-fifths of the National Minimum Wage in the case of a married man maintaining his wife and two-thirds of the National Minimum Wage in the case of any other person.

Retirement Pension: Payable on reaching pension age (currently, 64 for both males and females and to rise to 65 in 2027). The rates and types of categories vary according to a range of statutory conditions.

Survivors’ Pension/Early Survivors Retirement Pension: An earnings-related pension payable to a widow whose husband was entitled to a two-thirds pension or whose husband would have been entitled to a pension had he reached retiring age at the time of his death.

Two-Thirds Pension: A pension related to earnings, payable to persons who have retired after January 1979. This scheme provides for a pension equivalent to two-thirds of the insured person’s pensionable income. Maximum and minimum rates are applicable.

In the case of an employed person born on or before 31^st December 1951 the pensionable income is calculated by taking the average yearly salary on which the relevant contribution has been paid, of the best three calendar years during the last 10 years prior to retirement. This calculation is further adjusted to cater for cost of living updates. For self-employed persons (a ‘self-employed’, for social security purposes is that person who is not gainfully employed in a business or profession and mainly lives on income derived from investments/rents) the pensionable income is the average of his/her net income, derived from investments/rents/pensions etc., of the last 10 calendar years or part thereof if the person had not been in self-employment for the whole ten-year period prior to retirement. In the case of a person defined as self-occupied (i.e. a person who derives income from an economic activity and hence declares a net profit/loss) the pensionable income is assessed as the average net income declared from the person’s gainful activity during the last 10 years or part thereof as for the case of a self-employed.

The pensionable income is similarly calculated as above for gainfully occupied persons born during the calendar years 1952 to 1955 with the only difference being that the last 11 years prior to retirement are assessed. Meanwhile, the last 12 years are taken into consideration in calculating the pensionable income for gainfully occupied persons born between 1956 and 1958. The last 13 years are assessed for persons born between 1959 and 1961.

The pensionable income for Employed/self-employed/self-occupied persons born from 1962 to 1968/1969 to 1975/1976 onwards is equivalent to the yearly average salary (employed) or net income (self-employed/self-occupied) of the best 10 years during the last 40/41/42 years prior to retirement.  

Widows’ Pension/National Minimum Widows’ Pension: Payable to widows, irrespective of age, who are not gainfully occupied, or who are occupied but earning less than the National Minimum Wage, or who are carrying out gainful activities but have the care and custody of children under 16 years of age. Rates may vary according to conditions outlined in the Social Security Act (Social Security Act, Part IV, and subsequent amendments). Any reference to a widow also means a widower.

Personal Action Plan

Multi-level programme providing practical support to empower and prepare jobseekers for employment. With the help of an employment advisor, every individual’s areas of improvement are identified. Short-term and long-term goals are set and agreed upon between the jobseeker and advisor.

Personal Assistance Scheme

The objective of this service is to improve the social and economic inclusion of persons with disability by allowing them to live independently in the community. Eligible applicants, requiring at least 30 hrs per week of ongoing personal assistance, are allocated a monthly/financial package to subsidise the costs of a live-in carer. Types of support and services include personal hygiene, cleaning and domestic duties, food preparation, eating/drinking, shopping and money management.

Respite at Home

Temporary relief to informal carers of senior citizens by sending a professional care worker to the senior’s residence to provide companionship, socialisation and personal care.

Scheme

The social protection scheme is a unit specifically defined for ESSPROS.  A scheme may be defined as a distinct body of rules, supported by one or more institutional units, governing the provision of social benefits and their financing.  Typically, schemes are as specific as possible to the risk or need for which protection is provided and the categories of people protected.  At the same time schemes are drawn up in such a way as to allow for the computation of an account of receipts and expenditures.

Sheltered Employment Training

A one-year programme offering opportunities to persons suffering from severe or multiple disabilities to receive hands-on training in different areas, such as administrative work, product assembly, and packaging.

Social Protection Benefits

Social Protection Benefits encompasses all expenditure interventions from public or private bodies intended to relieve households and individuals of the burden of a defined set of risks or needs, if there is neither a simultaneous reciprocal nor an individual arrangement involved.

Social Security Benefits

Additional COLA Household Mechanism: An additional COLA payment to assist low-income families with the rising cost of living. The mechanism is triggered whenever the following criteria is satisfied:

1. The inflation rate for the 12 months prior exceeds two per cent.

2. Individual inflation during the same period is higher than the average of the previous five years for at least three of the five basic components regarding the Retail Price Index (RPI) (i.e. Food; Accommodation; Electricity, Water, Gas and Fuel; Costs related to home maintenance and household appliances; and private health care).

The mechanism is payable to all recipients of social benefits and whose annual income is below the Median Equivalised Income, adjusted according to the number of persons living within the household. Payments vary and are dependent on each household’s income together with number of recipients.

Assistance to Help the Elderly Live Independently (‘Senior Citizens Grant’): One-time annual payment made to persons 75 years or older who are either (i) still living in their own home or with relatives, or (ii) living in a private residential home outside the Public Private Partnership scheme.

Assistance for Visually Impaired: Payable to persons, aged 14 years or over and who may be gainfully occupied, who are certified by a Medical Panel as suffering from a visual impairment.

Carers’ Allowance: Payable to single, married, in civil union, or cohabiting persons over the age of 18 and who are taking care of on a full-time basis a relative (spouse, parent, brother, sister, grandparent, uncle, aunt, father/mother-in-law or brother/sister-in-law), with low dependency, who is living in the same household.

Carer’s Grant: Awarded to parents who are out of work to care for a child suffering from a disability who is over the age of 16 and who is in receipt of an Increased Severe Disability Assistance. Benefit is paid multiple times in cases where the parent is caring for more than one disabled child.

Child Benefit (Adoption) Bonus: One-time payable bonus given to families for every newborn (adopted) child.

Children’s Allowance: Payable to locally residing citizens of Malta who have the care of children under 16 years of age, or children over 16 but under 21 who are attending full-time education, or training in an educational institution recognised by the Government according to the Education Act and who is not receiving any form of remuneration or allowance or is registered unemployed under Part 1 of the register and has never been gainfully occupied. The allowance is also payable to citizens who have children between 16 and 21 years of age and who are registered as unemployed under Part 1 of the Register in accordance with Employment and Training Services Act and who have never been gainfully occupied, and who is not receiving a benefit, pension or assistance payable under the Social Security Act.  The rate of allowance payable is determined according to the citizens’ annual income. If the annual income exceeds a certain pre-defined threshold, then a flat rate of €450 is paid out annually to those eligible citizens.

Children’s Allowance Supplement: A supplementary payment awarded to all recipients of Children’s Allowance. Beneficiaries whose annual income exceeds the means-tested threshold receive an annual payment of €640 per child. On the other hand, those below the threshold receive an annual payment of €660 per child. Fostered children are not entitled to the supplement.

Contributory Bonus: Payable to persons receiving a pension for services rendered in Malta, or ex-British Service pensioners, or persons between 62 to 74 years of age who have paid a minimum of 50 social contributions but do not receive a contributory pension, or persons over 75 years of age who receive a service pension from any other source, or persons who were born before 1902.

COVID-19 Benefits: To aid individuals in the private sector who, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have been either made redundant or are unable to go to work due to their personal medical conditions or family situations, and are not being paid by employer during their absence from work, the Government temporarily introduced the following benefits in March 2020:

(i) Additional Unemployment Benefit was payable to persons who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recipients must be registered for work under Part 1 of the Unemployment register.

(ii) Disability Benefit was payable to persons who are not allowed to go to work on medical advice and are unable to continue working from home. Eligible persons need to be registered with Jobsplus as a person with a disability and must be in possession of a Special ID No or EU Disability Card as issued by the Commission of the Rights of Persons with Disability.

(iii) Medical Benefit was payable to persons who, due to a particular medical condition deeming them to be severely at risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus, have been ordered to stay at home by the Superintendent of Public Health of Malta. Hence, these persons are unable to go to work and unable to continue such work from their own home.

(iv) Parent Benefit is payable to married or single parents who have children under the age of 16 and are required to stay at home to take care of their children. For married persons, the benefit is only payable if neither parent was able to continue working from home.

Deficiency Contributory Bonus: payable to individuals from the age of 62 onwards who have not met the minimum criteria of social contributions payments to be eligible to receive a contributory pension.

Disability Assistance: Awarded to persons aged 16 or older who are suffering from either total paralysis or a permanent total severe malfunction, or are suffering from a permanent disability following the amputation of one of the upper or lower limbs. Persons with hearing or speech impairments are also eligible to receive the benefit.

Disabled Child Allowance: May be granted to any child (under the age of 16) certified to be suffering from a form of physical and/or mental disability. This allowance is over and above the Children’s Allowance.

Disablement Gratuity: A lump sum payment payable to a person following injury at work and where the degree of disability is estimated as being between 1 and 19 per cent.

Drug Addicts Allowance: Given to a person following a drug or alcohol rehabilitation therapeutic programme who may become eligible to receive an allowance.

Foster Care Allowance: Payable to a person or married couple certified by the Director of Social Security, APPOĠĠ, that they are the official foster carer/s of a child.

Increased Carers’ Allowance: Payable to single, married, in civil union, or cohabiting persons over the age of 18 and who are taking care of on a full-time basis a relative (spouse, parent, brother, sister, grandparent, uncle, aunt, father/mother-in-law or brother/sister-in-law), with high dependency, who is living in the same household.

Increased Severe Disability Assistance: Awarded to persons aged 16 years and over that are rated 0-4 on the Barthel Index and suffering from a condition outlined in the Social Security Act (cap 318).

Injury Benefit: This benefit is payable for injury at work or contraction of industrial disease. Maximum entitlement is limited to 12 months.

In-Work Benefit: Payable to the following groups of people:

(a) couples who are both in employment and whose annual combined earnings from a gainful occupation is between €10,000 and €50,000, and neither of their respective earnings are lower than €3,000 and they have children under the age of 23 living in the same address;

(b) couples where only of the spouses/partners is in employment and whose annual earnings from a gainful occupation is between €6,600 and €35,000 and they have children under the age of 23 living in the same address; and

(c) single parents whose annual earnings from a gainful occupation is between €6,600 and €35,000 and who have children under the age of 23 living in the same address.

In-Work Supplement: One-time payment of €250 paid to In-Work Benefit recipients.

Leprosy Assistance: Payable to any head of household, who suffers from Leprosy or Hansens Disease, or who has a member in his/her household suffering from one of these diseases.

Marriage Grant: A one-time payment payable upon marriage to persons ordinarily resident in Malta. To be eligible a person must be employed, self-employed or self-occupied for at least six months at any time prior to his marriage.

Maternity Benefit: Payable to locally residing pregnant citizens of Malta in respect of the last 8 weeks of pregnancy and the first 6 weeks after childbirth. This benefit is only payable if the female is not entitled to maternity leave from her employer, if employed.

Maternity Leave Benefit: Paid for a maximum of four weeks to pregnant citizens who have already availed themselves of their initial 14 week Maternity Leave entitlement.

Milk Grant: A head of household who is in receipt of Social or Tuberculosis Assistance may be entitled to Milk Grant.

Non-Contributory Bonus: Payable to all persons receiving a pension, supplementary allowance, Social Assistance and Leprosy Assistance under the Social Security Act.

Orphans’ Allowance: A weekly allowance paid to a guardian of a child or children who are under 16 years of age.  

Severe Disability Assistance: Means-tested assistance payable to persons aged at least 16 years, who may also be gainfully occupied, suffering from a condition as outlined in the Social Security Act (Cap. 318).

Sickness Assistance: A person becomes entitled to if s/he proves to the satisfaction of the Director of Social Security that s/he or any member of his/her household is suffering from a disease that could only be cured or alleviated by a special diet or regimen, which incurs an exceptional expenditure.

Sickness Benefit: Entitlement of 156 days but may, in certain cases, be extended to 312 days. The first three days of each new claim for this benefit are not paid.

Social Assistance: Given to head of households, who are incapable of work due to medical reasons, or are unemployed and seeking employment, given that they fulfill the means and capital resources tests.

Social Assistance Board: If the head of household, for some reason, is struck off from Part 1 of the ETC register and is registering under Part 2, the partner may apply for social assistance. A Social Assistance Board will review such claims.

Social Assistance for Carers: Given to a single or widowed male/female, whether registered or not as an unemployed person, and who is solely taking care of a sick or elderly relative on a full-time basis.

Social Assistance for Single Parents: Given to a single parent, who does not earn more than a certain amount of income, and who may be eligible for Social Assistance. His/her total income earned together with the Social Assistance entitlement for 2 persons must not exceed the National Minimum Wage.

Special Unemployment Benefit: As is the case for the Unemployment Benefit (described below), entitlement is also for 156 days but at a higher rate. This benefit is applicable to persons who would qualify for non-contributory Social Assistance.

Subsidiary Unemployment Assistance: Unemployment assistance paid to registered immigrants.

Supplementary Allowance: Payable to households where the total income of the members falls below the limits outlined by the Social Security Act.

Tapered Foster Child Allowance: Parents who adopt a child they had been fostering will continue to receive part of Foster Child Allowance over a four-year period or until the child reaches 21, whichever comes first. In the first year of adoption, parents will receive 80% of the allowance, then 60% in the second year, 40% in the third and 20% in the fourth.

Unemployment Assistance: Heads of households, who are registering under Part 1 of the Unemployment Register and are thus actively seeking employment may be entitled to Unemployment Assistance after the period for the Unemployment Benefit has elapsed.

Unemployment Assistance Tapering: Unemployed single persons in receipt of Social Assistance, Unemployment Assistance or Special Unemployment Benefit, who commence employment and earn at least the national minimum wage, are eligible to apply for the Tapering of Benefits Scheme where they continue to receive 75% of their unemployment benefits in the first year of employment.  The rate will be further reduced to 55% in the second year and to 35% in the third year. After three years of employment, the assistance will stop being paid.

Unemployment Benefit: Payable to unemployed persons for a period of 156 days. This benefit is considered as a short-term benefit. Subsequently unemployed persons may qualify for long-term benefits under ‘Social Assistance’. A reform conducted in January 2024 has resulted in rates payable being now linked to the applicants’ income prior to unemployment, offering better financial security during one’s period of unemployment.

Tuberculosis Assistance: Given to any head of household who proves to the satisfaction of the Director of Social Security that s/he or a member of his/her household suffers from Tuberculosis or Koch’s Disease.

Stop! The Violence and Abuse Service

Open to people deemed to be abusive in intimate relationships, and who are willing to change their behaviour. Individual sessions are first conducted to determine the suitability for each applicant to attend the programme. 

Supportline 179

National helpline for callers in times of crisis, requiring support and information on local social service entities. Representatives deal with various types of cases, ranging from child abuse to homelessness.

Telephone Rent Rebate

A bi-monthly discounted rental charge available to persons over the age of 60 in possession of the Pink Form and who are making use of a GO Plc telephony service, excluding Home Packs contracts or any other GO offers, at their main residence. Instead of the standard annual rent of €71.70, consumers pay an annual rent of €14.94.

Traineeship Scheme

Vocational training provided to jobseekers to receive the necessary knowledge, skills and competence to find permanent employment. Both on-the-job and off-the-job training are included in the scheme.

Wage Supplement

Support measure providing employees with a basic wage cover to address the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the forced closure of various businesses.

(i) March – June 2020:

(a) hardest hit sectors: €800 per month per full-time employee to businesses or self-employed that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak (a monthly sum of €500 is paid in the case of part-timers). Where the wage is more than €800 per month, the employers are required to top up the pay. A minimum top-up of €400 per employee per month is required when the salary is higher than €1,200. 

(b) less critically hit sectors: A day’s salary per week equivalent to a monthly amount of €160 per full-time employee (€100 in case of part-timers). A 2 days’ salary per week equivalent to a monthly amount of €320 per full-time employee employed by Malta-based individuals or employed by Gozo based businesses (€200 in case of part-timers). A 3 days’ salary per week equivalent to a monthly amount of €480 per full-time employee employed by a Gozo-based individual (€300 in case of part-timers).

(ii) July – December 2020: In July 2020, the Government modified the Wage Supplement scheme to continue to fully aid those sectors hardest hit by the pandemic along with providing tapered assistance for those other sectors during the regeneration period:

(a) For businesses dependent on tourism (such as tourist accommodation, travel agencies, English learning schools, event organisers and air transport) the wage supplement remained the same i.e. monthly amounts of €800 (€500) for each full-time (part-time) employee.

(b) Businesses dependent on local demand such as personal services saw their wage supplement generally fall to €160 per month per full-time employee and €100 per month in case of part-timers (certain additional supplements may apply for individual employers and/or Gozo-based businesses).

(c) Employers and self-employed that were already listed in Annex B continued to receive the same level of support.

(d) Sectors previously receiving aid that did not fall under the updated Annexes A and B were, from July 2020, assisted with a wage supplement equivalent to €600 (€375) for each full-time (part-time) employee. A new annex C was published by Malta Enterprise to list these sectors.

(e) The scheme was extended to pensioners and students who were registered as employed since 9^th March 2020.

(iii) January – July 2021: The wage supplement was adjusted such that the amount payable was based on the drop in sales suffered by businesses during the pandemic. If the drop in revenue, calculated by comparing turnover between March and October 2020 with the same period in 2019, was 55 per cent or greater than the full monthly supplement of € 800 per employee continued to be paid. On the other hand, reported drops in revenue between 45 per cent to 54 per cent, 35 per cent to 44 per cent, 25 per cent to 34 per cent and 10 per cent to 24 per cent resulted in monthly payments of €640, €480, €320 and €160 being made, respectively.

(iv) August 2021 – May 2022: Tapering system was introduced for those businesses whose drop in revenue was less than 55 per cent. This was in the form of a two-phase system where payments were equivalent to (i) between 60 per cent and 80 per cent of the original amount for payments made in August and September 2021, and (ii) approximately 50 per cent of the amounts paid in (i) for the remainder of the year. Those whose turnover was 55 per cent or greater continued to receive the full support. This format was maintained till the final payments of the scheme made at the end of May 2022.

Work Exposure Scheme

Providing active jobseekers with hands on training to obtain the knowledge, skills and competence to find and retain employment.

Work Placement Scheme

Providing persons currently attending a Jobsplus course, one including a practical component, with the opportunity to also acquire on-the-job training in addition to their theoretical classes. Practical training is performed at the employer’s premises where the client is stationed.

Work Programme Initiative

Assistance provided by Jobsplus, in partnership with the private sector, to the long-term unemployed 25 years or older to re-enter the labour market. This includes persons who have been on the unemployment register for at least 12 months during the last two years or inactive individuals who have not been registered during the prior year.

Youth Empowerment Initiatives

Services towards empowering young people, establishing strategies to tackle their needs and challenges.

Youth Guarantee

Training and work exposure provided to young people between the ages of 16 and 25, who are not in education, employed or attending some other form of training. The aim is to ease one’s transition from a student to gainful employment, while enhancing their chances of employment, quality of life and social integration.